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27-470: When it opened in 1982, Stambaugh had one large grandstand on the west side, with a seating capacity of approximately 17,000. During their time at Stambaugh, the football team has risen to become a power in FCS football, qualifying for NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs 12 times, advancing to the championship game on six occasions, and winning four national championships through the 2015 season. The stadium

54-482: A 2–2 record in four title games they played at Marshall University Stadium (now known as Joan C. Edwards Stadium ). Three FCS conferences usually do not participate in the tournament: the Ivy League , Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The Ivy League has been at the FCS level since 1982 and prohibits its members from awarding athletic scholarships in any sport, plays

81-657: A national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was called the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship , during the period when the FCS was known as NCAA Division I-AA. The game serves as the final match of an annual postseason bracket tournament between top teams in FCS. Since 2013, 24 teams normally participate in the tournament, with some teams receiving automatic bids upon winning their conference championship, and other teams determined by

108-492: A practice field. In addition, a new press box was created and 14 additional luxury suites were built, along with a stadium club, which hosts the football team's weekly press conferences and is rented out for private events. Since 1997, the stadium's capacity is 20,630, making it the largest stadium in the Missouri Valley Football Conference . In the summer of 2009, an auxiliary scoreboard was constructed in

135-676: A selection committee. The reigning national champions are the South Dakota State Jackrabbits , who have won back-to-back championship games for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The FCS is the highest division in college football to hold a playoff tournament sanctioned by the NCAA to determine its champion, as the College Football Playoff currently used by the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) is not NCAA-sanctioned. In

162-539: A strict ten-game regular season and does not participate in any postseason football, citing academic concerns. The MEAC and SWAC, two conferences consisting of historically black colleges and universities , opt to play the Celebration Bowl (which was established in 2015) instead of the FCS tournament. MEAC gave up its automatic spot in the tournament prior to the 2015 season, while the SWAC's regular season extends through

189-406: Is also known by fans as the "Ice Castle". The stadium's 25th Anniversary was celebrated during the 2007 season, and the top 25 players in the stadium's first 25 years were honored at a ceremony on September 15, 2007. Those players were: The stadium was upgraded and expanded prior to the 1997 athletic season with the addition of over 3,000 bleacher seats on the east side of the field, on the site of

216-554: The Big South and Northeast Conference earning automatic bids for the first time. That bracket structure included seeding of the top five teams. Twelve teams received first-round byes; the remaining eight teams played first-round games, with the four winners advancing to face the top four seeds. The playoffs expanded to 24 teams beginning in 2013 , with the champion of the Pioneer Football League receiving an automatic bid for

243-761: The Turkey Day Classic and Bayou Classic at the end of November and the SWAC Championship Game is played in December. Teams from the MEAC and SWAC may accept at-large bids, so long as they aren't committed to other postseason games that would conflict with the tournament. The most recent MEAC and SWAC teams to accept bids were the 2023 North Carolina Central Eagles and 2021 Florida A&M Rattlers , respectively. Historically, conferences in FCS that did not offer athletic scholarships were not granted automatic bids into

270-492: The 2010 season and ran through the 2012 season. The contract has since been extended three times; first through the 2015 season, then through the 2019 season, and most recently through the 2024 season with an option for the 2025 season. There have been six instances where a team whose venue was predetermined to host the final game advanced to play for the championship on their own field. Georgia Southern won both title games they played at Paulson Stadium , while Marshall had

297-496: The FCS Playoff Selection Committee, which consists of one athletic director from each conference with an automatic bid. As of the 2018 season, there were 10 conferences with automatic bids and the selection committee made 14 at-large selections. An 11th automatic bid was added as of the 2021 season, reducing the number of at-large selections to 13. The tournament culminates with the national final, played between

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324-664: The I-AA championship. In 1983 and 1984, the game was played in Charleston, South Carolina . In 1985 and 1986, Tacoma, Washington , hosted the game, which the NCAA branded as the "Diamond Bowl". The 1987 and 1988 games were played in Pocatello, Idaho ; and from 1989 through 1991, in Statesboro, Georgia . The 1992 through 1996 games were held in Huntington, West Virginia ; and from 1997 through 2009,

351-540: The January 2024 championship game (46 finals, 92 total appearances). This table lists records for the Championship Game. The game has been televised on an ESPN affiliated network since 1995. Note: starting with the 2010 season, the final game is played in the next calendar year. 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season#Postseason The 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season , part of college football in

378-1406: The United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1986, and concluded with the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1986, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington . The Georgia Southern Eagles won their second consecutive I-AA championship, defeating the Arkansas State Indians by a score of 48–21. Big Sky Conference – Nevada Colonial League – Holy Cross Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Eastern Illinois Gulf Star Conference – Sam Houston State Ivy League – Penn Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina A&T Ohio Valley Conference – Murray State Southern Conference – Appalachian State Southland Conference – Arkansas State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Jackson State Yankee Conference – Connecticut , Delaware , and Massachusetts The playoffs expanded from twelve to sixteen teams this season, eliminating

405-409: The champion. The score and runner-up are also noted, along with the host city, game attendance, and head coach of the championship team. Notes: Key Since 2009, a Most Outstanding Player has been named for each final. Note: starting with the 2010 season, the final game is played in the next calendar year. The following table summarizes appearances in the final, by team, since the 1978 season,

432-405: The first time. The number of seeded teams was increased to eight, with the 16 unseeded teams playing in first-round games. The unseeded teams continue to be paired according to geographic proximity and then placed in the bracket according to geographic proximity to the top eight seeds. Teams cannot travel more than 400 miles via ground, and teams from the same conference that played each other during

459-432: The first year of Division I-AA (the predecessor of FCS). Updated through the January 2024 championship game (46 finals, 92 total appearances). Schools are listed by their current athletic brand names, which do not always match those used in a given season. The following table summarizes appearances in the final, by conference, since the 1978 season, the first year of Division I-AA (the predecessor of FCS). Updated through

486-566: The four remaining teams based on geographical proximity. The tournament was expanded to 12 teams in 1982 , with each of the top four seeds receiving a first-round bye and a home game in the quarterfinals. Champions of the Southern and Southland conferences also received automatic bids. The number of automatic bids has varied over time, due to changes in the number and size of conferences, with an automatic bid typically granted only to champions of conferences with at least six teams. Initially,

513-399: The inaugural season of Division I-AA, the 1978 postseason included just four teams; three regional champions (East, West, and South) plus an at-large selection. The field doubled to eight teams in 1981 , with champions of five conferences— Big Sky , Mid-Eastern , Ohio Valley , Southwestern , and Yankee —receiving automatic bids. The top four teams were seeded, and then matched against

540-436: The number of seeded teams was reduced to four, with the seeded teams assured of home games in early tournament rounds, and other teams once again placed in the bracket to minimize travel. Home team designation in games between unseeded teams is determined based on several factors, including attendance history and revenue potential. In April 2008, the NCAA announced that the playoff field would expand to 20 teams in 2010 , with

567-499: The regular season are not paired for first-round games. For the 2020 season, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States , the bracket was reduced to 16 teams. The bracket returned to 24 teams for the 2021 season. The field is traditionally set the Sunday before Thanksgiving and play begins that weekend. At-large selections and seeding within the bracket are determined by

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594-820: The semifinals and final. The inaugural title game was played in 1978 in Wichita Falls, Texas . The 1979 and 1980 games were held in Orlando, Florida , and Sacramento, California , respectively, and the game returned to Wichita Falls for 1981 and 1982. The games played in Wichita Falls were known as the Pioneer Bowl , while the game played in Sacramento was known as the Camellia Bowl —both names were used for various NCAA playoff games played in those locations, and were not specific to

621-509: The south end zone, giving Stambaugh Stadium a scoreboard in each end zone. New reserved chairback seats were also installed during the 2009 season along with two new flagpoles next to the scoreboard in the north end zone, one for the Ohio flag and one for the United States flag. NCAA Division I Football Championship The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine

648-536: The title game was played in Chattanooga, Tennessee . Since 2010, the title game has been played in Frisco, Texas , a suburb north of Dallas , at Toyota Stadium , a multi-purpose stadium primarily used by FC Dallas of Major League Soccer . The stadium was known as Pizza Hut Park until the day after the final of the 2011 season, and then as FC Dallas Stadium until September 2013. The original contract with Frisco began in

675-403: The tournament and, although in theory were eligible for at-large bids, never received any. The last non-scholarship conference in the subdivision, the Pioneer Football League , now receives a tournament bid, which was initiated with the 2013 postseason. For each season since the inaugural year of Division I-AA play, 1978, the following table lists the date of each title game and

702-429: The tournament was played in December; since the expansion to twelve teams in 1982, earlier rounds have been held in late November. The playoffs expanded to a 16-team format in 1986 , requiring four postseason victories to win the title. Initially, only the top four teams were seeded, with other teams geographically placed in the bracket. From 1995 through 2000, all 16 teams were seeded, independent of geography. In 2001,

729-444: The two remaining teams from the playoff bracket. Unlike earlier round games in each year's playoff, which are played at campus sites, the title game is played at a site predetermined by the NCAA, akin to how the NFL predetermines the site for each Super Bowl . Originally played in December, with the 2010 expansion to a 20-team field, the final moved to January, with two or three weeks between

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