The 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The regular season began on August 26 and ended in November. The postseason began in November and ended on January 7, 2024, with the 2024 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.[1]South Dakota State repeated as champions, defeating Montana, 23–3.
Notable headlines
October 4 – The NCAA announced several major changes to Division I football recruiting and governance rules:[2]
The window for athletes to enter the transfer portal was reduced. For FCS players, the portal now opens on the Monday after the selection of the playoff field, and stays open for 30 days. For players participating in the FCS playoffs or the Celebration Bowl, there will be an additional 5-day window after the players' final game.
The limit on "initial counters"—i.e., players who are receiving athletically-related financial aid for the first time—was permanently eliminated. The previous FCS limit of 30 had been suspended due to COVID-19 impacts.
The application fee for transitioning from FCS to FBS increased from $5,000 to $5 million, effective immediately.
October 12 – Northwestern State junior safety Ronnie Caldwell died after being shot multiple times near the school's Natchitoches, Louisiana campus.[3] Two weeks after the shooting, Northwestern State canceled the remainder of its season, and head coach Brad Laird resigned.[4]
The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) and Western Athletic Conference, which had created the WAC-ASUN Challenge in 2021, merged their football leagues effective in 2023.[5] In April 2023, the partnership was formally rebranded as the United Athletic Conference (UAC), a football-only league separate from the two conferences.[6] The NCAA denied the UAC's request to be classified as a single-sport FCS football conference,[7] but continued to recognize the organization as an extension of the WAC-ASUN Challenge.
The Big South Conference and Ohio Valley Conference also merged their football leagues effective in 2023, but without attempting to create a new independent league, instead adopting the name Big South–OVC Football Association. Like the ASUN and WAC, both conferences were in danger of falling below the minimum six members required to remain an automatic qualifier (AQ) for the FCS postseason.[8]
The Colonial Athletic Association, along with its (technically-separate) FCS football league, adopted the name Coastal Athletic Association, a change that did not affect the CAA branding.[9]
* – Texas A&M–Commerce ineligible for FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II. ** – Northwestern State canceled its season on October 26.
The FCS again featured a 24-team postseason bracket: 10 teams decided via automatic bids issued to conference champions, and 14 at-large bids (see above). The top eight teams were seeded.[10]
This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2023, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled games but before its playoff games. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2023, see 2022 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.
^"FCS Championship: Future dates and sites". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
^"DI Council approves changes to notification-of-transfer windows" (Press release). NCAA. October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
^"Northwestern State's Ronnie Caldwell dies in shooting". ESPN.com. October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
^ abWilson, Dave (October 26, 2023). "Northwestern St. halts season, coach resigns after player's death". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
^"ASUN And WAC Unveil 2023 Football Schedule" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
^"ASUN-WAC Football Partnership Formally Rebrands As The United Athletic Conference" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
^Vannini, Chris (April 27, 2023). "United Athletic Conference NCAA waiver request denied". The Athletic. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
^"Big South Conference and OVC Announce Football Agreement; Unique Association to Benefit All Football Members" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
^Washburn, Rob (July 20, 2023). "CAA Changes Official Conference Name To Coastal Athletic Association". CAAsports.com. Coastal Athletic Association. Retrieved July 20, 2023. The name change will carry over to the league's football conference, which will be officially recognized as the Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference but continue to be referred to as the CAA Football Conference.
^Treacy, Dan (November 19, 2023). "FCS playoff bracket 2023: Full schedule, TV channels, scores for college football games". The Sporting News. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
^"Al Bagnoli Announces Retirement from Coaching" (Press release). Columbia Lions. August 4, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
^"Dartmouth Announces Death of Buddy Teevens '79" (Press release). Dartmouth College. September 19, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
^"Southern University fires Eric Dooley after less than two full seasons". hbcusports.com. November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^Watson, Sam (August 24, 2023). "SC State's head football coach Buddy Pough to retire after 2023 season" (Press release). South Carolina State Bulldogs. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
^"Chuck Priore Will Not Return as Stony Brook Football Head Coach" (Press release). Stony Brook Seawolves. November 13, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
^"ETSU makes leadership change with football program" (Press release). East Tennessee State Buccaneers. November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
^"Cornell Announces Change in Football Leadership" (Press release). Cornell Big Red. November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
^"Leatherneck Football to Make Coaching Change" (Press release). Western Illinois Leathernecks. November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
^Newman, Eric (November 20, 2023). "Northern Arizona severs ties with football head coach, staff". Arizona Daily Sun. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
^Schabert, Matt (November 20, 2023). "Contract of Head Football Coach Rob Tenyer Will Not Be Renewed" (Press release). Morehead State Eagles. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
^"Morehead State Welcomes Jason Woodman as Head Football Coach". msueagles.com. Morehead State University Athletics. December 19, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
^"Texas Southern confirms Clarence McKinney will not return next season". hbcusports.com. November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
^"DISHMAN NAMED HEAD FOOTBALL COACH". Texas Southern University Athletics. January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
^"Utah Tech Athletics Announces Change in Leadership for Trailblazer Football Program". Utah Tech University Athletics. November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
^"Lance Anderson Named Utah Tech Head Football Coach". utahtechtrailblazers.com. Utah Tech University Athletics. December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
^Organ, Mike (November 21, 2023). "Tennessee Tech football coach Dewayne Alexander fired after six seasons". The Tennessean. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
^"ETSU names Tre Lamb football head coach" (Press release). East Tennessee State Buccaneers. November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
^Belinson, Matt (November 28, 2023). "Hue Jackson out at Grambling State". rustonleader.com. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
^"Dan Hawkins Stepping Down as Aggie Head Football Coach" (Press release). UC Davis Aggies. November 28, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
^Pugh, Jason (November 28, 2023). "NSU names Blaine McCorkle head football coach" (Press release). Northwestern State Demons. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
^Ferraro, Mike (November 29, 2023). "Jim Parady Announces Retirement" (Press release). Marist Red Foxes. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
^"Marist Hires Mike Willis as Head Football Coach". Marist College Athletics. December 19, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
^"Jon Poppe Named Head Football Coach". Columbia University Athletics. December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
^"UTEP Names Scotty Walden Head Football Coach". UTEP Miners. December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
^"Bob Chesney Selected to Lead JMU Football as New Head Coach". jmusports.com. James Madison University Athletics. December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
^"Matt Entz Leaving NDSU After FCS Playoffs". gobison.com. North Dakota State Bison. December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
^"CURRAN NAMED HOLY CROSS FOOTBALL HEAD COACH". goholycross.com. Holy Cross Athletics. December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
^Williams, Jason (December 18, 2023). "Minter resigns as head football coach" (Press release). Campbell Fighting Camels. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
^"Cedric Thomas Named Head Football Coach of Alcorn State University Braves". Alcorn State University Athletics. December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
^"Thank You Willie Simmons" (Press release). Florida A&M Rattlers. January 1, 2024. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
^"Football - Saturday, January 27 - Coach James Colzie III". famuathletics.com. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
^"A Statement from Director of Athletics Nico Yantko on Racers Football Head Coach Dean Hood" (Press release). Murray State Racers. January 1, 2024. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
^"Murray State Names Jody Wright 20th Head Coach of Racer Football". Murray State University Athletics. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
^"Campbell names Braxton Harris head football coach". gocamels.com. Campbell University Athletics. January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
^"FB: HCU Names Jason Bachtel as New Head Football Coach". Houston Christian University Athletics. December 31, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
^"Cronic Resigns As Mercer Football Head Coach". Mercer University Athletics. January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
^"Mercer Announces Mike Jacobs As Football Head Coach". Mercer University Athletics. January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
^"Football's Murphy Announces Retirement After 30 Seasons at Helm". Harvard University Athletics. January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
^Sauls, Michael (April 30, 2024). "Robert Prunty no longer head football coach at Hampton University". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved May 2, 2024.