2010 NCAA Division I FCS season

Regular season
Number of teams	124
Duration	September – November
Payton Award	Jeremy Moses, Stephen F. Austin
Buchanan Award	J. C. Sherritt, Eastern Washington
Playoff
Duration	November 27 – December 18
Championship date	January 7, 2011
Championship site	Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, Texas
Champion	Eastern Washington
NCAA Division I FCS football seasons
«2009 2011»

The 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season, the 2010 season of college football for teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), began in September 2010 and concluded with the 2011 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game on January 7, 2011. In the title game, Eastern Washington defeated Delaware, 20–19, to claim their first Division I national title in any team sport.

For the first time since 1997, the final game was played at a new location—Pizza Hut Park in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas.^[1] Every title game since 1997 had been held at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but the NCAA opened the hosting rights for the 2010–2012 championship games for bids during the 2009 season, as the hosting contract between the NCAA and the Chattanooga organizers was set to expire. In addition to Frisco and Chattanooga, three other cities submitted bids:^[2]

The field of bidders was eventually cut to Chattanooga and Frisco, with Frisco being announced as the winner on February 26, 2010.^[1]

The January finish to the season was the result of an expanded playoff schedule. The championship tournament expanded from 16 teams to 20, with the Big South and Northeast Conference earning automatic bids for the first time. Eight teams played first-round games, with the remaining participants receiving byes into the second round. The playoffs began at their normal time on Thanksgiving weekend, specifically on November 27. According to early reports, the championship game would be played sometime between December 29 and January 7,^[3] with the latter date ultimately chosen.

FCS team wins over FBS teams

September 4 – Jacksonville State 49, Ole Miss 48 ^2OT
September 4 – North Dakota State 6, Kansas 3
September 11 – James Madison 21, No. 13 Virginia Tech 16 (NOTE: This was only the second win by an FCS school over a ranked FBS team, after Appalachian State's historic win over Michigan in 2007).^[4]
September 11 – Gardner–Webb 38, Akron 37 ^OT
September 11 – Liberty 27, Ball State 23
September 11 – South Dakota 41, Minnesota 38
October 2 – UC Davis 14, San Jose State 13

Conference changes and new programs

School	2009 conference	2010 conference
Georgia State	New program	FCS Independent
Hofstra	CAA	Dropped program^[5]
Lamar	Revived program	FCS Independent
North Carolina Central	FCS Independent	MEAC
Northeastern	CAA	Dropped program^[6]
Savannah State	FCS independent	MEAC
Winston-Salem State	FCS independent	CIAA (D-II)

Conference standings

2010 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Eastern Washington +^	7	–	1	13	–	2
No. 11 Montana State +^	7	–	1	9	–	3
No. 20 Montana	5	–	3	7	–	4
Weber State	5	–	3	6	–	5
Sacramento State	5	–	3	6	–	5
Northern Arizona	4	–	4	6	–	5
Northern Colorado	2	–	6	3	–	8
Portland State	1	–	7	2	–	9
Idaho State	0	–	8	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2010 Big South Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 21 Liberty +	5	–	1	8	–	3
Stony Brook +	5	–	1	6	–	5
Coastal Carolina +^	5	–	1	6	–	6
Gardner–Webb	2	–	4	4	–	7
VMI	2	–	4	3	–	8
Charleston Southern	1	–	5	3	–	8
Presbyterian	1	–	5	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2010 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Delaware +^	6	–	2	12	–	3
No. 10 William & Mary +^	6	–	2	8	–	4
No. 3 Villanova ^	5	–	3	9	–	5
No. 7 New Hampshire ^	5	–	3	8	–	5
UMass	4	–	4	6	–	5
Richmond	4	–	4	6	–	5
Rhode Island	4	–	4	5	–	6
James Madison	3	–	5	6	–	5
Maine	3	–	5	4	–	7
Towson	0	–	8	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2010 Great West Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Southern Utah $	4	–	0	6	–	5
UC Davis	3	–	1	6	–	5
No. 24 Cal Poly	2	–	2	7	–	4
South Dakota	1	–	3	4	–	7
North Dakota	0	–	4	3	–	8

$ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2010 Ivy League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 18 Penn $	7	–	0	9	–	1
Harvard	5	–	2	7	–	3
Yale	5	–	2	7	–	3
Brown	5	–	2	6	–	4
Dartmouth	3	–	4	6	–	4
Columbia	2	–	5	4	–	6
Cornell	1	–	6	2	–	8
Princeton	0	–	7	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2010 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 15 Bethune–Cookman +^	7	–	1	10	–	2
No. 16 South Carolina State +^	7	–	1	9	–	3
Florida A&M +	7	–	1	8	–	3
Hampton	5	–	3	6	–	5
Norfolk State	4	–	4	6	–	5
Morgan State	3	–	5	4	–	7
Delaware State	2	–	6	3	–	8
North Carolina A&T	1	–	7	1	–	10
Howard	0	–	8	1	–	10
North Carolina Central *	0	–	0	3	–	8
Savannah State *	0	–	0	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant * Not eligible for conference championship Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2010 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 19 Northern Iowa $^	6	–	2	7	–	5
No. 17 Western Illinois ^	5	–	3	8	–	5
No. 9 North Dakota State ^	4	–	4	9	–	5
Indiana State	4	–	4	6	–	5
Illinois State	4	–	4	6	–	5
South Dakota State	4	–	4	5	–	6
Missouri State	4	–	4	5	–	6
Southern Illinois	4	–	4	5	–	6
Youngstown State	1	–	7	3	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2010 Northeast Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Robert Morris +^	7	–	1	8	–	3
Central Connecticut State +	7	–	1	8	–	3
Duquesne	5	–	3	7	–	4
Bryant	4	–	4	7	–	4
Albany	4	–	4	6	–	5
Wagner	3	–	5	5	–	6
Monmouth	3	–	5	3	–	8
Sacred Heart	2	–	6	4	–	7
Saint Francis (PA)	1	–	7	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant

2010 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 13 Southeast Missouri State $^	7	–	1	9	–	3
No. 12 Jacksonville State ^	6	–	2	9	–	3
Eastern Kentucky	5	–	2	6	–	5
Murray State	5	–	3	6	–	5
UT Martin	5	–	3	6	–	5
Tennessee Tech	4	–	4	5	–	6
Eastern Illinois	2	–	6	2	–	9
Austin Peay	1	–	7	2	–	9
Tennessee State	0	–	7	3	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2010 Patriot League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 14 Lehigh $^	5	–	0	10	–	3
Colgate	3	–	2	7	–	4
Holy Cross	3	–	2	6	–	5
Georgetown	2	–	3	4	–	7
Lafayette	1	–	4	2	–	9
Bucknell	1	–	4	1	–	10
Fordham	0	–	0	5	–	6

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2010 Pioneer Football League standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 22 Jacksonville +	8	–	0	10	–	1
No. 25 Dayton +	8	–	0	10	–	1
Drake	6	–	2	7	–	4
San Diego	5	–	3	5	–	6
Morehead State	4	–	4	5	–	6
Davidson	3	–	5	3	–	8
Butler	2	–	6	4	–	7
Marist	2	–	6	3	–	8
Campbell	2	–	6	3	–	8
Valparaiso	0	–	8	0	–	11

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2010 Southern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 4 Appalachian State +^	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 6 Wofford +^	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 5 Georgia Southern ^	5	–	3	10	–	5
Chattanooga	5	–	3	6	–	5
Elon	5	–	3	6	–	5
Furman	3	–	5	5	–	6
Samford	2	–	6	4	–	7
The Citadel	1	–	7	3	–	8
Western Carolina	1	–	7	2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network Poll

2010 Southland Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 8 Stephen F. Austin $^	6	–	1	9	–	3
McNeese State	5	–	2	6	–	5
Central Arkansas	4	–	3	7	–	4
Sam Houston State	4	–	3	6	–	5
Northwestern State	4	–	3	5	–	6
Nicholls State	3	–	4	4	–	7
Texas State	1	–	6	4	–	7
Southeastern Louisiana	1	–	6	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2010 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Alabama State xy	6	–	3	7	–	5
Jackson State x	6	–	3	8	–	3
Alcorn State	4	–	5	5	–	6
Alabama A&M	2	–	7	3	–	8
Mississippi Valley State	0	–	9	0	–	10
West Division
Texas Southern xy$	8	–	1	9	–	3
No. 23 Grambling State x	8	–	1	9	–	2
Prairie View A&M	6	–	3	7	–	4
Arkansas–Pine Bluff	4	–	5	5	–	6
Southern	1	–	8	2	–	9
Championship: Texas Southern 11, Alabama State 6
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from The Sports Network Poll

2010 NCAA Division I FCS independents football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Old Dominion		–		8	–	3
Georgia State		–		6	–	5
Lamar		–		5	–	6

Playoff qualifiers

Automatic berths for conference champions

Big Sky Conference – Montana State
Big South Conference – Coastal Carolina
Colonial Athletic Association – William & Mary
Missouri Valley Football Conference – Northern Iowa
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Bethune–Cookman
Northeast Conference – Robert Morris
Ohio Valley Conference – Southeast Missouri State
Patriot League – Lehigh
Southern Conference – Appalachian State
Southland Conference – Stephen F. Austin

At large qualifiers

Big Sky Conference – Eastern Washington
Colonial Athletic Association – Delaware
Colonial Athletic Association – New Hampshire
Colonial Athletic Association – Villanova
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina State
Missouri Valley Football Conference – North Dakota State
Missouri Valley Football Conference – Western Illinois
Ohio Valley Conference – Jacksonville State
Southern Conference – Georgia Southern
Southern Conference – Wofford

No teams from the conferences that do not have automatic bids—currently the Great West Conference and Pioneer Football League—received bids. In order for a team from a conference without an automatic bid to be eligible for the playoffs, it must have a minimum of seven Division I wins, with at least two against teams in automatic bid conferences. The team in question also must be ranked an average of 16 or better in the national rankings.^{[citation needed]}

Abstentions

Ivy League – Pennsylvania
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Texas Southern

(Overall Record, Conference Record)

Postseason

After 24 seasons with a playoff field of sixteen teams, the FCS bracket was expanded to twenty this postseason, with the five seeded teams and seven others receiving first-round byes. The championship game was moved to January, three weeks after the mid-December semifinals.

The FCS playoff field was twenty for three seasons, then expanded to 24 in 2013.

NCAA Division I playoff bracket

First Round November 27 Campus sites		Second Round December 4 Campus sites			Quarterfinals December 10 and 11 Campus sites			Semifinals December 17 and 18 Campus sites			National Championship Game January 7 Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, Texas

			Western Illinois	14
Western Illinois	17	1	Appalachian State*	42
Coastal Carolina*	10				1	Appalachian State*	24
						Villanova	42
		Villanova		54
		Stephen F. Austin*		24
									Villanova	31
								5	Eastern Washington*	41
			North Dakota State	42
Robert Morris	17	4	Montana State*	17
North Dakota State*	43					North Dakota State	31
					5	Eastern Washington*	38
			SE Missouri State	17
		5	Eastern Washington*	37
											5	Eastern Washington	20
											3	Delaware	19
			Georgia Southern	31
South Carolina State	16	2	William & Mary*	15
Georgia Southern*	41				Georgia Southern		23
					Wofford*		20
		Wofford		17
		Jacksonville State*		14
									Georgia Southern	10
								3	Delaware*	27
			Lehigh	20
Lehigh	14	3	Delaware*	42
Northern Iowa*	7				3	Delaware*	16
						New Hampshire	3
		New Hampshire		45
		Bethune–Cookman*		20

* Home team

SWAC Championship Game

Main article: SWAC Championship Game

Date	Location	Venue	West Div. Champion	East Div. Champion	Result
December 11^[7]	Birmingham, Alabama	Legion Field	Texas Southern	Alabama State	TSU 11 – ASU 6

Global Kilimanjaro Bowl

Main article: 2011 Kilimanjaro Bowl

On September 1, 2010, Drake University announced it would participate in the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl, the first American football game played on the continent of Africa. The game featured the Drake Bulldogs versus Mexican All-Star team CONADEIP. Due to the seasonal difference in Africa, the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl was played on May 21, 2011.^[8]

Date	Location	Venue	Mexican Team	USA Team	Result
May 21, 2011	Arusha, Tanzania	Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium	CONADEIP Stars	Drake Bulldogs	Drake 17 – CONADEIP 7

Final poll standings

Standings are from The Sports Network final poll.

Rank	Team	Record
1	Eastern Washington Eagles	13–2
2	Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens	12–3
3	Villanova Wildcats	9–5
4	Appalachian State Mountaineers	10–3
5	Georgia Southern Eagles	10–5
6	Wofford Terriers	10–3
7	New Hampshire Wildcats	8–5
8	Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks	9–3
9	North Dakota State Bison	9–5
10	William & Mary Tribe	8–4
11	Montana State Bobcats	9–3
12	Jacksonville State Gamecocks	9–3
13	Southeast Missouri State Redhawks	9–3
14	Lehigh Mountain Hawks	10–3
15	Bethune–Cookman Wildcats	10–2
16	South Carolina State Bulldogs	9–3
17	Western Illinois Leathernecks	8–5
18	Penn Quakers	9–1
19	Northern Iowa Panthers	7–5
20	Montana Grizzlies	7–4
21	Liberty Flames	8–3
22	Jacksonville Dolphins	10–1
23	Grambling State Tigers	9–2
24	Cal Poly Mustangs	7–4
25	Dayton Flyers	10–1

Standings are from the FCS Coaches final poll.

Rank	Team	Record
1	Eastern Washington Eagles	13–2
2	Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens	12–3
3	Villanova Wildcats	9–5
4	Appalachian State Mountaineers	10–3
5	Wofford Terriers	10–3
6	Georgia Southern Eagles	10–5
7	New Hampshire Wildcats	8–5
8	William & Mary Tribe	8–4
9	North Dakota State Bison	9–5
10	Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks	9–3
11	Montana State Bobcats	9–3
12	Jacksonville State Gamecocks	9–3
13	Southeast Missouri State Redhawks	9–3
14	Lehigh Mountain Hawks	10–3
15	Bethune–Cookman Wildcats	10–2
16	Penn Quakers	9–1
17	South Carolina State Bulldogs	9–3
18	Northern Iowa Panthers	7–5
19	Liberty Flames	8–3
20	Western Illinois Leathernecks	8–5
21	Montana Grizzlies	7–4
22	Jacksonville Dolphins	10–1
23	Cal Poly Mustangs	7–4
24	Grambling State Tigers	9–2
25	Dayton Flyers	10–1

References

External links

NCAA football seasons

NCAA football seasons
Pre-NCAA	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905
NCAA pre-divisional	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
NCAA University Division	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division I	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
NCAA Division I-A/FBS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA College Division	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division II	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA Division III	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024