NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Current season, competition or edition: 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season | |
Sport | American football |
---|---|
Founded | 1978 |
No. of teams | 128 |
Country | United States |
Most recent champion(s) | Alabama Crimson Tide |
TV partner(s) | Various |
Official website |
www |
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the top level of college football in the United States. The FBS is the more competitive subdivision of NCAA Division I, which itself consists of the largest and most competitive schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As of 2014, there are ten conferences and 128 schools in the FBS. Despite the popularity of the professional National Football League, college football is very popular throughout much of the United States, and the top schools generate tens of millions of dollars in yearly revenue.[1][2] Top FBS teams draw tens of thousands of fans to games, and the ten largest American stadiums by capacity all host FBS teams. College athletes are not paid, and colleges are only allowed to provide players with non-monetary compensation such as athletic scholarships that provide for tuition, housing, and books.
Overview
The FBS is the highest level of college football in the United States, and FBS players make up the vast majority of the players picked in the NFL Draft.[4] For every sport but football, the NCAA divides schools into three major divisions: NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division III. However, in football, Division I is further divided into two sub-divisions: the Bowl Subdivision, abbreviated as the FBS, and the Championship Subdivision, abbreviated as the FCS.[5] Divisions are themselves further divided up into conferences, which are groupings of schools that play each other in contention for a conference championship. The FBS currently has ten conferences, which are often divided into the "Power Five conferences" and the less prominent "Group of Five."
Although FCS programs can draw thousands of fans per game, many FCS schools attempt to join the FBS in hopes of increased revenue, corporate sponsorship, alumni donations, prestige, and national exposure.[6] However, FBS programs also face increased expenses in regards to staff salaries, facility improvements, and scholarships.[6] The athletic departments of many FBS schools lose money every year, and these athletic departments must rely on subsidies from the rest of the university.[7][8] The 2014 decision by UAB (an FBS program) to discontinue the football program generated national headlines,[8][9] and other FBS programs have also considered discontinuing their football program.[10] In many states, the highest-paid public employee is the head coach of an FBS team.[11] FBS schools are limited to a total of 85 football players receiving financial assistance.[12] Nearly all FBS schools that are not on NCAA probation give 85 full scholarships.
In order to retain FBS membership, schools must meet several requirements.[13] FBS schools must have an average home attendance of at least 15,000 (over a rolling two-year period).[13] An FBS school must sponsor a minimum of sixteen varsity intercollegiate teams, with at least eight all-female teams.[13] Across all sports, each FBS school must offer at least 200 athletic scholarships (or spend at least $4 million on athletic scholarships) per year, and FBS football teams must provide at least 90% of the maximum number of football scholarships (which is currently 85).[13] In order to move up to the FBS, an FCS school must also have accepted an invitation to join an FBS conference.[14]
Schedule and bowl games
The FBS season begins in August or September with the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game,[15] and ends in January with the College Football Playoff National Championship game. Most FBS teams play twelve regular season games per year, with eight or nine of those games coming against conference opponents.[16] The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and teams that play against Hawaii get a special exemption and are allowed to play a thirteenth game in order to defray travel costs.[16]
For non-conference regular season games, FBS teams are free to schedule match-ups against any other FBS team, regardless of conference. A small number of FBS teams are independent, and have total control over their own schedule. Non-conference games are scheduled by mutual agreement and often involve "home and homes" (where teams alternate as hosts) and long-established rivalries. A 2014 study found that teams from the stronger conferences frequently play non-conference games against teams from the weaker conferences or, occasionally, against FCS teams.[17] FBS teams are free to schedule up to forty percent of their games against FCS teams,[13] but FBS teams can only use one win per season against an FCS team for the purposes of bowl eligibility.[18] An FBS team must schedule a total of five home games per year; for the purposes of scheduling, a "home game" must take place at a venue in which the team plays fifty percent of its "home games."[13] FBS-FCS games, known as "money games," are often home games for the FBS team, and victories by FCS teams are usually considered to be upsets.[19] FCS teams receive hundred of thousands of dollars for their participation in these games.[19]
The Football Bowl Subdivision gets its name from the bowl games that many FBS teams play at the end of the year, although other college divisions also have their own bowl games. FBS bowl games are played at the end of the season in December or January, and collectively generate over $400 million per year as of 2012.[20] For the 2014-15 season, there are 39 bowl games. In order to be bowl eligible, an FBS team must have a winning record. In certain cases, 5-7 and 6-7 teams can also be selected to bowls, usually to fill bowl vacancies.[21]
Year | Bowls | Teams in bowls[23] |
---|---|---|
1968 | 11 | N/A |
1984 | 18 | ~30% |
1997 | 20 | ~35% |
2014 | 39 | 59.4% |
Many bowls have an established conference tie-in; for example, the Russell Athletic Bowl provides a match-up between teams from ACC and the Big 12. A small number of long-established bowls played a major role in the Bowl Championship Series, which was used to select the national champion until 2015, and these bowls continue to play a major role in the College Football Playoff. Under the playoff, there are six major bowls, with automatic bids going to the conference champions of the Power Five conferences and the top-ranked member of the "Group of Five." Two of these bowls serve as semi-final games to the College Football Playoff National Championship game. Conferences receive millions of dollars for each school that appears in the playoff, and appearances in other bowls are also quite lucrative.[24] In addition to the regular bowls, some post-season bowls, such as the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, match up teams of all-stars and NFL Draft entrants.
Between conference games, non-conference games, a conference championship game, and a bowl game, a successful FBS team could play fourteen games in a season. A team that plays in the national championship game could play up to fifteen games, as the College Football Playoff consists of a semifinal round and the national championship game. The NCAA has a special exemption that allows teams that play at Hawaii to schedule a thirteenth regular season game,[16] so an FBS team that plays in a conference championship game, plays in the national championship game, and plays a game against Hawaii could theoretically play sixteen games in one season.
History
Conf. | 1983[25] | 1993[25] | 2003[26] | 2014[27] |
---|---|---|---|---|
SEC | 64,842 | 62,789 | 74,059 | 77,694 |
Big Ten | 67,471 | 63,535 | 70,198 | 66,869 |
Big 12 | - | - | 56,362 | 58,102 |
Pac-12 | 47,248 | 47,919 | 51,608 | 52,702 |
ACC | 42,608 | 44,056 | 51,938 | 50,291 |
AAC[28] | - | 38,039 | 46,870 | 29,193 |
MW | - | - | 32,809 | 25,254 |
CUSA | - | - | 32,346 | 20,455 |
Sun Belt | - | - | 14,352 | 18,294 |
MAC | 17,351 | 14,252 | 17,820 | 15,431 |
FBS | 42,162 | 41,281 | 44,877 | 44,603 |
FCS | 10,844 | 8,599 | 7,739 | 8,310 |
College football has been played for over one hundred years, but the game and the organizational structure of college football have evolved significantly during that time. The first college football game was played in 1869, but the game continued to develop during the late 19th and early 20th century. During this period, Walter Camp pioneered the concept of a line of scrimmage, the system of downs, and the College Football All-America Team.[29] The 1902 Rose Bowl was the first bowl game in college football history, and the event began to be held annually starting with the 1916 Rose Bowl. In the 1930s, other bowl games came into existence, including the Sugar Bowl, the Cotton Bowl Classic, and the Orange Bowl. The 1906 college football season was the first season played under the IAAUS (which would later change its name to the NCAA) and the first season in which the forward pass was legal. The IAAUS had formed after President Theodore Roosevelt, responding to several deaths that had occurred during football games, requested that colleges find ways to make football a safer sport.[30] In 1935, the Heisman Trophy was presented for the first time; the award is generally considered to be college football's most prestigious individual award.[31] In 1965, the NCAA voted to allow the platoon system, in which different players played on offense and defense; teams had previously experimented with the concept in the 1940s.[32] In 1968, the NCAA began allowing freshmen to compete in games; freshmen had previously been required to take a redshirt year.[33] In 1975, after a growth of "grants-in-aid" (scholarships given for athletic rather than academic or need-based reasons), the NCAA voted to limit the number of athletic scholarships each school could offer.[34] In 1968, the NCAA required all teams to identify as members of either the University Division (for larger schools) or the College Division (for smaller schools), and in 1973, the NCAA divided into three divisions.[35] At the urging of several larger schools seeking increased autonomy and commonality, Division I-A was formed prior to the 1978 season; the remaining teams in Division I formed the Football Championship Subdivision or FCS (then known as Division I-AA).[36] In 1981, members of the College Football Association attempted to create a fourth division consisting solely of the most competitive schools, but this effort was defeated.[37] In 1992, the SEC played the first FBS conference championship game.
The NCAA does not officially award an FBS football championship,[38] but several teams have claimed national championships. Other organizations have also sought to rank the teams and crown a national champion. The Dickinson System and other methods were formed in the early 20th century to select the best team in the country, and the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll began rankings teams in the middle of the 20th century. In many seasons, selectors such as the AP and the Coaches Poll designated different teams as national champions. Often, more than one team would finish undefeated, as the top teams were not guaranteed to play each other during the regular season or in bowl games. In 1992, five major conferences established the Bowl Coalition in order to determine the FBS champion. In 1998, the two remaining major conferences joined with the other five conferences to form the Bowl Championship Series. The BCS used a rankings system to match up the top two teams in the BCS National Championship Game.[39] However, even the BCS era saw split national championships, as in 2003 the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll selected different national champions. The College Football Playoff, with a four-team field, replaced the BCS starting with the 2014 season.
The FBS on television
College football was first broadcast on radio in 1921, and first broadcast on television in 1939.[40] Television became profitable for both schools and the NCAA, which tightly controlled the airing of games in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.[41] The NCAA as limited each football team to six television appearances over a two-year period.[41] The 1984 Supreme Court case NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma granted television rights to individual schools as opposed to the NCAA and allowed teams to televise all of their games.[42] After a period during which FBS schools negotiated collectively under the College Football Association, Notre Dame's 1991 television contract ushered in an era in which schools and conferences negotiate their own television contracts.[36][43] This new era of television led to several waves of conference realignment.[44] FBS games continue to be a major draw on television, as over 26 million people watched the 2014 BCS National Championship Game.[45]
National networks such as CBS, ABC, NBC, several ESPN networks, several Fox networks have all covered the FBS, as have several regional and local networks. As conferences negotiate their own television deals, each conference is affiliated with a network that airs its home games. In the mid-2000s, college and conferences began to create their own television networks;[46] such networks include the Big Ten Network, BYUtv, the Longhorn Network, and the Pac-12 Network. In 2012, college football games drew over 400 million viewers.[47]
Teams and conferences
Conferences
Year | Conferences | Teams |
---|---|---|
1980 | 13[48] | 138 |
1990 | 9[49] | 107 |
2000 | 11[50] | 116 |
2010 | 11[51] | 120 |
History
The Big Ten (then popularly known as the Western Conference) was founded in 1896, after which several other schools joined together to form conferences, including the Pacific Coast Conference, the MVIAA, the Southwest Conference, the Southern Conference, the Mountain States Conference (also known as the Skyline Conference), and the Border Conference. In 1928, six schools seceded from the MVIAA to form the Big Six Conference, which later expanded to the Big Eight in 1957; the remaining schools formed the Missouri Valley Conference. In 1932, several Southern schools formed the SEC after breaking away from the Southern Conference, and in 1953 several more schools seceded from the Southern Conference to form the ACC. In 1946, several Midwestern schools formed the MAC. Several elite Northeastern schools had formed the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League in 1901, and its members signed the Ivy Group Agreement, which governed football competition between the signatories, in 1945; the Ivy League was formally founded in 1954, when the agreement was extended to cover all sports. In 1959, the Pacific Coast Conference dissolved, and most of its former members formed the new Athletic Association of Western Universities, which became the Pac-8 when more former PCC members joined. In 1962, several schools from the Mountain States Conference and the Border Conference formed the Western Athletic Conference. In 1969, the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), later known as the Big West Conference, was formed by several Division II California schools that sought to join Division I.
Division I separated into Division I-A (the predecessor to the FBS) and I-AA (predecessor of the FCS) prior to the 1978 season. At that time, there were several independent I-A schools and twelve Division I-A conferences: the Southeastern Conference (SEC), Big 10, Pacific-10 (Pac-10), Big 8, Southwest Conference (SWC), Western Athletic Conference (WAC), PCAA (which later changed its name to the Big West), Missouri Valley Conference, Southern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Mid-American Conference (MAC), and the Ivy League. The Ivy League and the Southern Conference left for Division I-AA prior to the 1982 season, while the Missouri Valley Conference stopped sponsoring football prior to the 1985 season. In 1991, the Big East recruited several independents and began sponsoring football, becoming a major conference. In 1996, Conference USA (C-USA), formed the previous year by the merger of the non-football Metro and Great Midwest Conferences, also began sponsoring football. That same year, the Southwest Conference dissolved, and four of its former members joined with the Big 8 to form the Big 12 Conference. In 1999, eight schools broke away from the WAC to form the Mountain West Conference (MW). Prior to the 2000 season, the Big West stopped sponsoring football. The Sun Belt Conference began sponsoring football in 2001. After periods of conference realignment in 2005 and 2010-2014 that saw the expansion of the ACC, Big 10, SEC, and Pac-10 (which changed its name to the Pac-12), the WAC reorganized as a non-football conference and the Big East split into the American Athletic Conference and a new non-football conference that retained the Big East name.[52]
Current conferences
As of 2014, there are ten conferences in the FBS; most of the 128 FBS schools are members of a conference, but there are also a small number of independents. The conferences are split into two groups for the purposes of the College Football Playoff. The "Power Five conferences" consist of most of the largest and most well-known college athletic programs in the country. A school from one of the Power Five conferences won every BCS National Championship Game (which operated from 1999 to 2014), and has won every College Football Playoff National Championship. The remaining five conferences are known as the "Group of Five."[53] Any conference with at least 12 football teams may split its teams into two divisions and conduct a championship game between the division winners.[54][55]
Conference | Nickname | Founded | Members | Sports | Headquarters | C/B Apps[56] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American Athletic Conference | The American | 1979 [FBS 1] | 11 [FBS 2] | 21 | Providence, Rhode Island | 2 |
Atlantic Coast Conference ** | ACC | 1953 | 15 [FBS 3] | 26 | Greensboro, North Carolina | 20 |
Big Ten Conference ** | Big Ten, B1G | 1896 | 14 [FBS 4] | 28 | Rosemont, Illinois | 30 |
Big 12 Conference ** | Big 12 | 1996 | 10 [FBS 5] | 21 | Irving, Texas | 24 |
Conference USA | C-USA | 1995[FBS 6] | 14 [FBS 7][FBS 8] | 19 | Irving, Texas | 0 |
Division I FBS Independents[FBS 9] | 3 | 4 | ||||
Mid-American Conference | MAC | 1946 | 12[FBS 10] | 23 | Cleveland, Ohio | 1 |
Mountain West Conference | MW (official) MWC (informal) |
1999 | 11[FBS 11][FBS 12] | 19 | Colorado Springs, Colorado | 6 |
Pac-12 Conference ** | Pac-12 | 1915[FBS 13] | 12[FBS 14] | 23[FBS 15] | Walnut Creek, California | 23 |
Southeastern Conference ** | SEC | 1932 | 14 | 20 | Birmingham, Alabama | 30 |
Sun Belt Conference | Sun Belt | 1976 | 12[FBS 16][FBS 17] | 18 | New Orleans, Louisiana | 0 |
(** "Big Five" or "Power Five" conferences with guaranteed berths in the "access bowls" associated with the College Football Playoff)
- Notes
- ↑ The conference was founded in 1979 as the original Big East Conference. It renamed itself the American Athletic Conference following a 2013 split along football lines. The non-FBS schools of the original conference left to form a new conference that purchased the Big East name, while the FBS schools continued to operate under the old Big East's charter and structure. The American also inherited the old Big East's Bowl Championship Series berth for the 2013 season, the last for the BCS.
- ↑ In addition to the full members, Navy is a football-only member, and Sacramento State, San Diego State, and Villanova are associate members in women's rowing.
- ↑ Notre Dame is a full member except in football, in which it remains independent. It has committed to play five games each season against ACC opponents, and to play each other ACC member at least once every three years.
- ↑ In addition to the full members, Johns Hopkins, a Division III member with Division I programs in men's and women's lacrosse, is a men's lacrosse affiliate. The Hopkins women's lacrosse program will join the Big Ten in July 2016.
- ↑ In addition to the full members, the Big 12 has 10 affiliate members, each of which sponsors one sport in the conference:
- Alabama, Old Dominion, and Tennessee compete in women's rowing.
- Denver competes in women's gymnastics.
- Air Force, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, South Dakota State, Utah Valley, and Wyoming compete in wrestling.
- ↑ The conference was founded in 1995, with football competition starting in 1996.
- ↑ In addition to the 14 full members, Conference USA features three schools that play men's soccer in the conference: Kentucky, New Mexico, and South Carolina.
- ↑ Currently, 13 of the 14 members field football teams in the conference. UAB dropped football after the 2014 season, but will reinstate the sport in 2017 as a C-USA member.
- ↑ Note that "Independents" is not a conference; it is simply a designation used for schools whose football programs do not play in any conference. All of these schools have conference memberships for other sports.
- ↑ In addition to the 12 full members, the Mid-American Conference features nine members which only participate in one sport each, and one other school that competes in two sports:
- Binghamton in men's tennis.
- Evansville and Southern Illinois in men's swimming and diving.
- Longwood in women's field hockey.
- Missouri, Northern Iowa, and Old Dominion in wrestling.
- UMass in football through the 2015 season, after which it will leave for an as-yet-undetermined conference affiliation.
- Missouri State in field hockey and men's swimming and diving.
- West Virginia in men's soccer.
- ↑ Since 2012, Hawaii has been a football-only associate member, with most of its remaining teams in the non-football Big West Conference.
- ↑ In addition to the 11 full members and football affiliate Hawaii, Colorado College, a Division III school with a Division I men's ice hockey team, plays Division I women's soccer in the MW.
- ↑ The charter of the Pac-12 dates only to the formation of the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU) in 1959. However, the Pac-12 claims the history of the Pacific Coast Conference, which was founded in 1915 and began competition in 1916, as its own. Of the nine members of the PCC at the time of its demise in June 1959, only Idaho never joined the Pac-12. The PCC's berth in the Rose Bowl passed to the AAWU.
- ↑ The Pac-12 also includes several associate members which compete in one or two sports in the conference. San Diego State plays men's soccer. Boise State, Cal State Bakersfield, and Cal Poly compete in wrestling. Cal Poly also participates in men's swimming and diving, which the NCAA considers a single sport. UC Santa Barbara only competes in men's swimming and diving.
- ↑ 24 sports in 2017 with addition of women's lacrosse.
- ↑ Nine Sun Belt Conference members currently sponsor football, with Arkansas–Little Rock and UT Arlington as the two non-football members. Idaho and New Mexico State are football-only members. Coastal Carolina will join the conference in July 2016, initially as a full but non-football member; the football team will join the conference in 2017, the second year of its transition from FCS.
- ↑ In addition to the full members and football-only affiliates, three other schools—Hartwick (a Division III school with Division I programs in men's soccer and women's water polo), Howard, and NJIT—are affiliates in men's soccer. NJIT will move its men's soccer team to its all-sports league, the Atlantic Sun Conference, in 2016.
Teams transitioning to the FBS
Currently, no schools are transitioning from FCS to FBS.
The most recent school to announce a future transition is Coastal Carolina University, now in the FCS Big South Conference. On September 1, 2015, the Sun Belt Conference announced that Coastal Carolina would become a full but initially non-football member in July 2016. At that time, the football program will begin a transition to FBS. The Chanticleers will join Sun Belt football in 2017 and become fully bowl-eligible in 2018.[57]
Realignment
The FBS has experienced several realignments since its formation in 1978, with many teams changing conferences, dropping out of the FBS, or moving up from the FCS. In 1982, the size of the division was cut considerably, and the Southern Conference and the Ivy League were demoted to the FCS.[58] In 1985, the Missouri Valley Conference stopped sponsoring football.[59] In the 1980s and 1990s, several independents joined conferences, dropped football, or joined the FCS. In the 1996 NCAA conference realignment, the Southwest Conference dissolved, and four Texas teams from that conference joined with the Big 8 schools to form the Big 12 Conference. The Western Athletic Conference expanded to sixteen members, but half of the schools left in 1999 to form the Mountain West Conference. Conference USA formed from a merger of the Metro Conference and the Great Midwest Conference, two conferences which had not sponsored football. The Big West stopped sponsoring football after the 2000 season, and was essentially replaced by the Sun Belt Conference, which added former Big West members and began sponsoring football in 2001. In the mid-2000s, the Big East added former basketball-only member Connecticut, while Temple left the conference (before eventually returning in 2013). During another phase of realignment in 2005, three schools jumped from the Big East to the ACC. The Big East responded by adding schools from Conference USA.[59]
College football underwent another major conference realignment in the first half of the 2010s. Members of the Big East left the conference to join the Big 12, Big Ten, and ACC. The Big 12 lost members to the SEC, the Pac-12, and the Big Ten, while the Big Ten also gained one former ACC member. The remaining members of the Big East split into two conferences: the American Athletic Conference ("The American") and a new conference that assumed the Big East name but does not sponsor football. The American added several schools from Conference USA, which in turn added FCS schools and schools from the Sun Belt Conference. The Sun Belt Conference replenished its membership by adding FCS schools and schools from the Western Athletic Conference. The Mountain West lost schools to the Big 12, Pac-12 and the FBS independent ranks, and added several schools from the Western Athletic Conference. After several defections, the WAC dropped its sponsorship of football.[59]
The latest realignment cycle also affected the FBS independent ranks. BYU left the MW in 2011 for football independence and the non-football West Coast Conference. In 2013, Idaho and New Mexico State, the last two football-sponsoring schools in the WAC, became FBS independents, but would return to their former football home of the Sun Belt Conference as football-only members the following year. Also in 2013, Notre Dame became a full but non-football member of the ACC, entering into a scheduling agreement with that conference that calls for the Fighting Irish football team to play five games each season against ACC schools, and to play each other ACC school at least once every three years. Finally, in 2015, Navy became a football-only member of The American, ending more than a century of football independence.[59]
Awards
Several awards are given each year to players and coaches in the FBS. Although all college football players are eligible for many of these awards (such as the Heisman Trophy), FBS players usually win these awards, and other awards (such as the Walter Payton Award) exist to honor players in other divisions and the FCS. In addition to the national awards listed below, FBS conferences also have their own awards, and several organizations release a yearly College Football All-America Team. In 1951, the National Football Foundation established the College Football Hall of Fame. Notable individual awards include:
- Best/most valuable player: Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, Archie Griffin Award, AP Player of the Year, SN Player of the Year
- Defensive player of the year: Chuck Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lott Trophy
- Position awards: Dave Rimington Trophy (Center), Davey O'Brien Award and Manning Award (Quarterback), Dick Butkus Award (Linebacker), Doak Walker Award (Running back), Fred Biletnikoff Award (Wide receiver), Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive back), John Mackey Award (Tight end), Lombardi Award (Lineman/linebacker)Lott Trophy, Lou Groza Award (Placekicker), Outland Trophy (Interior lineman), Ray Guy Award (Punter), Ted Hendricks Award (Defensive end), Jet Award (Return Specialist)
- Coaching awards: AFCA Coach of the Year , Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, SN Coach of the Year, Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award, Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, AP Coach of the Year, Broyles Award, AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year
- Other awards: William V. Campbell Trophy, Wuerffel Trophy, Burlsworth Trophy, Rudy Award, Amos Alonzo Stagg Award, Walter Camp Man of the Year, Theodore Roosevelt Award
The NCAA does not officially name a national champion, but several other organizations name national champions and all conferences participate in the College Football Playoff in order to determine a champion. The winner of the College Football Playoff receives the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy. The AP awards the AP National Championship Trophy, while the American Football Coaches Association awards the AFCA National Championship Trophy. The AFCA trophy was previously awarded to the winner of the BCS National Championship Game (a predecessor of the College Football Playoff National Championship game), which operated from 1999 to 2014. The Football Writers Association of America awards the Grantland Rice Trophy, and the National Football Foundation awards the MacArthur Bowl. Since the disputed end of the 2003 season, the various organizations have been able to agree on a single national champion.
Maps of teams
Current
Historical
1991
1956
1927
See also
- NCAA Men's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision alignment history
- List of NCAA Division I non-football programs
- List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums
References
- ↑ Rovell, Darren (26 January 2014). "NFL most popular for 30th year in row". ESPN. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ Dosh, Kristi. "Texas tops in football profit, revenue". Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ Based on List of NCAA Division I FBS football programs
- ↑ Huguenin, Mike (9 July 2014). "14 for '14: Top small-school prospects". NFL.com. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ BRIAN NIELSEN Sports Editorbnielsen@jg-tc.com (2007-09-11). "> Sports > So what's in a college football subdivision name?". JG-TC.com. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
- 1 2 Pennington, Bill (29 December 2012). "Big Dream, Rude Awakening". New York Times. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ Berkowitz, Steve (1 July 2013). "Most NCAA Division I athletic departments take subsidies". USA Today. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- 1 2 Solomon, Jon (25 November 2014). "UAB football isn't alone in losing money for athletic departments". CBS Sports. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ Evans, Thayer (November 30, 2014). "Alabama-Birmingham to fire athletic director, shut down football program". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
- ↑ Schonbrun, Zach (7 December 2014). "U.A.B.'s Decision to Eliminate Football Is One Others Have Faced". New York Times. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ Fischer-Baum, Ruben. "Infographic: Is Your State's Highest-Paid Employee A Coach? (Probably)". Deadspin. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ "College Football Scholarships. NCAA and NAIA Football Recruiting". Collegesportsscholarships.com. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
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- ↑ Minium, Harry (17 April 2014). "Sun Belt commish says JMU will remain in the CAA". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ "FAST FACTS". Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
- 1 2 3 Wischnowsky, Dave (16 February 2013). "Wisch: Does College Football Need A 13-Game Regular Season?". CBS. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ Fowler, Jeremy (6 August 2014). "By the Numbers: Cupcakes still rule in College Football Playoff era". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ "Bylaw 18.7.2.2.1 Exception – Football Championship Subdivision Opponent." (PDF). 2010–11 NCAA Division I Manual. National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 316. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
- 1 2 Staples, Andy. "THE GREATEST UPSET OF THEM ALL". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ Schroeder, George (12 December 2012). "College football playoff revenue distribution set". USA Today. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ Johnson, Greg. "DI Board approves process to fill football bowls in case of shortfall". Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ↑ The percentage of FBS teams in bowl games
- ↑ Schroeder, George (16 July 2014). "Power Five's College Football Playoff revenues will double what BCS paid". USA Today. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
- 1 2 "NCAA Football Attendance Records" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ↑ "2003 NCAA College Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
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- ↑ Includes numbers for the Big East in 1993 and 2003.
- ↑ Bishop, LuAnn (18 November 2013). "11 Historic Tidbits About The Game". Yale News. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
- ↑ Crowley, Joseph (2006). The NCAA's First Century (PDF). p. 10.
- ↑ "Oregon QB Marcus Mariota wins Heisman Trophy; Wisconsin's Gordon finishes 2nd in voting". 13 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ Crowley, Joseph (2006). The NCAA's First Century (PDF). p. 47.
- ↑ Crowley, Joseph (2006). The NCAA's First Century (PDF). p. 46.
- ↑ Crowley, Joseph (2006). The NCAA's First Century (PDF). p. 48.
- ↑ Crowley, Joseph (2006). The NCAA's First Century (PDF). p. 42.
- 1 2 Crowley, Joseph (2006). The NCAA's First Century (PDF). p. 43.
- ↑ Crowley, Joseph (2006). The NCAA's First Century (PDF). p. 44.
- ↑ Wolken, Dan (16 May 2014). "Auburn claims it won 1993 national championship ... it didn't". USA Today. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
- ↑ Batchelor et. al (ed.), Bob; Coombs, Danielle Sarver (18 December 2012). American History through American Sports: From Colonial Lacrosse to Extreme Sports. ABC-CLIO. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ Crowley, Joseph (2006). The NCAA's First Century (PDF). p. 38.
- 1 2 Hiestand, Michael (19 August 2004). "1984 TV ruling led to widening sweep of the college game". USA Today. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ Crowley, Joseph (2006). The NCAA's First Century (PDF). pp. 44, 71.
- ↑ Sandomir, Richard (25 August 1991). "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Notre Dame Scored a $38 Million Touchdown on Its TV Deal". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ Dodd, Dennis (2 August 2013). "Formation of Division 4 is the next game-changer in college football". CBS. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ Humes, Michael. BCS National Championship: Cable's Third Largest Audience Ever. espnmediazone.com. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ↑ "Pac-10 Isn't Planning to Launch a Network". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2 May 2009.
- ↑ "Passion for College Football Remains Robust". National Football Foundation. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ "1980 Standings". SR/College Football. Sports Reference. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- ↑ "1990 Standings". SR/College Football. Sports Reference. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- ↑ "2000 Standings". SR/College Football. Sports Reference. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- ↑ "2010 Standings". SR/College Football. Sports Reference. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- ↑ Bostock, Mike (30 November 2013). "Tracing the History of N.C.A.A. Conferences". New York Times. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- ↑ McMurphy, Brett (12 June 2013). "'Group of Five' look to add bowls". ESPN. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ↑ "An unlikely champ for Big Ten expansion: Paterno | Berry Tramel's Blog". Blog.newsok.com. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
- ↑ "Ground Zero East Lansing: Big Ten Roundtable – Antepenultimate edition". Groundzeroeastlansing.blogspot.com. 2008-11-11. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
- ↑ The number of times a member of a conference appeared in a BCS Bowl or one of the six major College Football Playoff bowls. Based on College Football Playoff#Playoff appearances by conference, College Football Playoff#Non-playoff New Year's Six Bowl appearances by conference and Bowl Championship Series#BCS bowl appearances by conference.
- ↑ "Coastal Carolina to Join Sun Belt Conference" (Press release). Sun Belt Conference. September 1, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ↑ White, Gordon. "Ivy League Considers Adding 2 Schools". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 Bostock, Mike (30 November 2013). "Tracing the History of N.C.A.A. Conferences". New York Times. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- 1 2 "1956 Standings". SR/College Football. Sports Reference. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
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