Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
SwampSwamiSports.com began to publish our own rankings for the small(er) college Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) last season. Adding a little competition is always healthy!
It’s our Year #2 and time to become more familiar with the FCS.
This year’s small(er) college FCS has 128 football members playing in 13 conferences. Each champion will receive an automatic bid into the 24-team FCS playoffs in late November and December.
However, two of the 13 FCS conferences annually opt out of the FCS Playoffs in order to play in their own championship game.
That leaves 11 automatic bids and 13 at-large bids this year.
Two of the historically-black colleges and universities (HBCU) conferences conduct their own title game in Atlanta every December and do not participate in the FCS playoffs.
Winners of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play in the Celebration Bowl for HBCU bragging rights. This nationally televised football game reportedly brings more revenue to these two FCS conferences than having to pay for teams to travel around the US in pursuit of the FCS title.
The remaining 11 FCS conferences do not play a conference championship game. Each has its own method of determining a regular season champion in the event of a tie.
The conference winner receives an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. The runner-up may (in some cases) receive an at-large bid depending on their regular season record and final national ranking.
There are two teams playing as independents this year
Merrimack College (north of Boston) was a former member of the Northeast Conference from 2019-2023 but left in 2023 to become an independent.
Merrimack is 2-4 this season.
Meanwhile, Chicago State is currently aligned with the Northeast Conference (which decided to call itself the NEC).
The Cougars (currently 1-4) are playing in their inaugural season of college football as an independent. They will become football participants in the NEC beginning in 2027.
Let’s learn a little more about the 13 FCS conferences
Big Sky (13 members)
The Big Sky’s Montana State Bobcats won the FCS title last year. Montana State was off to a 4-0 start this season until they visited 0-4 Idaho last week.
The Vandals shocked the FCS football world with a thrilling 35-34 win over the defending champs. Idaho scored a late touchdown and added a 2-point conversion to end the game.
The Big Sky Conference has added two new members as Southern Utah and Utah Tech came onboard this fall.
Coastal Athletic Association (13)
This Atlantic seaboard conference stretches from the Carolinas through Massachusetts. The CAA changed its official name from the Colonial Athletic Association to the Coastal Athletic Association in 2023. Former independent Sacred Heart (Fairfield, CT) became the newest member of the CAA beginning this season.
Ivy League (8)
This well-known conference of exceptional academic institutions does not start playing football until September. The eight-team Ivy League plays a 10-game regular season (instead of 12) so that their student-athletes can focus more time on (gasp) academics!
MEAC (6)
Last year’s conference champion was South Carolina State. The Bulldogs went on to defeat Prairie View A&M of the SWAC in the 2025 Celebration Bowl in Atlanta.
Did you know that the MEAC will become the first FCS conference to sponsor women’s flag football in 2027?
Missouri Valley Football Conference (9)
Long-time MVFC bully North Dakota State (winner of ten of the past 15 FCS national titles) left the FCS and is now a football member of the Mountain West Conference this fall. The Missouri Valley Football Conference is usually strong enough to produce at least two teams entering the season-ending 24-team FCS playoffs.
NEC (8)
The conference formerly known as the Northeast Conference has shortened its name. That occurred after Chicago State (located hundreds of miles west of the northeastern US) is slated to become a part of the conference in 2027. Last year’s conference champion was Central Connecticut State.
Ohio Valley Conference (8)
This conference was known as the Ohio Valley-Big South Football Association through 2025. It is now known as the Ohio Valley Conference in 2026. Long-time member Tennessee Tech left the OVC to join the Southern Conference this fall. Charleston Southern (South Carolina) and Gardner-Webb (North Carolina) will remain as football-playing members of the OVC. Through last weekend, the OVC did not have a single team with a winning record.
Patriot League (10)
This Northeastern-based conference has expanded south to include the University of Richmond (2025) along with William & Mary this season. The Spiders and the Tribe play their annual Capital Cup game in late November. This long-time series has been played 136 times. Richmond has a narrow 67-64 edge in the series with five ties.
Pioneer Football League (11)
This is a far-flung football-only conference which features one member in Florida (Stetson) and another in California (San Diego). Most of the schools are based in the Midwest. All are private schools except for Morehouse State in Kentucky.
Southern Conference (10)
The So-Con has been around since the year 1921! A list of its former members looks like a “Who’s Who” of the current SEC (which was founded 12 years later in 1932). Tennessee Tech became the newest member of the So-Con this fall after leaving the Ohio Valley Conference.
Southland Conference (10)
This strong football conference began in 1963 and features schools in Louisiana and Texas. Last year, Stephen F. Austin won the league’s regular season title and the automatic berth in the FCS playoffs. Both Southeastern Louisiana and Lamar were selected among the 13 at-large playoff teams in 2025.
Southwestern Athletic Conference (12)
Some of the most prominent football schools in college football history play in the SWAC. Grambling, Jackson State, Prairie View A&M, Southern University plus eight other legendary schools have a long and successful history in college football. Their marching bands also produce some of the most energetic halftime shows in all of college football.
United Athletic Conference (8)
Do you remember the Western Athletic Conference (WAC)? It formed in 1962. A large group of major college football teams played in the WAC over the years until numerous defections caused the conference to drop football in 2013. The WAC tried football once again in 2021 but failed to regain an entrance into the larger division FBS. That’s when the football-playing members of the WAC joined with football-playing members of the Atlantic Sun Conference formed the football-only FCS United Athletic Conference. The “new” UAC welcomed former NCAA Division II West Florida (Pensacola) into their group this fall.
Finally, it’s farewell to long-time FCS member St. Francis (PA) – Lessons to be learned
The cost of playing college football at the FBS and even at the FCS level has been rising rapidly. At some point, colleges and universities must make some tough decisions when rising costs exceed the revenues.
St. Francis (PA) is a small private university with less than 2,000 students. It is located in the western Pennsylvania town of Loretto. The school was a founding member of the FCS Northeast Conference in 1988.
St. Francis exited the NEC and the FCS after last season due to rising costs.
This school dropped all athletic scholarships and began playing football this fall in the NCAA Division III President’s Athletic Conference. The team formerly known as the Red Flash also rebranded itself as the Red Wolves to coincide with its move into D-III athletics.
In case you might be wondering, the “new” St. Francis Red Wolves are 0-2 through last weekend’s game.
It’s time to unveil the first FCS Top 25 rankings for the 2026 football season!
If you need a refresher on the methodology used to determine the rankings, please read Monday’s FBS Top 25 rankings for a detailed explanation (click here).
