After multiple years of fighting to find the right timeslot and day, the FCS championship drew its second-most TV viewership in years.
The title game has ranged from 11 a.m. Saturdays to Sunday afternoons going up against the NFL. With the NFL taking over Saturday and Sunday that weekend, and the FBS national championship game being pushed back in January due to the expanded playoff bracket, the FCS championship moved to Monday night on ESPN this year with no other football competition.
The North Dakota State over Montana State thriller drew an average of 2.4 million viewers, the second-most since 2012, and peaked at 3.1 million.
FCS Championship: NDSU Spoils Another Historic Montana State Season
FCS Championship Viewership Numbers:
2024 Championship:
NDSU vs. Montana State (ESPN, Monday) — 2.41 million
2023 Championship:
SDSU vs. Montana (ABC, Sunday) — 1.04 million
2022 Championship:
NDSU vs. SDSU (ABC, Sunday) — 1.07 million
2021 Championship:
NDSU vs. Montana State (ESPN2) — 1.32 million
2021 Spring Championship:
SDSU vs. SHSU (ABC) — 905K
2019 Championship:
NDSU vs. JMU (ABC) — 2.68 million
2018 Championship:
NDSU vs. EWU (ESPN2) — 1.00 million
2017 Championship:
NDSU vs. JMU (ESPN2) — 1.52 million
2016 Championship:
JMU vs. YSU (ESPN2) — 1.56 million
2015 Championship:
NDSU vs. Jacksonville State (ESPN2) — 1.35 million
2014 Championship:
NDSU vs. Illinois State (ESPN2) — 1.44 million
2013 Championship:
NDSU vs. Towson (ESPN2) — 1.2 million
2012 Championship:
NDSU vs. SHSU (ESPN2) — 1.1 million
