# 2020–21 Colonial Athletic Association football season

The 2020–21 Colonial Athletic Association football season was the fourteenth season of football for the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and part of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The entirety of the season was completed in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and Towson opted to not participate in the season. Albany opted out on March 31 after playing 4 games, with New Hampshire following on April 6 and Rhode Island opting out the next day.

## Previous season

James Madison won the CAA championship outright with a conference record of 8–0. They were joined in the FCS playoffs by Albany and Villanova.
In the playoffs, Albany defeated Central Connecticut in the first round before falling to Montana State. Villanova fell to Southeastern Louisiana in the first round. James Madison had a first round bye before defeating Monmouth, Northern Iowa, and Weber State on route to the National Championship game, where they fell to North Dakota State.

## Head coaches

| Team | Coach | Season | Overall Record | Record at School | CAA Record |
| Albany | Greg Gattuso | 7th | 130–69 (.653) | 33–37 (.471) | 18–30 (.375) |
| Delaware | Danny Rocco | 4th | 109–57 (.657) | 19–16 (.543) | 39–26 (.600) |
| Elon | Tony Trisciani | 2nd | 5–6 (.455) | 5–6 (.455) | 4–4 (.500) |
| James Madison | Curt Cignetti | 2nd | 81–28 (.743) | 14–2 (.875) | 18–5 (.783) |
| Maine | Nick Charlton | 2nd | 6–6 (.500) | 6–6 (.500) | 4–4 (.500) |
| New Hampshire | Sean McDonnell | 21st | 154–95 (.618) | 154–95 (.618) | 98–65 (.601) |
| Rhode Island | Jim Fleming | 7th | 36–54 (.400) | 15–53 (.221) | 9–39 (.188) |
| Richmond | Russ Huesman | 4th | 74–56 (.569) | 15–19 (.441) | 10–14 (.417) |
| Stony Brook | Chuck Priore | 15th | 128–82 (.610) | 89–74 (.546) | 28–28 (.500) |
| Villanova | Mark Ferrante | 4th | 19–16 (.543) | 19–16 (.543) | 10–14 (.417) |
| William & Mary | Mike London | 2nd | 67–68 (.496) | 5–7 (.417) | 16–8 (.667) |

## Regular season

* Index to colors and formatting
* CAA member won
* CAA member lost
* CAA teams in bold
All times Eastern time.
Weeks labeled by the associated Saturday.
Rankings reflect that of the STATS FCS poll for that week.

### February 20

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance | Reference |
| February 20 | noon | Morehead State | James Madison | Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA | W 52–0 | 250 | |
| February 20 | 1:30 p.m. | Davidson | Elon | Rhodes Stadium • Elon, NC | W 26–23 | 980 | |

### February 27

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
| February 27 | noon | Robert Morris | James Madison | Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA | W 36–16 | 250 |
| February 27 | 3:00 p.m. | Elon | Gardner–Webb | Ernest W. Spangler Stadium • Boiling Springs, NC | L 20–42 | 2,700 |
| February 27 | TBD | Rhode Island | Bryant | Beirne Stadium • Smithfield, RI | Canceled | |

### March 6

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
| March 5 | 7:00 p.m. | Albany | New Hampshire | Wildcat Stadium • Durham, NH | ALB 24–20 | 0 |
| March 6 | noon | Maine | Delaware | Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE | DEL 37–0 | 0 |
| March 6 | noon | Villanova | Stony Brook | Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium • Stony Brook, NY | VILL 16–13 | 0 |
| March 6 | 1:00 p.m. | William & Mary | Richmond | E. Claiborne Robins Stadium • Richmond, VA | RICH 21–14 | 1,000 |
| March 6 | 1:300 p.m. | James Madison | Elon | Rhodes Stadium • Elon, NC | JMU 20–17 | 1,147 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Rookie | Rookie | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |

### March 13

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
| March 13 | noon | Albany | Maine | Alfond Stadium • Orono, ME | MAINE 38–34 | 0 |
| March 13 | noon | Stony Brook | Delaware | Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE | DEL 31–3 | 1,800 |
| March 13 | 1:00 p.m. | Richmond | Elon | Rhodes Stadium • Elon, NC | RICH 38–14 | 1,137 |
| March 13 | 1:30 p.m. | Rhode Island | Villanova | Villanova Stadium • Villanova, PA | URI 40–37$^{OT}$ | 193 |
| March 13 | 4:00 p.m. | William & Mary | James Madison | Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA | Canceled | |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Rookie | Rookie | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |

### March 20

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
| March 20 | noon | Delaware | New Hampshire | Wildcat Stadium • Durham, NH | Canceled | |
| March 20 | noon | Maine | Stony Brook | Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium • Stony Brook, NY | MAINE 35–19 | 0 |
| March 20 | 1:00 p.m. | Rhode Island | Albany | Bob Ford Field • Albany, NY | URI 17–10$^{OT}$ | 0 |
| March 20 | 4:00 p.m. | Elon | William & Mary | Zable Stadium • Williamsburg, VA | W&M 31–10 | 0 |
| March 20 | 4:00 p.m. | Richmond | James Madison | Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA | Canceled | |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Rookie | Rookie | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |

### March 27

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
| March 27 | noon | Delaware | Rhode Island | Meade Stadium • Kingston, RI | DEL 35–21 | 500 |
| March 27 | 1:00 p.m. | James Madison | William & Mary | Zable Stadium • Williamsburg, VA | JMU 38–10 | 1,000 |
| March 27 | 1:00 p.m. | Stony Brook | Albany | Bob Ford Field • Albany, NY | SBU 21–7 | 0 |
| March 27 | 1:00 p.m. | New Hampshire | Villanova | Villanova Stadium • Villanova, PA | Canceled | |
| March 27 | 4:00 p.m. | Elon | Richmond | E. Claiborne Robins Stadium • Richmond, VA | RICH 31–17 | 1,000 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Rookie | Rookie | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |

### April 3

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result |
| April 3 | noon | Villanova | Maine | Alfond Stadium • Orono, ME | VILL 44–17 |
| April 3 | noon | James Madison | Richmond | E. Claiborne Robins Stadium • Richmond, VA | Canceled |
| April 3 | noon | Albany | Delaware | Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE | Canceled |
| April 3 | 1:00 p.m. | New Hampshire | Rhode Island | Meade Stadium • Kingston, RI | Canceled |
| April 3 | 4:00 p.m. | William & Mary | Elon | Rhodes Stadium • Elon, NC | Canceled |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Rookie | Rookie | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |

### April 10

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result |
| April 10 | noon | Stony Brook | New Hampshire | Wildcat Stadium • Durham, NH | Canceled |
| April 10 | noon | Maine | Rhode Island | Meade Stadium • Kingston, RI | Canceled |
| April 10 | 1:00 p.m. | Villanova | Albany | Bob Ford Field • Albany, NY | Canceled |
| April 10 | 1:00 p.m. | Richmond | William & Mary | Zable Stadium • Williamsburg, VA | Canceled |
| April 10 | 4:00 p.m. | Elon | James Madison | Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA | Canceled |
| April 10 | 6:00 p.m. | Delaware | Delaware State | Alumni Stadium • Dover,DE | |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Rookie | Rookie | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |

### April 17

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site |
| April 17 | noon | Rhode Island | Stony Brook | Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium • Stony Brook, NY |
| April 17 | 1:00 p.m. | Delaware | Villanova | Villanova Stadium • Villanova, PA |
| April 17 | 2:00 p.m. | New Hampshire | Maine | Alfond Stadium • Orono, ME |
| April 17 | 2:00 p.m. | Richmond | James Madison | Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Rookie | Rookie | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |

## FCS playoffs

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Round | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Reference |
| April 24 | | VMI | James Madison | First Round | Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA | ESPN3 | | | |
| April 24 | | Sacred Heart | Delaware | First Round | Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE | ESPN3 | | | |