Monday night’s FCS championship game on ESPN drew an average of 2.3 million viewers, peaking at 3 million, making it the third most-watched FCS title game ever. Montana State defeated Illinois State 35-34 in overtime.
NDSU vs. JMU on ABC in January 2020 drew 2.68 million viewers, and last year’s NDSU vs. Montana State game on ESPN drew 2.41 million.
It marks a successful FCS postseason in exposure.
The 2025 playoffs saw its most-viewed quarterfinal round since 2011. The semifinal round was the most-viewed since 2009, with the Montana at Montana State game being the most-watched playoff game on record (2.8M).
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TV viewership on ESPN’s national networks grew 8% compared to the 2024 playoffs, while ESPN+ exclusive games grew 26%.
Overall, it was the most-watched FCS playoffs since 2009.
