UPDATED: Conference-by-Conference - Here are the Schools Opting In and Out of FCS Spring football

February 15, 2021 by Staff

BIG SKY
Big Sky teams will play a 6-game conference only schedule with two open dates this Spring. Members will not be allowed to scheduled non-conference contests.

8 Members Playing 6 games each:
Cal Poly
Eastern Washington
Idaho
Idaho State
Northern Arizona
Southern Utah
UC Davis
Weber State

5 Members NOT Playing:
Montana (has scheduled 2 games - April 10 vs. D-2 member Central Washington at home, and April 17 vs. Portland State at home)
Montana State
Northern Colorado
Portland State (has scheduled 1 game - April 17 at Montana)
Sacramento State

 

BIG SOUTH
Each team will play a four-game conference schedule this Spring and can schedule up to four non-conference games at their own discretion.

5 Members Playing 4 games each. More if noted in parenthesis:
Charleston Southern
Gardner-Webb (6)
Kennesaw State (6)
Monmouth
Robert Morris (5)

3 Members NOT Playing:
Campbell
Hampton
North Alabama

 

CAA
For the Spring CAA season, the conference will split into two divisions:

Northern Division: UAlbany, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Stony Brook, Villanova.

Southern Division: Elon, James Madison, Richmond, William & Mary

Teams in the North Division will play each other once (three home, three away), while teams in the South will meet twice in a home-and-home format. The team with the best overall conference record will earn an automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs.

CAA teams also have the option to schedule up to two non-conference contests against any opponent, including teams from the CAA, but those games will not count in the conference standings and will not be used to break any ties in the standings.

11 Members Playing 6 games each. More if noted in parenthesis:
Albany
Delaware
Elon (8)
James Madison (8)
Maine
New Hampshire
Rhode Island (7)
Richmond
Stony Brook
Villanova
William & Mary

1 Member NOT Playing:
Towson

 

INDEPENDENTS
1 Members Playing 6 games:
Dixie State

1 Member Playing 8 games:
Tarleton State

0 Members NOT Playing

 

IVY LEAGUE
0 Members Playing
8 Members NOT Playing:
Brown
Cornell
Columbia
Dartmouth
Harvard
Penn
Pennsylvania
Yale

 

MEAC

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference on February 11 suspended its spring season before a game was played after three more teams opted out. Three schools will play as independents and they will be elgiible to compete for the at-large berths in the NCAA Playoff.

3 Members Playing.
Delaware State (5)
Howard (2 scheduled as of 2/15 - more to be added)
Morgan State (2 scheduled as of 2/15 - more to be added)

6 Members NOT Playing:
Bethune-Cookman
Florida A&M
Morgan State
Norfolk State
North Carolina Central
North Carolina A&T

 

MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
Eight-game conference-only schedule.

Scheduling model has a “Southern Start,” with early games played either at domes or institutions in the southern-most part of the MVFC footprint.

10 Members Playing 8 games each.
Illinois State
Missouri State
North Dakota
North Dakota State
Northern Iowa
South Dakota
South Dakota State
Southern Illinois
Western Illinois
Youngstown State

1 Member NOT Playing:
Indiana State

 

NEC (NORTHEAST CONFERENCE)
Teams will play a four-game conference schedule starting on March 5-7, 2021.

All games will take place on Sundays from March 7 to March 28, except for  Bryant's non-conference home game with Rhode Island on February 27.

NEC Championship game will be contested on April 16 or 17 with the No. 1 seed hosting the No. 2 seed to determine the conference's automatic qualifier to the FCS playoffs.

6 Members Playing:
Bryant
Duquesne
LIU
Merrimack
Sacred Heart
Wagner

2 Members Not Playing:
Central Connecticut
St. Francis (PA)

 

OVC (Ohio Valley Conference)
Teams will play seven conference games over an eight-week period.
Teams will have the opportunity to play one non-conference game which would take place on the weekend of February 13-14.

Games will be contested on Sundays (with the exception of Easter weekend when the games will be played on Saturday) and start during a 1-3 p.m. window local time.

8 Members Playing 7 games each:
Austin Peay
Eastern Illinois
Jacksonville State
Murray State
Southeast Missouri
Tennessee-Martin
Tennessee State
Tennessee Tech

1 Member NOT playing:
Eastern Kentucky

 

PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League's half dozen football teams will be split into two three-team divisions for the 2021 spring season.

North: Colgate, Fordham, Holy Cross

South: Bucknell, Lafayette, Lehigh.

Teams will play each divisional opponent once with two non-divisional games. The League schedule is set to begin on Saturday, March 13, and conclude on Saturday, April 17, with a championship game between the two division winners. There is a make-up weekend scheduled for the weekend of April 10.

6 Members Playing 4 games each:
Bucknell
Colgate
Fordham
Holy Cross
Lafayette
Lehigh

1 Member NOT playing:
Georgetown

 

PIONEER LEAGUE
Teams will each play a six-game conference schedule with no bye weeks.

PFL teams can also schedule non-conference opponents at their discretion, but they have to be played prior to March 13.

The Spring 2021 PFL schedule will also include the Presbyterian Blue Hose, who are joining the conference a little early after departing the Big South Conference following the 2019 season.

USD, the third-winningest FCS program in the last decade, will aim to continue the nation's longest active conference winning streak (37 games) and reach the FCS Playoffs for the fifth year in a row this spring.

The Toreros have won the PFL championship in each of the last six years and 11 times overall.

8 Members Playing 6 games each. More if noted in parenthesis:
Butler
Davidson (7)
Drake
Morehead State
Presbyterian (7)
San Diego
Stetson
Valparaiso

2 Members NOT Playing:
Dayton
Marist

 

SoCon (Southern Conference)
The Southern Conference announced an eight-game schedule for the spring 2021 football season Each team will play 4 home and 4 road games.

9 Members Playing 8 games each:
Chattanooga (7)
ETSU
Furman
Mercer
Samford
The Citadel
Western Carolina
Wofford
VMI (7)

0 Members NOT Playing

 

SOUTHLAND
The Conference will feature six league games for its participating seven members. 2 non-conference games may be scheduled.

7 Members Playing 6 games each:
Incarnate Word
Lamar
McNeese State
Nicholls State
Northwestern State (La.)
Sam Houston State
SE Louisiana

4 Members NOT playing:
Abilene Christian
Central Arkansas
Houston Baptist
Stephen F. Austin

 

SWAC
Teams will compete in their usual NORTH and SOUTH divisions. Each team will play six conference football games to include four games against division opponents and two games against non-division opponents.

Each member institution will also have the option to play one non-conference game.

The football season will culminate with the Cricket Wireless SWAC Championship Game on Saturday, May 1 on the campus of the highest seeded team.

10 Members Playing 6 games each:
Alabama A&M
Alabama State
Alcorn State
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Grambling State
Jackson State (7)
Mississippi Valley State
Prairie View A&M
Southern
Texas Southern

0 Members NOT Playing