Last week, FCS representatives held a press conference ahead of the 2025 season, giving media members the opportunity to ask questions about the FCS playoffs and championship game.
In attendance were Chattanooga AD and FCS Championship Committee Chair Mark Wharton, Nashville Sports Council President Scott Ramsey, OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche, and NCAA Director of Championships Ty Halpin.
Here are some highlights from the presser. The audio can also be found below.
New-Look Committee + Polls Not A Part Of Considerations
Wharton: “The first committee meeting, and orientation, and getting everybody adjusted will be next week. We have seven new members this year. We’ll spend time early making sure the new committee members are familiar with the committee process. This year, obviously, is adding the Ivy League, taking its automatic qualification, which brings us to 11 AQ spots for the bracket. The committee puts a premium, as we do and we’ll do early and all season, but especially early with the non-conference schedule of those conferences that play other conferences that are considered for the committee. We’ll learn a lot there. And we put a premium on watching those games. We have about four clips a week that the committee chooses that we look at. Also, we do not use the media or coaches’ poll as part of any of the FCS committee considerations. And also really working closely with the regional advisory committees to make sure that their regions are really watched and looked at. That’s a huge part of what we do when we put our rankings together in our considerations.”
In-Season Top 10 Rankings
The FCS playoff committee released one mid-season Top 10 ranking last year. This season, there will be two Top 10 reveals. Dates are still to be determined.
Halpin: “Somewhere around the midseason, and then another one before we get too close to our selection weekend. Really felt like that was helpful last year, and ESPN as a partnership did a nice job of helping us release those and got some attention for FCS. And we certainly want to continue that.”
Future Host Sites
The FCS championship is moving to Nashville for the 2025 and 2026 seasons after 15 years in Frisco, Texas.
About a month after this season concludes, the NCAA will open up the bid process for the 2027 season and beyond.
Ramsey said he hopes Nashville becomes the long-term home of the FCS championship. The NCAA, however, will go with the best all-around bid, whether that is Nashville, Frisco, or another city.
Cities that reportedly bid to host for the 2025 and 2026 seasons were Nashville, Frisco, Houston, St. Louis, and Kansas City. HERO Sports has also previously reported that Tampa has shown some interest in being a host site.
Nashville’s Excitement
Ramsey: “We really understand, as a national championship game, the importance that this is to FCS football. And I think as a host city, we’ve done a lot of different events that we’re going to draw upon that experience and try to create an environment, not just for the players primarily, but also for the fans and the administration and everybody that comes along with the FCS national championship game to have a great experience in Nashville. I think three or four things that we’ve kind of focused on in our opportunity to host an event that’s been successful in Frisco is how do we build on that success. And I think some of those things for us is how do we use the Nashville assets to to improve upon some opportunities that we thought we had a better situation for in Nashville than maybe some of the other bidding cities … First of all, I think the player experience is something similar to our Music City Bowl and that we have a hotel facility in Gaylord Opryland that can really not only host both teams, but really host them with all the amenities necessary for the coaches and the players to really focus in on the game with separate entrances, separate transfer portals, and separate meeting space. At the same time, an indoor water park and some things that really allow the players to have a great experience while they’re here.”
“From a fan standpoint, we certainly want to utilize downtown Nashville and connect that to Vanderbilt,” Ramsey continued. “We’re very appreciative of Vanderbilt’s partnership in allowing us to use the stadium. It’s been newly renovated, so I think the fan experience at Vanderbilt with the new end zones and the club seats and the improvements there will be noticed, and certainly a chance to hopefully grow attendance. And then certainly we want to take some of the things that the NCAA wants to build upon and hopefully build a community around FCS football and really make this a great showcase for not just FCS but for Nashville as well during the national media broadcast. So we’re excited about it. We don’t get the opportunity to really chase many national championship events, either A, due to our facility availabilities on some of the spring events, or just simply from the standpoint that our city may have some conflict. So the chance to host a national championship, which would be our first one and only one since we hosted the 2014 Women’s Final Four, is something I know our city and our community is very excited about, and we look forward to welcoming all the fans and players to our city this year.”
DeBauche: “The goal of this championship event is to make it a celebration of FCS and to bring our community together. Our coaches, athletics directors, commissioners, and an opportunity for donors and fans alike. As a long-time FCS commissioner, I deeply understand on a personal note how important this championship is to the subdivision. This FCS game isn’t just a one and only. It is the celebration of what this subdivision is all about, and we are committed to making it special. It also excites me, due to the leadership of the committee and of the NCAA staff and working with our partners here, that we’re going to try different and unique ways to bring members of the FCS community here to really make this our hallmark event within this subdivision.”
Tickets
FCS championship tickets will be available here to the public beginning Saturday, Sept. 6.
Fans interested in gaining early access through the official presale can sign up through this link.
TV Windows
While not finalized, Halpin said he anticipates both semifinal games being on Saturday this season. Some years saw a Friday-Saturday setup for the two games.
The championship game will be held on Monday night (Jan. 5) for the second year in a row. Kickoff time is still to be determined. Last year’s TV spotlight game was a major success, drawing 2.41 million viewers. It was the first time viewership was over 2 million since the January 2019 game between NDSU and JMU (2.68 million).
Field Logos
Although the game is being played on Vanderbilt’s field, it is expected to have FCS championship logos on the turf.
The Ivy League Joining The Playoffs
For the first time, the Ivy League will send its champion to the FCS playoffs.
Wharton: “We’re excited about it. We often look at some of those Ivy League games when they play the Northeast Conference or the CAA. And I think it’s going to be very interesting about how we measure the 10 games versus the 11 games or 12 games. But we’re really excited to have them in there and see how they stack up. And we have a new committee member, and looking forward to learning more and having those historic programs in the playoff.”
State Of The FCS
Halpin: “I can take my NCAA hat off a little bit because we don’t have any legislation or rules about how conferences are connected or if people move, etc. But FCS as a whole, I think really is in a strong position for those that believe that they fit well in FCS and understand that. We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of leaders on our championship committee, but also the oversight committee. I think that’s a big part of at least my vision for the weekend is to make sure we’re talking about the value of FCS, the value of where FCS institutions are, and even those that don’t have football that are aligned with FCS. There’s a lot of value in where FCS sits. I think institutions have to make their own calls, and they have different vision, different approach to things, and that’s certainly fine. I feel like the future of FCS is strong, and my role is to make sure the championship and the division gets what they need to be able to support, and maybe expand and push forward at FCS. It’s an interesting group of schools. We’ve got everything from top to bottom, state schools and private schools, etc. But coming together and playing a really high level brand of football, I think makes a lot of good sense for folks that have been thriving and succeeding in it. I’m not on campus, so I can’t tell you what all those things look like. Mark or Beth may have better thoughts on that. But I’ve had a long career at the NCAA and believe FCS is underrated.”