INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Division I Council approved this week to allow football programs in the Football Championship Subdivision to play 12 regular-season games every season, starting in 2026.
The change standardizes the start date of the FCS season as the Thursday 13 weeks before the FCS championship bracket is released, traditionally set on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. With the adopted calendar change, in 2026, FCS teams could begin competing on Thursday, Aug. 27.
In recent years, FCS programs were permitted 12 regular-season contests in years with 14 Saturdays from the first allowed playing date through the last playing date in November, which was the case with the 2024 and 2025 calendars. In all other years, only 11 regular-season games were permitted.
In the case of programs in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, a 12-game schedule allows those teams to play four non-conference games to go with the regular eight-game Valley schedule. Football Bowl Subdivision programs play 12 regular-season games every year.
As part of standardizing the start date for all FCS programs, the change eliminates first contest date exceptions in the FCS. Under the change, all FCS teams will be able to play during what the Football Bowl Subdivision calls Week 0. Currently, only FCS games meeting certain criteria are allowed to take place in Week 0.
Also included in the NCAA FCS and Summit League news, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved the University of St. Thomas as having met all of the requirements to be fully instated as a Division I university for the 2025-26 season. The Tommies, who were transitioning from Division III and play football in the Pioneer League, will now be eligible for all NCAA postseason tournaments, including the FCS playoffs.
…
Source link : https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/sports/college/ncaa-approves-permanent-expansion-of-fcs-regular-season-to-12-games
Author :
Publish date : 2025-06-26 23:52:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
