FCS National Championship 2025-2026: Kickoff Time, TV Info, and History

2025–26 FCS National Championship Game Nashville

Everything you need to know about the 48th FCS Championship Game, scheduled for 2025–2026, is provided here.

When is the 2025-26 FCS National Championship Game?

On Monday, January 5, 2026, the 2025–26 FCS Championship will take place.

Where is the FCS Championship for 2025–2026?

FirstBank Stadium on the Vanderbilt University campus in Nashville, Tennessee, will host the championship game. It will be the first time the FCS title Game will be played in Nashville as the title returns to the state of Tennessee for the 14th time – first since 2009.

How to watch the FCS Championship in 2025–2026

The ESPN network family will broadcast the championship game.

Who will compete in the FCS National Championship Game in 2025–2026?

As the championship bracket develops, the players for the 2025–26 FCS Championship Game will be selected. The title match will be between the two semifinal winners.

When are the 2025-26 FCS Championship selections?

On Sunday, November 23, 2025, the 2025–26 FCS Championship bracket selections will be made. A selection show will be used to reveal the bracket.

How do teams for the FCS Championship be selected?

Twenty-four clubs will compete for the FCS Championship in 2025–2026. Eleven conferences (or conference partnerships/alliances) will automatically be eligible to bid to the playoffs at the end of the regular season. The remaining 13 at-large berths will be chosen by the FCS Championship Committee. The top eight seeds will get a first-round bye, and the committee will also seed the top 16 teams.

How does the FCS bracket for 2025–2026 look?

The top 16 teams are seeded in the 24-team bracket for the 2025–26 FCS playoffs, while the top eight seeds automatically advance to the second round. The first round will feature the remaining 16 teams from the 24-team field.

To minimize travel for teams, first-round matches are regionalized, with the top nine to 16 seeds facing off against unseeded teams. Similarly, conference clubs that have already faced one another will not be paired in the first round.

Minimum bids will continue to be necessary when hosting games. The higher seed will have the chance to host if the seeded team submits a viable bid in the first round.

What are the current FCS football standings?

Big Sky

School	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L	PF	PA	HOME	AWAY	STREAK
Montana	3	0	6	0	240	137	5-0	1-0	Won 6
UC Davis	3	0	5	1	204	191	3-0	2-1	Won 4
Montana St.	3	0	5	2	234	123	4-1	1-1	Won 5
Sacramento St.	1	1	3	3	193	143	2-1	1-2	Won 1
Northern Colo.	1	1	3	3	144	130	1-1	2-2	Won 1
Eastern Wash.	1	1	2	4	139	214	2-0	0-4	Won 1
Northern Ariz.	1	2	4	3	205	237	2-1	2-2	Lost 2
Cal Poly	1	2	3	4	191	208	1-1	2-3	Lost 2
Idaho St.	1	2	2	5	245	224	1-1	1-4	Lost 2
Idaho	0	2	2	4	158	170	2-1	0-3	Lost 3
Weber St.	0	2	2	4	132	247	1-1	1-3	Lost 2
Portland St.	0	2	0	6	67	250	0-2	0-4	Lost 6

Big South-OVC

School	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L	PF	PA	HOME	AWAY	STREAK
Tennessee Tech	3	0	6	0	310	72	4-0	2-0	Won 6
Gardner-Webb	2	0	4	2	173	206	2-0	2-2	Won 2
Lindenwood	2	0	3	3	121	162	2-0	1-3	Won 1
Eastern Ill.	2	1	3	3	140	145	2-2	1-1	Lost 1
UT Martin	2	1	2	5	124	219	2-1	0-4	Won 1
Southeast Mo. St.	1	1	2	4	137	209	2-1	0-3	Won 1
Tennessee St.	0	3	1	5	75	197	1-3	0-2	Lost 5
Western Ill.	0	3	1	6	166	305	1-1	0-5	Lost 4
Charleston So.	0	3	1	6	109	208	1-2	0-4	Lost 2

CAA

School	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L	PF	PA	HOME	AWAY	STREAK
Monmouth	2	0	5	1	268	211	2-0	3-1	Won 3
Rhode Island	3	0	5	2	172	153	3-0	2-1	Won 1
Villanova	3	1	4	2	160	172	2-0	2-2	Won 3
Elon	2	1	4	3	204	161	2-1	2-2	Lost 1
William & Mary	2	1	3	3	161	177	3-0	0-3	Won 1
Maine	2	1	3	4	152	171	1-1	2-3	Won 3
Campbell	2	1	2	5	180	282	1-2	1-3	Won 1
Stony Brook	1	1	3	3	167	143	2-1	1-2	Won 2
Towson	1	2	3	4	159	187	0-3	3-1	Lost 2
New Hampshire	1	2	3	4	153	168	2-1	1-3	Lost 2
N.C. A&T	1	2	1	6	161	281	1-2	0-4	Lost 4
Bryant	0	3	2	5	177	190	1-3	1-2	Lost 4
Hampton	0	3	2	5	160	228	2-1	0-3	Lost 1
UAlbany	0	2	1	5	87	176	1-2	0-3	Lost 2

FCS Independent

School	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L	PF	PA	HOME	AWAY	STREAK
Sacred Heart	0	0	5	2	179	171	3-0	2-2	Won 1
Merrimack	0	0	3	4	124	130	3-1	0-3	Lost 1

Ivy League

School	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L	PF	PA	HOME	AWAY	STREAK
Harvard	2	0	4	0	193	48	2-0	2-0	Won 4
Penn	1	0	3	1	118	98	2-0	1-1	Won 2
Princeton	1	0	2	2	104	118	1-2	1-0	Lost 1
Dartmouth	1	1	3	1	103	100	2-0	1-1	Won 1
Yale	1	1	2	2	98	82	2-0	0-2	Lost 2
Brown	0	1	3	1	110	81	1-0	1-1	Won 2
Columbia	0	1	1	3	50	96	1-1	0-2	Lost 2
Cornell	0	2	0	4	65	129	0-1	0-3	Lost 4

MEAC

School	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L	PF	PA	HOME	AWAY	STREAK
N.C. Central	0	0	5	2	253	183	1-1	3-1	Won 4
Delaware St.	0	0	4	3	268	198	3-0	1-3	Won 1
South Carolina St.	0	0	4	3	190	210	3-0	1-3	Won 2
Howard	0	0	3	3	115	126	0-0	0-3	Lost 2
Morgan St.	0	0	3	4	162	175	2-1	0-3	Won 1
Norfolk St.	0	0	1	6	140	239	1-2	0-4	Lost 5

MVFC

School	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L	PF	PA	HOME	AWAY	STREAK
North Dakota St.	3	0	6	0	267	63	3-0	3-0	Won 6
South Dakota St.	2	0	6	0	204	88	4-0	2-0	Won 6
North Dakota	2	0	4	2	236	113	3-0	1-2	Won 3
South Dakota	2	1	4	3	167	202	3-0	1-3	Won 2
Southern Ill.	1	1	4	2	234	150	2-0	2-2	Lost 1
Illinois St.	1	1	4	2	186	179	2-1	2-1	Won 1
Youngstown St.	0	2	3	3	182	171	2-1	1-2	Lost 2
Indiana St.	0	2	2	4	140	248	2-1	0-3	Lost 4
UNI	0	2	2	4	81	145	2-1	0-3	Lost 3
Murray St.	0	2	0	6	128	267	0-2	0-4	Lost 6

NEC

School	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L	PF	PA	HOME	AWAY	STREAK
Duquesne	2	0	4	3	222	200	4-1	0-2	Won 3
Central Conn. St.	2	0	4	3	186	171	3-1	1-2	Won 2
Mercyhurst	2	0	3	4	139	175	2-0	1-4	Won 2
Stonehill	1	1	2	4	91	125	1-2	1-2	Lost 1
Robert Morris	0	1	1	5	81	180	1-2	0-3	Lost 3
LIU	0	2	1	5	72	162	0-1	1-4	Lost 4
Wagner	0	1	1	5	72	179	1-2	0-3	Lost 1
Saint Francis	0	2	0	6	53	226	0-1	0-5	Lost 6

Patriot

School	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L	PF	PA	HOME	AWAY	STREAK
Lehigh	2	0	7	0	231	119	4-0	3-0	Won 7
Lafayette	3	0	5	2	243	175	3-1	2-1	Won 2
Colgate	1	1	2	4	184	198	1-2	1-2	Lost 1
Bucknell	1	2	4	3	193	254	3-1	1-2	Lost 1
Richmond	1	2	4	3	137	150	2-0	2-3	Won 1
Fordham	1	2	1	5	113	245	1-1	0-4	Lost 1
Georgetown	0	1	3	3	156	165	2-1	1-2	Won 1
Holy Cross	0	1	0	6	95	160	0-2	0-4	Lost 6

Pioneer

School	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L	PF	PA	HOME	AWAY	STREAK
Presbyterian	2	0	6	0	244	90	3-0	3-0	Won 6
Dayton	3	0	5	1	193	90	2-0	3-1	Won 5
Drake	2	0	3	2	143	102	2-0	1-2	Won 2
Butler	2	1	4	3	168	183	2-1	2-2	Lost 1
Stetson	2	1	3	4	157	260	3-2	0-2	Won 2
Marist	1	1	3	3	131	131	2-1	1-2	Lost 1
St. Thomas (MN)	1	2	3	3	183	121	1-1	2-2	Won 1
San Diego	1	2	3	4	156	209	2-2	1-2	Lost 2
Morehead St.	0	3	2	5	145	253	2-1	0-4	Lost 3
Davidson	0	2	1	5	128	270	1-2	0-3	Lost 2
Valparaiso	0	2	1	5	121	211	1-2	0-3	Lost 5

SoCon

School	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L	PF	PA	HOME	AWAY	STREAK
Mercer	4	0	5	1	191	105	2-1	3-0	Won 5
Western Caro.	3	0	4	3	253	229	2-2	2-1	Won 4
Furman	2	1	4	2	158	171	2-1	2-1	Lost 1
The Citadel	2	1	3	3	119	136	1-2	2-1	Won 2
Chattanooga	1	1	2	4	145	184	1-1	1-3	Won 1
ETSU	1	2	3	4	220	219	3-1	0-3	Won 1
VMI	0	2	1	5	115	198	1-1	0-4	Lost 4
Wofford	0	2	1	5	104	127	1-2	0-3	Won 1
Samford	0	4	0	6	92	242	0-3	0-3	Lost 6

Southland

School	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L	PF	PA	HOME	AWAY	STREAK
Lamar University	2	0	5	1	143	143	3-0	2-1	Won 5
Southeastern La.	2	0	4	2	194	138	2-0	2-2	Won 2
SFA	2	0	4	2	183	106	3-0	1-2	Won 4
UTRGV	1	1	5	1	292	86	4-0	1-1	Won 1
Houston Christian	1	1	2	4	136	149	2-1	0-3	Won 1
East Texas A&M	1	1	1	5	149	243	0-2	1-3	Lost 1
Nicholls	1	1	1	5	77	164	1-1	0-4	Lost 5
UIW	0	2	2	4	135	158	2-1	0-3	Lost 1
McNeese	0	2	1	5	129	205	1-2	0-3	Lost 5
Northwestern St.	0	2	1	5	71	233	1-1	0-4	Lost 5

SWAC

School	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L	PF	PA	HOME	AWAY	STREAK
East
Jackson St.	3	0	5	1	211	123	3-0	1-1	Won 4
Alabama St.	2	1	4	2	237	155	2-0	2-2	Lost 1
Bethune-Cookman	2	1	3	4	209	251	3-0	0-4	Won 1
Alabama A&M	1	2	4	3	223	234	3-0	1-2	Won 1
Florida A&M	0	1	1	4	77	178	1-2	0-1	Lost 2
Mississippi Val.	0	2	0	5	80	217	0-2	0-3	Lost 5
West
Prairie View	3	0	4	2	128	135	1-1	2-1	Won 3
Texas Southern	3	1	3	3	126	135	1-2	2-1	Won 3
Ark.-Pine Bluff	1	1	2	3	89	187	1-0	0-3	Lost 1
Grambling	0	2	3	3	156	185	2-1	0-1	Lost 2
Alcorn	0	2	1	5	115	161	1-1	0-3	Won 1
Southern U.	0	2	1	5	89	229	0-2	1-2	Lost 4

United Athletic

School	Conference		Overall
	W	L	W	L	PF	PA	HOME	AWAY	STREAK
Tarleton St.	3	0	7	0	332	129	3-0	4-0	Won 7
Abilene Christian	3	0	4	3	190	202	3-0	1-3	Won 2
Central Ark.	2	1	3	4	177	252	2-1	1-3	Won 2
West Ga.	2	2	5	2	206	154	2-1	3-1	Lost 2
Austin Peay	2	2	4	3	233	168	3-0	1-3	Lost 1
Eastern Ky.	1	1	3	3	117	159	3-0	0-3	Won 2
Southern Utah	0	2	1	5	222	235	1-2	0-3	Lost 5
North Ala.	0	2	1	5	156	245	1-1	0-4	Lost 3
Utah Tech	0	3	1	6	131	204	1-2	0-4	Lost 3

Past FCS champions from 1978 to today

Here are the previous winners of the FCS Championship Game, which started in the 1978 season.

YEAR	CHAMPION	COACH	SCORE	RUNNER-UP	SITE
2024	North Dakota State	Tim Polasek	35-32	Montana State	Frisco, Texas
2023	South Dakota State	Jimmy Rogers	23-3	Montana	Frisco, Texas
2022	South Dakota State	John Stiegelmeier	45-21	North Dakota State	Frisco, Texas
2021	North Dakota State	Matt Entz	38-10	Montana State	Frisco, Texas
2020	Sam Houston	K.C. Keeler	23-21	South Dakota State	Frisco, Texas
2019	North Dakota State	Matt Entz	28-20	James Madison	Frisco, Texas
2018	North Dakota State	Chris Klieman	38-24	Eastern Washington	Frisco, Texas
2017	North Dakota State	Chris Klieman	17-13	James Madison	Frisco, Texas
2016	James Madison	Mike Houston	28-14	Youngstown State	Frisco, Texas
2015	North Dakota State	Chris Klieman	37-10	Jacksonville State	Frisco, Texas
2014	North Dakota State	Chris Klieman	29-27	Illinois State	Frisco, Texas
2013	North Dakota State	Craig Bohl	35-7	Towson	Frisco, Texas
2012	North Dakota State	Craig Bohl	39-13	Sam Houston State	Frisco, Texas
2011	North Dakota State	Craig Bohl	17-6	Sam Houston State	Frisco, Texas
2010	Eastern Washington	Beau Baldwin	20-19	Delaware	Frisco, Texas
2009	Villanova	Andy Talley	23-21	Montana	Chattanooga, Tenn.
2008	Richmond	Mike London	24-7	Montana	Chattanooga, Tenn.
2007	Appalachian State	Jerry Moore	49-21	Delaware	Chattanooga, Tenn.
2006	Appalachian State	Jerry Moore	28-17	Massachusetts	Chattanooga, Tenn.
2005	Appalachian State	Jerry Moore	21-16	UNI	Chattanooga, Tenn.
2004	James Madison	Mickey Matthews	31-21	Montana	Chattanooga, Tenn.
2003	Delaware	K.C. Keeler	40-0	Colgate	Chattanooga, Tenn.
2002	Western Kentucky	Jack Harbaugh	34-14	McNeese State	Chattanooga, Tenn.
2001	Montana	Joe Glenn	13-6	Furman	Chattanooga, Tenn.
2000	Georgia Southern	Paul Johnson	27-25	Montana	Chattanooga, Tenn.
1999	Georgia Southern	Paul Johnson	59-24	Youngstown State	Chattanooga, Tenn.
1998	Massachusetts	Mark Whipple	55-43	Georgia Southern	Chattanooga, Tenn.
1997	Youngstown State	Jim Tressel	10-9	McNeese State	Chattanooga, Tenn.
1996	Marshall	Bob Pruett	49-29	Montana	Huntington, W.Va.
1995	Montana	Don Read	22-20	Marshall	Huntington, W.Va.
1994	Youngstown State	Jim Tressel	28-14	Boise State	Huntington, W.Va.
1993	Youngstown State	Jim Tressel	17-5	Marshall	Huntington, W.Va.
1992	Marshall	Jim Donnan	31-28	Youngstown State	Huntington, W.Va.
1991	Youngstown State	Jim Tressel	25-17	Marshall	Statesboro, Ga.
1990	Georgia Southern	Tim Stowers	36-13	Nevada	Statesboro, Ga.
1989	Georgia Southern	Erk Russell	37-34	Stephen F. Austin *	Statesboro, Ga.
1988	Furman	Jimmy Satterfield	17-12	Georgia Southern	Pocatello, Idaho
1987	Louisiana-Monroe	Pat Collins	43-42	Marshall	Pocatello, Idaho
1986	Georgia Southern	Erk Russell	48-21	Arkansas State	Tacoma, Wash.
1985	Georgia Southern	Erk Russell	44-42	Furman	Tacoma, Wash.
1984	Montana State	Dave Arnold	19-6	Louisiana Tech	Charleston, S.C.
1983	Southern Illinois	Rey Dempsey	43-7	Western Carolina	Charleston, S.C.
1982	Eastern Kentucky	Roy Kidd	17-14	Delaware	Wichita Falls, Texas
1981	Idaho State	Dave Kragthorpe	34-23	Eastern Kentucky	Wichita Falls, Texas
1980	Boise State	Jim Criner	31-29	Eastern Kentucky	Sacramento, Calif.
1979	Eastern Kentucky	Roy Kidd	30-7	Lehigh	Orlando, Fla.
1978	Florida A&M	Rudy Hubbard	35-28	Massachusetts	Wichita Falls, Texas