Updated through the January 2026 championship game.
The FCS championship is the oldest NCAA sanctioned playoff in Division I football. It began in 1978 as the Division I-AA title, with a four team bracket, and 48 editions later it is a 24 team tournament that ends under the lights in Nashville. This is the story of how it got there, who dominated it and the marks that still stand.
| First champion | Florida A&M, 35 to 28 over UMass, Dec. 16, 1978, Wichita Falls, Texas |
| Current champion | Montana State, 35 to 34 (OT) over Illinois State, Jan. 5, 2026, Nashville |
| Renamed | Division I-AA became FCS in 2006 |
| Longest home | Frisco, Texas, 15 finals (2010 to 2024 seasons) |
| Record attendance | 32,106, Montana vs. Marshall, Huntington, 1995 |
| Biggest rout | Delaware 40, Colgate 0 (2003), the only shutout |
How It Started
The NCAA split Division I football into I-A and I-AA in January 1978 so the biggest programs could separate themselves without forcing everyone else out of Division I. The new subdivision got something the top level would not have for 36 more years: a playoff. The first bracket had four teams, three regional winners and one at large, and Florida A&M beat Massachusetts 35 to 28 in Wichita Falls to take the inaugural title. The field grew to eight in 1981, 12 in 1982, 16 in 1986, 20 in 2010 and 24 in 2013, where it remains.
Where the Game Has Been Played
| Seasons | City | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1978, 1981, 1982 | Wichita Falls, Texas | Played as the Pioneer Bowl |
| 1979 and 1980 | Orlando; Sacramento | Sacramento game was the Camellia Bowl |
| 1983 and 1984 | Charleston, S.C. | Johnson Hagood Stadium |
| 1985 and 1986 | Tacoma, Wash. | Tacoma Dome, branded the Diamond Bowl |
| 1987 and 1988 | Pocatello, Idaho | Idaho State’s dome |
| 1989 to 1991 | Statesboro, Ga. | Georgia Southern won two finals on its own field |
| 1992 to 1996 | Huntington, W.Va. | Marshall reached four finals at home, won two |
| 1997 to 2009 | Chattanooga, Tenn. | Finley Stadium, 13 straight years |
| 2010 to 2024 | Frisco, Texas | Toyota Stadium; game moved to January |
| 2025 to present | Nashville, Tenn. | FirstBank Stadium at Vanderbilt, through at least the Jan. 2027 game |
Most Titles by School
| School | Titles | Seasons | Finals record |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota State | 10 | 2011 to 2015, 2017 to 2019, 2021, 2024 | 10 and 1 |
| Georgia Southern | 6 | 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1999, 2000 | 6 and 2 |
| Youngstown State | 4 | 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997 | 4 and 3 |
| Appalachian State | 3 | 2005, 2006, 2007 | 3 and 0 |
| Eastern Kentucky | 2 | 1979, 1982 | 2 and 2 |
| Marshall | 2 | 1992, 1996 | 2 and 4 |
| Montana | 2 | 1995, 2001 | 2 and 6 |
| James Madison | 2 | 2004, 2016 | 2 and 2 |
| Montana State | 2 | 1984, 2025 | 2 and 2 |
| South Dakota State | 2 | 2022, 2023 | 2 and 1 |
| One title each | Florida A&M (1978), Boise State (1980), Idaho State (1981), Southern Illinois (1983), Northeast Louisiana (1987), Furman (1988), UMass (1998), Western Kentucky (2002), Delaware (2003), Richmond (2008), Villanova (2009), Eastern Washington (2010), Sam Houston (2020) | ||
The Four Eras
The wide open years (1978 to 1984). Six different champions in the first seven seasons, including a Boise State team that now plays in the Big 12 and an Idaho State team that has not been back to the playoffs since 1983.
Erk Russell and the Eagles (1985 to 2000). Georgia Southern started football from scratch in 1981 and won six titles in 16 years, two of them at home in Statesboro. Marshall and Youngstown State, under a young Jim Tressel, split most of the rest; the two met in three straight finals from 1991 to 1993.
The East Coast run (2001 to 2009). With the game in Chattanooga, the CAA and Southern Conference owned it. Appalachian State won three straight, the last in 2007, the same season it beat Michigan in Ann Arbor. Richmond and Villanova closed the era with the only two titles in Patriot League history, both won as CAA members.
The Bison dynasty (2011 to 2024). North Dakota State won 10 of 14 championships, including five straight from 2011 to 2015 and three straight from 2017 to 2019, and went 10 and 1 in finals, the lone loss to in state rival South Dakota State in 2022. Carson Wentz, Easton Stick and Trey Lance all won titles at quarterback. The Bison left for the Mountain West in 2026, the first time a reigning dynasty has walked out of the subdivision.
Title Game Records
| Most points, one team | 59, Georgia Southern vs. Youngstown State, 1999 |
| Most points, both teams | 98, UMass 55, Georgia Southern 43, 1998 |
| Largest margin | 40, Delaware 40, Colgate 0, 2003 |
| Closest finals | One point: 1987 (43 to 42), 1997 (10 to 9), 2010 (20 to 19), 2025 (35 to 34 OT) |
| Only overtime | Montana State vs. Illinois State, January 2026 |
| Most finals lost | Montana, 6 |
| Most titles, one coach | Jim Tressel, 4 (Youngstown State); Chris Klieman, 4 (North Dakota State) |
| Titles at two schools | K.C. Keeler, Delaware 2003 and Sam Houston 2020 |
| Same conference finals | 2014 (NDSU vs. Illinois State) and 2022 (SDSU vs. NDSU), both Missouri Valley |
The Bottom Line
Forty eight finals, 23 champions, and a title that has been decided everywhere from a Tacoma dome to Vanderbilt’s stadium. North Dakota State’s 10 crowns are the standard, but with the Bison gone to the FBS, Montana State’s overtime win in Nashville may have opened the most competitive stretch in the playoff’s history. The year by year list is on our FCS champions by year page, the current format is explained in how the FCS playoffs work, and every program is sorted on FCS teams by conference.