2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season
The 2019 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 FCS Championship Game was played on January 11, 2020, in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State entered the season as the defending champion, and after completing the regular season undefeated, successfully defended their title and secured their eighth championship in nine seasons. Conference changes and new programs. Membership changes. The 2019 season was the last for Presbyterian in Big  South Conference football. The school announced in 2017 that it had begun a transition to non-scholarship football. Presbyterian will play the 2020 season as an FCS independent before joining the non-scholarship FCS Pioneer Football League in 2021; it will remain a full but non-football Big South member. This was also the final season for Jacksonville football, as the school announced shortly after the end of the season that it was dropping the sport. Rule changes. The following playing rule changes have been recommended by the NCAA Football Rules Committee for 2019: All FCS teams were allowed to  schedule 12 regular season games in the 2019 season. A standard provision of NCAA bylaws allows for 12 regular season games during years having 14 Saturdays in the period starting with the Labor Day (first Monday in September) weekend and ending with the last Saturday of November. The next time that a 12-game regular season will be allowed is 2024. Section::::"Week Zero". The regular season began with two games on Saturday, August 24: Postseason. A 24-team single-elimination tournament bracket culminated in the 2020 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game. Champions of the following 10 conferences automatically received  playoff bids: Teams were announced in a selection show on November 24, with the top eight teams seeded and receiving first-round byes. NCAA Division I playoff bracket. Source: Coaching changes. Preseason and in-season. This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2019. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2019, see 2018 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.