2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season

2006 NCAA Division I FCS season
2006 FCS National Championship trophy (middle).
Duration	August 26 – November 18
Playoff
Duration	November 25 – December 15
Championship site	Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN
Champion	Appalachian State Mountaineers[1]
Payton Award	Ricky Santos[2]
Buchanan Award	Kyle Shotwell[3]
Division I FCS football season
«2005 2007»

The 2006 NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) football season, part of the college football season, began on August 26, 2006 and concluded on December 15, 2006 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the Appalachian State Mountaineers defeated the Massachusetts Minutemen to win the NCAA Division I Football Championship.

Rule changes

There are several rules that have changed for the 2006 season.^[4] Following are some highlights:

• Players may only wear clear eyeshields. Previously, both tinted and orange were also allowed.
• The kicking tee has been lowered from two inches tall to only one inch.
• Halftime lasts twenty minutes. Previously, it was only fifteen minutes.
• On a kickoff, the game clock starts when the ball is kicked rather than when the receiving team touches it.
  • This rule change has resulted in controversy, highlighted by the matchup between Wisconsin and Penn State on November 4, 2006, in which Wisconsin deliberately went off-sides on two consecutive kickoffs to run extra time off the clock at the close of the first half.^[5]
• On a change of possession, the clock starts when the referee marks the ball ready for play, instead of on the snap.
• The referee may no longer stop the game due to excessive crowd noise.
• When a live-ball penalty such as an illegal formation occurs on a kick, the receiving team may choose either to add the penalty yardage to the end of the return or require the kick to be attempted again with the spot moved back. Previously, only the latter option was available.
• If a team scores at the end of the game, they will not kick the extra point unless it would affect the outcome of the game.
• Instant replay is now officially sanctioned and standardized. All plays are reviewed by the replay officials as the play occurs. They may call down to the on-field officials to stop play if they need extra time to make a review. Each coach may also make one challenge per game. In the case of a coach's challenge, the coach must have at least one time-out remaining. If the challenge is upheld the coach gets the time-out back but the challenge is spent. If the challenge is rejected, both the challenge and the time-out are spent.

Conference changes and new programs

School	2005 Conference	2006 Conference
Austin Peay	Pioneer	FCS Independent
Northern Colorado	Great West	Big Sky

FCS team wins over FBS teams

• September 2 - Portland State 17 New Mexico 7
• September 2 – Montana State 19, Colorado 10
• September 2 – Richmond 13, Duke 0
• September 9 – New Hampshire 34, Northwestern 17
• September 16 – Southern Illinois 35, Indiana 28
• September 23 – North Dakota State 29, Ball State 24
• October 28 - Cal Poly SLO 16, San Diego State 14

Conference Standings

2006 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   North #2 UMass x$^   8 – 0         13 – 2   New Hampshire ^   5 – 3         9 – 4   Maine   5 – 3         6 – 5   Northeastern   4 – 4         5 – 6   Rhode Island   2 – 6         4 – 7   Hofstra   1 – 7         2 – 9   South James Madison x^   7 – 1         9 – 3   Villanova   5 – 3         6 – 5   Towson   4 – 4         7 – 4   Richmond   3 – 5         6 – 5   Delaware   3 – 5         5 – 6   William & Mary   1 – 7         3 – 8   + – Conference co-champions x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll	2006 Big Sky football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #3 Montana $^   8 – 0         12 – 2   #10 Montana State ^   6 – 2         8 – 5   #19 Portland State   6 – 2         7 – 4   Northern Arizona   5 – 3         6 – 5   Sacramento State   4 – 4         4 – 7   Weber State   3 – 5         4 – 4   Eastern Washington   3 – 5         3 – 8   Idaho State   1 – 7         2 – 9   Northern Colorado   0 – 8         1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll	2006 Big South football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #14 Coastal Carolina $   4 – 0         9 – 3   Charleston Southern   2 – 2         9 – 2   Gardner–Webb   2 – 2         6 – 5   Liberty   2 – 2         6 – 5   VMI   0 – 4         1 – 10   $ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll
Template:2006 Gateway Football Conference standings	Template:2006 Great West football standings	Template:2006 Ivy League football standings
Template:2006 MEAC football standings	Template:2006 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings	Template:2006 Northeast Conference football standings
Template:2006 Ohio Valley football standings	Template:2006 Patriot League football standings	Template:2006 Pioneer Football League standings
2006 Southern Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #1 Appalachian State $^   7 – 0         14 – 1   #12 Furman ^   6 – 1         8 – 4   #23 Wofford   5 – 2         7 – 4   The Citadel   4 – 3         5 – 6   Elon   2 – 5         5 – 6   Chattanooga   2 – 5         3 – 8   Georgia Southern   2 – 5         3 – 8   Western Carolina   0 – 7         2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll	2006 Southland Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #21 McNeese State $^ 5 – 1 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Sam Houston State 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Stephen F. Austin 4 – 2 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Texas State 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Nicholls State 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Northwestern State 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Southeastern Louisiana 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll	Template:2006 SWAC football standings
Template:2006 Division I FCS independent football standings

Conference champions

Automatic berths

Conference	Champion
Atlantic 10 Conference	Massachusetts
Big Sky Conference	Montana
Gateway Football Conference	Youngstown State
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	Hampton
Ohio Valley Conference	Eastern Illinois and UT Martin
Patriot League	Colgate, Lafayette, and Lehigh
Southern Conference	Appalachian State
Southland Conference	McNeese State

Invitation

Conference	Champion
Big South Conference	Coastal Carolina
Great West Football Conference	North Dakota State
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference	Duquesne and Marist
Northeast Conference	Monmouth
Pioneer Football League	San Diego

Abstains

Conference	Champion
Ivy League	Princeton and Yale
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Alabama A&M

Postseason

NCAA FCS Playoff bracket

	First Round[6] November 25 Campus Sites					Quarterfinals December 2 Campus Sites					Semifinals December 8 and December 9 Campus Sites					National Championship Game December 15 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee
		Coastal Carolina	28
	1	Appalachian State*	45
						1	Appalachian State*	38
							Montana State	17
	Furman		13
	Montana State*		31
											1	Appalachian State*	49
											4	Youngstown State	24
		James Madison	31
	4	Youngstown State*	35
						4	Youngstown State*	28
							Illinois State	21
	Illinois State		24
	Eastern Illinois*		13
																1	Appalachian State	28
																3	Massachusetts	17
		McNeese State	6
	2	Montana*	31
						2	Montana*	20
							Southern Illinois	3
	UT Martin		30
	Southern Illinois*		36
											2	Montana*	17
											3	Massachusetts	19
		Lafayette	14
	3	Massachusetts*	35
						3	Massachusetts*	24
							New Hampshire	17
	New Hampshire		41
	Hampton*		38

* Host institution

SWAC Championship Game

Date	Location	Venue	West Div. Champion	East Div. Champion	Result
December 16	Birmingham, Alabama	Legion Field	Arkansas-Pine Bluff	Alabama A&M	Alabama A&M, 22–13[7]

Gridiron Classic

The Gridiron Classic is an annual game between the champions of the Northeast Conference and the Pioneer Football League that has been held since December 2006.

Date	Location	Venue	NEC Champion	PFL Champion	Result
December 2	West Long Branch, New Jersey	Kessler Field	Monmouth	San Diego	San Diego, 27–7[8]

Final poll standings

Standings are from The Sports Network final 2006 poll.

Rank[9]	Team	Record
1	Appalachian State Mountaineers	14–1
2	Massachusetts Minutemen	13–2
3	Montana Grizzlies	12–2
4	Youngstown State Penguins	11–3
5	North Dakota State Bison	10–1
6	New Hampshire Wildcats	9–4
7	Southern Illinois Salukis	9–4
8	Illinois State Redbirds	9–4
9	James Madison Dukes	9–3
10	Montana State Bobcats	8–5
11	Hampton Pirates	10–2
12	Furman Paladins	8–4
13	UT Martin Skyhawks	9–3
14	Coastal Carolina Chanticleers	9–3
15	Eastern Illinois Panthers	8–5
16	Cal Poly Mustangs	7–4
17	Northern Iowa Panthers	7–4
18	Princeton Tigers	9–1
19	Portland State Vikings	7–4
20	San Diego Toreros	11–1
21	McNeese State Cowboys	7–5
22	South Dakota State Jackrabbits	7–4
23	Wofford Terriers	7–4
24	Central Arkansas Bears	8–3
25	Yale Bulldogs	8–2

See also

2006 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team 2006 UMass Minutemen football team 2006 William & Mary Tribe football team 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season 2006 NAIA Football Championship Series

Notes and references

1. Associated Press (2007-12-14). "Appalachian State defeats UMass to repeat as I-AA champs". ESPN. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
2. "Ricky Santos wins the 2006 Walter Payton Award". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
3. "Kyle Shotwell wins 2006 Buck Buchanan Award". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
4. "2006 Rules Changes" (PDF). NCAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 September 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-25.
5. Jack Carey (2006-11-07). "Wisconsin finds loophole in speed-up rule". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-11-10.
6. "2006 Playoff Bracket". NCAA. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
7. Associated Press (2006-12-15). "Alabama A&M 22, Arkansas Pine-Bluff 13". ESPN. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
8. Associated Press (2006-12-02). "San Diego 27, Monmouth 7". ESPN. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
9. "Final Sports Network's 2006 FCS College Football Poll". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2008-12-20.

External links