{"id":345897,"date":"2025-12-13T18:41:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T18:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/345897\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T18:41:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T18:41:17","slug":"2025-fcs-football-championship-bracket-schedule-scores-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/345897\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 FCS football championship: Bracket, schedule, scores"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The 2025-26 FCS playoffs consist of a 24-team bracket with play starting on Saturday, Nov. 29 and concluding on Monday, Jan. 5. The top 16 teams seeded and the top eight seeds receive automatic byes to the second round, while the rest of the 24-team field (the remaining 16 teams) play in the first round.<\/p>\n

Here’s everything you need to know for the Division I Football Championship postseason.<\/p>\n

FCS championship bracket<\/p>\n

Click or tap here to view the bracket<\/a><\/p>\n

\"FCS<\/p>\n

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FCS championship schedule<\/p>\n

All times Eastern<\/p>\n

Quarterfinals<\/p>\n

\tFriday, December 12<\/p>\n

\tSaturday, December 13<\/p>\n

Semifinals<\/p>\n

\tSaturday, December\u00a020<\/p>\n

\t\tSemifinal 1 | 4 p.m. ET | ABC
\n\t\tSemifinal 2 | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2<\/p>\n

National Championship\u00a0<\/p>\n

FCS championship rounds, dates<\/p>\n

\tSelection show:\u00a012 p.m. ET Sunday, Nov. 23 on ESPNU
\n\tFirst\u00a0round:\u00a0Saturday, Nov. 29<\/p>\n

\tSecond round:\u00a0Saturday, Dec. 6<\/p>\n

\tQuarterfinals:\u00a0Friday,\u00a0Dec. 12 through\u00a0Saturday, Dec. 13
\n\tSemifinals: Saturday, Dec. 20\u00a0
\n\tNational championship:\u00a0Monday, Jan. 5 on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

FCS selections<\/p>\n

The bracket selections for the 2025-26 FCS Championship was on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. The bracket was be revealed via a selection show on ESPNU at 12 p.m. ET and a selections release<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Eleven conferences (or conference partnerships\/alliances) earn automatic bids to the playoffs. The FCS Championship Committee selects the remaining 13 at-large bids.<\/p>\n

AUTOMATIC BIDS: Click or tap here to see all 11 of the clinched auto-bids<\/a><\/p>\n

FCS championship history\u00a0<\/p>\n

North Dakota Dakota State is the reigning national champion, winning its 10 title in 2024 with a 35-32 win over Montana State. Here’s every FCS champion and runner-up from the past decade:<\/p>\n

\t\t\tYear
\n\t\t\tChampion
\n\t\t\tCoach
\n\t\t\tScore
\n\t\t\tRunner-Up
\n\t\t\tSite<\/p>\n

\t\t\t2024
\n\t\t\tNorth Dakota State<\/a>
\n\t\t\tTim Polasek
\n\t\t\t35-32
\n\t\t\tMontana State
\n\t\t\tFrisco, Texas<\/p>\n

\t\t\t2023
\n\t\t\tSouth Dakota State<\/a>
\n\t\t\tJimmy Rogers
\n\t\t\t23-3
\n\t\t\tMontana\u00a0
\n\t\t\tFrisco, Texas<\/p>\n

\t\t\t2022
\n\t\t\tSouth Dakota State<\/a>
\n\t\t\tJohn Stiegelmeier
\n\t\t\t45-21
\n\t\t\tNorth Dakota State
\n\t\t\tFrisco, Texas<\/p>\n

\t\t\t2021
\n\t\t\tNorth Dakota State<\/a>
\n\t\t\tMatt Entz
\n\t\t\t38-10
\n\t\t\tMontana State
\n\t\t\tFrisco, Texas<\/p>\n

\t\t\t2020
\n\t\t\tSam Houston<\/a>
\n\t\t\tK.C. Keeler
\n\t\t\t23-21
\n\t\t\tSouth Dakota State
\n\t\t\tFrisco, Texas<\/p>\n

\t\t\t2019
\n\t\t\tNorth Dakota State<\/a>
\n\t\t\tMatt Entz
\n\t\t\t28-20
\n\t\t\tJames Madison
\n\t\t\tFrisco, Texas<\/p>\n

\t\t\t2018
\n\t\t\tNorth Dakota State<\/a>
\n\t\t\tChris Klieman
\n\t\t\t38-24
\n\t\t\tEastern Washington
\n\t\t\tFrisco, Texas<\/p>\n

\t\t\t2017
\n\t\t\tNorth Dakota State<\/a>
\n\t\t\tChris Klieman
\n\t\t\t17-13
\n\t\t\tJames Madison
\n\t\t\tFrisco, Texas<\/p>\n

\t\t\t2016
\n\t\t\tJames Madison<\/a>
\n\t\t\tMike Houston
\n\t\t\t28-14
\n\t\t\tYoungstown State
\n\t\t\tFrisco, Texas<\/p>\n

\t\t\t2015
\n\t\t\tNorth Dakota State<\/a>
\n\t\t\tChris Klieman
\n\t\t\t37-10
\n\t\t\tJacksonville State
\n\t\t\tFrisco, Texas<\/p>\n

Click here for a full list of every champion since 1978.\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Stan Becton joined NCAA.com in 2021 and has since served as a college football, FCS football, track and field, cross country and HBCU beat reporter. He has covered numerous NCAA championship events, including the FCS Championship, DI Track & Field Championships and Men’s Frozen Four. Additionally, he has covered the College Football Playoff and HBCU sporting events like the Celebration Bowl, MEAC\/SWAC Challenge and Legacy Classic. Stan graduated from Carnegie Mellon University, earning a degree in Professional Writing and playing football as a five-year letterman. You can follow him on Twitter @stan_becton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions.<\/p>\n

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Ferris State’s Tim Anderson wins the 2025 Gene Upshaw Award<\/p>\n

The award honors the best senior or graduate offensive or defensive lineman in DII.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n

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Ranking the performances of first-year college football coaches<\/p>\n

The FBS regular season is in the books and 29 first-year coaches have finished there debut seasons. Here\u2019s a recap of how they did, ranking their performances from top to bottom.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n

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Here are the most popular lower seeds, upset picks in the College Football Playoff<\/p>\n

Here are the non-bye teams that are most popular in NCAA.com’s College Football Bracket Challenge Game.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n