Scheduling
Regular Season
Divisions of the association are tasked with establishing legislation related to scheduling requirements and procedures. Each division’s respective bylaws specify a minimum and maximum number of games its members and their student-athletes can partake in, as well as any other requirements. Divisions with subdivisions (Division I) maintain specific requirements for each subdivision.
The Football Bowl Subdivision scheduling requirements are outlined in the division’s Bylaws [2]:
“The institution shall schedule and play at least 60 percent of its football games against members of the Football Bowl Subdivision. The institution shall schedule and play at least five regular-season home games against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents. For purposes of satisfying the home-games requirement, a contest shall be considered a home contest if it is played in the stadium in which an institution conducts at least 50 percent of its home contests. In addition, an institution may use one home contest against a Football Bowl Subdivision member conducted at a neutral site to satisfy the home-games requirement.” [2]
FBS programs must play a minimum of 9 games and can play a maximum of 12 regular season contests:
“In bowl subdivision football, an individual student-athlete may participate in each academic year in not more than 12 football contests [excluding exemptions].” [2]
The Football Championship Subdivision scheduling requirements are also outlined in the Bylaws:
“The institution shall schedule and play more than 50 percent of its football games against Football Bowl Subdivision or Football Championship Subdivision members.” [2]
FCS programs must play a minimum of 9 games and can play a maximum of 11 regular season contests:
“In championship subdivision football, an individual student-athlete may participate in each academic year in not more than 11 football contests, except that 12 football contests shall be permissible during those years in which there are 14 Saturdays from the first permissible playing date through the last playing date in November (e.g., 2019) [excluding exemptions].” [2]
Divisions and subdivisions, however, do not perform the actual function of scheduling; rather, this responsibility is deferred to conferences, their member institutions, and independents. Conferences typically schedule a fixed number of matchups between their members, ensuring each team plays the same number of conference opponents. How a conference does this is determined internally. The remainder of a team’s schedule is open-ended. A team can fill it with opponents outside their conference or designate any remaining conference opponents as “non-conference.” As implied, independents are solely responsible for scheduling their games in a given season.
FBS and FCS programs are permitted to compete against each other so long as each program attains the minimum regular season scheduling requirement for intra-subdivision contests. In this arrangement, the FBS school typically hosts and financially awards the FCS school for competing against them. Division I programs sometimes play opponents in Division II, Division III, the NAIA, and true independents (programs not associated with a governing body). The division also maintains strict guidelines outlining permissible and prohibited on-and-off-field activities throughout the year.
Conference Championships
Division I conference championship games are counted towards each institution’s playing season:
“Conference championships must be included within the institution’s playing season.” [2]
A conference championship game, however, is not counted towards an institution’s regularly scheduled contest maximum. In the Football Bowl Subdivision, the maximum number of football contests excludes:
“One conference championship game.” [2]
In the Football Championship Subdivision, the maximum number of football contests excludes:
“A conference championship game between division champions of a member conference of 12 or more institutions that is divided into two divisions (of six or more institutions each), each of which conducts round-robin, regular-season competition among the members of that division;” [2]
“A conference-sponsored, season-ending postseason tournament (one between teams that are not identified until the end of the preceding regular season), not to exceed one contest for any member institution. This provision does not preclude an institution from participating in a conference-sponsored season-ending postseason tournament and additional postseason football opportunities (e.g., NCAA Championship, Celebration Bowl) during the same season;” [2]
Each FBS conference hosts a conference championship game at a designated neutral site or at the highest seed’s home field. The primary purpose of these contests is to guarantee members receive berths to the College Football Playoff and/or bowl games that the conference shares an agreement with.
The Southwestern Athletic Conference is the only FCS conference that hosts a designated conference championship game to crown its champion. The two division champions (determined by internal metrics) play at the higher seed’s home field. The higher seed is determined by conference record or, in the event of a tie-breaker, a number of internal metrics. The primary purpose of the championship is to determine which program will earn a berth to the Celebration Bowl. The subdivision’s remaining conferences utilize internal metrics alone to crown a regular season champion.
Postseason
Postseason play, including playoff/championship tournaments and bowl games, begins after the regular season has concluded.
Playoffs & Championship Tournaments
Each subdivision hosts a playoff or championship tournament to determine a “national champion.”
College Football Playoff
Every FBS program is eligible to compete in the College Football Playoff (CFP). The College Football Playoff is not an association-sanctioned postseason tournament but its victor is widely considered the subdivision’s “National Champion.” The College Football Playoff Selection Committee releases a weekly Top-25 poll beginning in the second half of the season. This ranking takes precedence over the Associated Press and AFCA Coaches Top-25 polls. The Committee releases its final rankings on the Sunday following “Conference Championship weekend.” A 12-team (5+7 model) selection and seeding process then occurs based on these rankings and the playoff’s placement procedures. First, the five highest-ranked conference champions (automatic bids) and the next seven highest-ranked teams (at-large bids) are selected to participate. The Committee then uses the “straight-seeding” method to appropriately place each team, meaning the selected teams are seeded in the order of their rankings. The top four seeds receive a first round bye while the remaining eight seeds play each other (5–12, 6–11, 7–10, 8–9) at the higher seed’s home venue. The four victors advance to the quarterfinals and play the top four seeds in a designated bowl game. The remaining four play in a designated bowl game in the semifinals and the two remaining victors play in the College Football Playoff National Championship where a national champion is ultimately crowned.
NCAA Division I Football Championship
Every FCS program, except members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Southwestern Athletic Conference, is eligible to compete for the Division I Football Championship. Eleven conference champions are awarded automatic bids while the thirteen remaining at-large bids are determined by the Division I Football Championship Committee. Once all 24 teams have been selected, the Committee begins by seeding the top 16 teams with the top-8 receiving a first round bye. They then establish first round matchups between the 9-16 seeds and the final eight teams. The Committee works to keep first and second round matchups geographically proximate while avoiding regular season rematches. The top 8 seeds begin play in the second round against the first round victors. The second round victors advance to the quarterfinals, whose victors then advance to the semifinals. The two remaining victors play at a designated neutral site in the Division I Championship where a national champion is ultimately crowned.
Bowl Games
The Football Bowl Subdivision is revered for its bowl games and the history, tradition, and pageantry that make them the cherished institutions they still are today. Festivities, celebrations, and events help promote the bowl throughout the year, particularly in the weeks leading up to the game. The subdivision offers more bowls that are celebrated on a greater scale than any other classification across the College Football landscape. To be bowl game-eligible, a team must win at least six games against FBS opponents:
“A ‘deserving team’ shall be defined as one that has won a number of games against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents that is equal to or greater than the number of its overall losses. Tie games do not count in determining a team’s won-lost record. Further, if forfeiture of a regular-season football victory is required by the Committee on Infractions or a conference, or is self-imposed by an institution as a result of a violation of NCAA rules, neither of the competing institutions may count that contest in satisfying the definition of a ‘deserving team.’” [2]
An exception does exist, however, that allows FBS teams to count one FCS opponent towards the six-game minimum:
“Each year, a Football Bowl Subdivision institution may count one victory against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent toward meeting the definition of a "deserving team," provided the opponent has averaged 90 percent of the permissible maximum number of grants-in-aid per year in football during a rolling two-year period.” [2]
Each bowl has conference tie-ins and predetermined methods for team selection. The Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl (also called the “New Year’s Six”) host the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the CFP and, thus, do not have tie-ins.
The Football Championship Subdivision hosts exactly one bowl game annually: the Celebration Bowl. The “Black National Championship” pits the non-playoff-participating MEAC and SWAC champions against each other to crown the nation’s best HBCU program.