# 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season

The 2020–21 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 and postseason were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Several FCS conferences moved their scheduled games from the fall of 2020 to the spring of 2021, and in August 2020, the NCAA announced that the FCS postseason would also be delayed.
While the NCAA at one point announced a cancellation of the FCS playoff, in late September 2020 a revised playoff schedule was announced, with the FCS Championship Game played on May 16, 2021. Sam Houston State defeated South Dakota State for the title, 23-21.
Of the 127 programs in FCS for this season, 101 played at least one game in either the fall of 2020 or the spring of 2021. The remaining 26 schools opted not to participate. The Ivy League was the only FCS conference with no members competing in football in 2020–21.

## Notable headlines

* May 19 – The NCAA declared four FCS football programs ineligible for postseason play in 2020 due to failure to meet the required Academic Progress Rate (APR) benchmarks: Howard, McNeese State, Prairie View A&M, and Stephen F. Austin.
* July 8 – The Ivy League announced that it would play no sports until January 1, 2021, at the earliest, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
* July 13 – The Patriot League announced the cancellation of its fall sports season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
* July 16 – The MEAC announced that it would not play sports in the fall.
* July 17 – The Colonial Athletic Association announced that it would not play fall sports, but that teams still wishing to play football could compete as independents for the 2020 season. Due to the cancellation of the MEAC season, ESPN Events announced that the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and Celebration Bowl had both been canceled.
* July 19 – The SWAC announced that it had canceled fall sports but became the first conference to commit to playing football in the spring, with the announcement of a seven-game conference schedule preceded by an eight-week training schedule to start in January 2021.
* July 27 – The Pioneer Football League announced that it would play a conference-only schedule in 2020.
* July 29 – The Northeast Conference announced the postponement of all fall sports.
* August 7 – The Pioneer Football League canceled its fall football season, with no announcement made with regard to playing in the spring. The Big Sky Conference became second FCS conference to commit to playing football in the spring of 2021.
* August 10 – The Missouri Valley Football Conference likewise announced that it would play its fall 2020 football season in spring of 2021.
* September 22 – After several more conferences decided to play at least a limited spring football schedule, the NCAA announced that the 2020 FCS playoffs would be held in the spring of 2021, with bracket reduced from 24 teams to 16, culminating in the FCS Championship Game to be played on May 16, 2021.

## FCS team wins over FBS teams

October 23, 2020: Jacksonville State 19, FIU 10 February 21, 2021: Tarleton State 43, New Mexico State 17

## Conference changes and new programs

| School | 2019 conference | 2020–21 conference |
| Dixie State | RMAC (D-II) | FCS Independent |
| North Dakota | FCS Independent | MVFC |
| Tarleton State | LSC (D-II) | FCS Independent |
| Presbyterian | Big South | FCS Independent |
| Jacksonville | Pioneer | Dropped program |
| Robert Morris | NEC | Big South |

## Conference standings

All teams played spring schedules, except where noted. The Ivy League did not play in either the fall or spring.
2020 Big Sky Conference football standings :
| 2020 Big Sky Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 9 Weber State $^  5 –0  5 –1   No. 10 Eastern Washington ^  5 –1  5 –2   No. 14 UC Davis  3 –2  3 –2   Northern Arizona  3 –2  3 –2   Idaho State  2 –4  2 –4   Idaho  2 –4  2 –4   Southern Utah  1 –5  1 –5   Cal Poly‡  0 –3  0 –3   Montana†   –  2 –0   Portland State†   –  0 –1   $ – Conference champion^ – FCS playoff participantNotes: Due to COVID-19, the Big Sky suspended the fall 2020 football season. Montana State, Northern Colorado, and Sacramento State opted out of the spring season. † – Montana and Portland State opted out of the conference season, but scheduled non-conference games. ‡ – Cal Poly opted out of the remainder of the spring season on March 29, 2021.Rankings from STATS Poll | 2020 Big South Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 10 Monmouth $^  3 –0  3 –1   No. 17 Kennesaw State  2 –1  4 –1   Charleston Southern  2 –2  2 –2   Gardner–Webb  0 –2  2 –2   Robert Morris  0 –2  0 –3   $ – Conference champion^ – FCS playoff participantNotes: Due to COVID-19, the Big South suspended the fall 2020 football season. Hampton opted out of the spring schedule. Campbell and North Alabama played only in the fall.Rankings from STATS Poll | 2020 Colonial Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  North Division No. 4 Delaware x$^  4 –0  7 –1   No. 18 Rhode Island †  2 –1  2 –1   No. 16 Villanova  2 –2  2 –2   Maine  2 –2  2 –2   Stony Brook  1 –3  1 –3   Albany †  1 –3  1 –3   New Hampshire †  0 –1  0 –1   South Division No. 3 James Madison x^  3 –0  7 –1   No. 15 Richmond  3 –1  3 –1   William & Mary  1 –2  1 –2   Elon  0 –4  1 –5   $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-champions^ – FCS playoff participantNotes: Due to COVID-19, the CAA suspended the fall 2020 football season. Towson opted out of the spring football season. † – Albany, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island opted out of the remainder of the spring season on March 31, April 6, and April 7 respectively.Rankings from STATS Poll |
| 2020 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  North Division Delaware State  2 –2  2 –3   Howard*  0 –2  0 –2   South Division South Carolina State  2 –0  3 –1   Notes: Due to COVID-19, the Mid-Eastern Athletic suspended the fall 2020 football season. Florida A&M, Bethune–Cookman, North Carolina Central, North Carolina A&T, Morgan State, and Norfolk State opted out of the spring season. The MEAC suspended the spring season on February 11, due to only having three schools playing in the spring. * – Ineligible for FCS postseason play due to NCAA sanctionsRankings from STATS Poll | 2020 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 2 South Dakota State +^  5 –1  8 –2   No. 12 Missouri State +^  5 –1  5 –5   No. 7 North Dakota ^  4 –1  5 –2   No. 6 North Dakota State ^  5 –2  7 –3   No. 14 Southern Illinois ^  3 –3  6 –4   Northern Iowa  3 –4  3 –4   South Dakota  1 –3  1 –3   Illinois State†  1 –3  1 –3   Western Illinois†  1 –5  1 –5   Youngstown State  1 –6  1 –6   + – Conference co-champions^ – FCS playoff participantNote: Indiana State opted out of the spring season. † – Illinois State and Western Illinois opted out of the remainder of the spring season on March 21 and April 5, 2021, respectively.Rankings from STATS Poll | 2020 Northeast Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Duquesne y  4 –0  4 –1   Sacred Heart y$^  2 –1  3 –2   LIU  2 –2  2 –2   Bryant  2 –2  2 –2   Wagner  0 –2  0 –2   Merrimack*  0 –3  0 –3   Championship: Sacred Heart 34, Duquesne 27 (OT) $ – Conference championy – Championship game participant^ – FCS playoff participantNote: Due to COVID-19, the Northeast suspended the 2020 football season. * – Merrimack ineligible for NEC title and FCS postseason play due to transition to NCAA Division I Central Connecticut and Saint Francis (PA) opted out of the spring season.Rankings from STATS Poll |
| 2020 Ohio Valley Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 8 Jacksonville State $^  6 –1  10 –3   No. 19 Murray State  5 –2  5 –2   No. 21 Austin Peay  4 –2  4 –5   Southeast Missouri State  4 –3  4 –4   UT Martin  3 –4  3 –4   Tennessee Tech  2 –5  2 –5   Tennessee State  2 –5  2 –5   Eastern Illinois  1 –5  1 –5   $ – Conference champion^ – FCS playoff participantNote: Eastern Kentucky played only in the fall and opted out of the spring season.Rankings from STATS Poll | 2020 Patriot League football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  North Division Holy Cross $^  2 –0  3 –1   Fordham  2 –1  2 –1   Colgate  0 –2  0 –2   South Division Bucknell  2 –1  2 –2   Lafayette  2 –1  2 –1   Lehigh  0 –3  0 –3   Championship: Holy Cross 33, Bucknell 10 $ – Conference champion^ – FCS playoff participantNotes: Due to COVID-19, the Patriot League suspended the fall 2020 football season. Georgetown opted out of the spring football season.Rankings from STATS Poll | 2020 Pioneer Football League standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Davidson $^  4 –1  4 –2   Valparaiso  4 –2  4 –2   San Diego  4 –2  4 –2   Morehead State  4 –2  4 –3   Drake  2 –3  2 –3   Stetson  0 –4  0 –4   Butler  0 –6  0 –6   Presbyterian  0 –0  4 –3   $ – Conference champion^ – FCS playoff participantNotes: Due to COVID-19, the Pioneer Football League suspended the fall 2020 football season. Dayton and Marist opted out of the spring season. Presbyterian played a full PFL schedule, but was ineligible for the conference title, and its games were not counted in PFL standings.Rankings from STATS Poll |
| 2020 Southern Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 11 VMI $^  6 –1  6 –2   No. 22 East Tennessee State  4 –1  4 –1   Chattanooga†  3 –1  3 –2   Mercer  5 –3  5 –6   Samford  4 –3  4 –3   Furman  3 –4  3 –4   Wofford†  1 –4  1 –4   The Citadel  2 –6  2 –10   Western Carolina  1 –5  1 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – FCS playoff participant† – Chattanooga and Wofford opted out of the remainder of the spring season on March 29 and April 5, 2021, respectively.Rankings from STATS Poll | 2020 Southland Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 1 Sam Houston State $^  6 –0  10 –0   No. 20 Southeastern Louisiana  4 –2  4 –3   No. 23 Nicholls  3 –3  4 –3   Incarnate Word  3 –3  3 –3   Lamar  2 –4  2 –4   McNeese State*  2 –4  3 –4   Northwestern State  1 –5  1 –5   $ – Conference champion^ – FCS playoff participant * – Ineligible for FCS postseason play due to NCAA sanctions Note: Abilene Christian, Central Arkansas, Houston Baptist, and Stephen F. Austin played only in the fall and opted out of the spring season. Rankings from STATS Poll | 2020 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  East Division No. 24 Alabama A&M x$  3 –0  5 –0   Alabama State  3 –2  3 –3   Jackson State  3 –2  4 –3   Mississippi Valley State  1 –3  1 –3   West Division Arkansas–Pine Bluff x  4 –0  4 –1   Southern  4 –1  5 –1   Prairie View A&M*  2 –1  2 –1   Texas Southern  1 –2  1 –2   Grambling State  0 –4  0 –4   Championship: Alabama A&M 40, Arkansas–Pine Bluff 33 $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-championsNote: The SWAC played a spring conference-only schedule (February–May 2021) due to COVID-19 pandemic. Alcorn State opted out of the spring season; all of their scheduled games were counted as forfeit wins for their opponents. * – Ineligible for FCS postseason play due to NCAA sanctions.Rankings from STATS Poll |
| 2020 NCAA Division I FCS independents football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Stephen F. Austin   –  6 –4   Tarleton State†   –  5 –3   Central Arkansas   –  5 –4   Presbyterian†   –  4 –3   Eastern Kentucky   –  3 –6   Dixie State†   –  2 –3   Houston Baptist   –  1 –3   Abilene Christian   –  1 –5   Campbell   –  0 –4   North Alabama   –  0 –4   Note: † – Dixie State, Presbyterian, and Tarleton State played only in the spring. All other teams listed played only in the fall. Presbyterian was in a scheduling agreement with the Pioneer Football League, which it fully joined in July 2021. | 2020 Ivy League football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Brown   –   –   Columbia   –   –   Cornell   –   –   Dartmouth   –   –   Harvard   –   –   Penn   –   –   Princeton   –   –   Yale   –   –   Note: Due to COVID-19, the Ivy League suspended the 2020 football season.Rankings from STATS Poll |

## Playoff qualifiers
### Automatic berths for conference champions

| Conference | Team | Appearance | Last bid | Result of last appearance |
| Big Sky Conference | Weber State | 8th | 2019 | Semifinals (L – James Madison) |
| Big South Conference | Monmouth | 3rd | 2019 | Second Round (L – James Madison) |
| Colonial Athletic Association | Delaware | 17th | 2018 | First Round (L – James Madison) |
| Missouri Valley Football Conference | South Dakota State | 10th | 2019 | Second Round (L – Northern Iowa) |
| Northeast Conference | Sacred Heart | 3rd | 2014 | First Round (L – Fordham) |
| Ohio Valley Conference | Jacksonville State | 10th | 2018 | Second Round (L – Maine) |
| Patriot League | Holy Cross | 4th | 2019 | First Round (L – Monmouth) |
| Pioneer Football League | Davidson | 1st | – | – |
| Southern Conference | VMI | 1st | – | – |
| Southland Conference | Sam Houston State | 12th | 2017 | Semifinals (L – North Dakota State) |

### At large qualifiers

| Conference | Team | Appearance | Last bid | Result of last appearance |
| Big Sky Conference | Eastern Washington | 14th | 2018 | First Round (L – North Dakota State) |
| Colonial Athletic Association | James Madison | 17th | 2019 | Championship Game (L – North Dakota State) |
| Missouri Valley Football Conference | Missouri State | 3rd | 1990 | First Round (L – Idaho) |
| Missouri Valley Football Conference | North Dakota | 3rd | 2019 | First Round (L – Nicholls) |
| Missouri Valley Football Conference | North Dakota State | 11th | 2019 | National Champions (W – James Madison) |
| Missouri Valley Football Conference | Southern Illinois | 9th | 2009 | Quarterfinals (L – William & Mary) |

### Abstentions

* Ivy League – None
* Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – None
* Southwestern Athletic Conference – Alabama A&M

## Postseason

In late September 2020, the NCAA announced that the FCS postseason would take place in April and May 2021. Also announced was a reduction of participating teams from 24 to 16, with 10 automatic qualifiers. The first round of the playoffs was scheduled for April 24, with the Championship Game in mid-May, later set for May 16.

### Bowl game

Due to the MEAC cancelling all fall sports for the 2020 season, the MEAC/SWAC Celebration Bowl (the one FCS bowl game) was canceled.

### NCAA Division I playoff bracket

| First Round April 24 Campus sites | First Round April 24 Campus sites | First Round April 24 Campus sites | Quarterfinals May 2 Campus sites | Quarterfinals May 2 Campus sites | Quarterfinals May 2 Campus sites | Semifinals May 8 Campus sites | Semifinals May 8 Campus sites | Semifinals May 8 Campus sites | | National Championship Game May 16 Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas | National Championship Game May 16 Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas | National Championship Game May 16 Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas |
| 1 | South Dakota State* | 31 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Holy Cross | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Holy Cross | 3 | 1 | South Dakota State* | 31 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Southern Illinois | 26 | | | | | | | |
| Southern Illinois | Southern Illinois | 34 | | Southern Illinois | 26 | | | | | | | |
| Weber State* | Weber State* | 31 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Weber State* | Weber State* | 31 | | | | 1 | South Dakota State* | 33 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Delaware | 3 | | | | |
| Delaware* | Delaware* | 19 | | | | | | | | Delaware | 3 | | | | |
| Sacred Heart | Sacred Heart | 10 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Sacred Heart | Sacred Heart | 10 | | Delaware | 20 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Jacksonville State* | 14 | | | | | | | |
| | Davidson | 14 | 4 | Jacksonville State* | 14 | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Jacksonville State* | 49 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Jacksonville State* | 49 | | | | | | | | 1 | South Dakota State | 21 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Sam Houston State | 23 |
| 3 | James Madison* | 31 | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Sam Houston State | 23 |
| | VMI | 24 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | VMI | 24 | 3 | James Madison | 34 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | North Dakota | 21 | | | | | | | |
| Missouri State | Missouri State | 10 | | North Dakota | 21 | | | | | | | |
| North Dakota* | North Dakota* | 44 | | | | | | | | | | |
| North Dakota* | North Dakota* | 44 | | | | 3 | James Madison | 35 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | Sam Houston State* | 38 | | | | |
| North Dakota State* | North Dakota State* | 42 | | | | | | | 2 | Sam Houston State* | 38 | | | | |
| Eastern Washington | Eastern Washington | 20 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Eastern Washington | Eastern Washington | 20 | | North Dakota State | 20 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Sam Houston State* | 24 | | | | | | | |
| | Monmouth | 15 | 2 | Sam Houston State* | 24 | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Sam Houston State* | 21 | | | | | | | | | | |
* Host institution

## Kickoff game

Saturday, August 29 – FCS Kickoff (Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Alabama): Central Arkansas 24, Austin Peay 17.

## Coaching changes
### Preseason and in-season

Table only includes coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2020. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2020, see 2019 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.
| School | Outgoing coach | Date | Reason | Replacement |
| Austin Peay | Mark Hudspeth | July 3 | Resigned | Marquase Lovings (interim) |
| Jackson State | John Hendrick | August 31 | Fired | Deion Sanders |
| Austin Peay | Marquase Lovings (interim) | October 27 | Permanent replacement | Scotty Walden |
| Montana State | Jeff Choate | January 22 | Hired as Texas defensive coordinator | Brent Vigen |

### End of season

| School | Outgoing coach | Date | Reason | Replacement |
| Norfolk State | Latrell Scott | March 3 | Hired as East Carolina tight ends coach | Dawson Odums |
| Western Carolina | Mark Speir | April 9 | Fired | Kerwin Bell |
| Tennessee State | Rod Reed | April 11 | Retired | Eddie George |
| Southern | Dawson Odums | April 20 | Hired by Norfolk State | Jason Rollins (interim) |
| Presbyterian | Tommy Spangler | April 21 | Fired | Kevin Kelley |