2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season

Number of teams125

DurationAugust 29 – November 21

Payton AwardCooper Kupp, WR, Eastern Washington

Buchanan AwardDeon King, LB, Norfolk State

2015 NCAA Division I FCS season

Regular season
Number of teams	125
Duration	August 29 – November 21
Payton Award	Cooper Kupp, WR, Eastern Washington
Buchanan Award	Deon King, LB, Norfolk State
Playoff
Duration	November 28 – December 19
Championship date	January 9, 2016
Championship site	Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
Champion	North Dakota State
NCAA Division I FCS football seasons
«2014 2016»

The 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The season began on August 29, 2015, and concluded with the 2016 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game played on January 9, 2016, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State won its fifth consecutive title, defeating Jacksonville State, 37–10.

School	2014 conference	2015 conference
Charlotte	FCS Independent	C–USA (FBS)
East Tennessee State	Revived program	FCS Independent
Kennesaw State	New program	Big South

In addition, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference announced that they would decline their automatic bid for the FCS National Championship playoff from 2015 onwards. The conference's champion will now participate in the Celebration Bowl against the winners of the Southwestern Athletic Conference title game (the SWAC having abstained from the playoff since 1998 due to its conference season not ending until after the draw has been released), serving as the de facto national championship game for HBCUs. MEAC and SWAC teams who do not participate in the Celebration Bowl may still receive at-large bids to the FCS Championship.

FCS team wins over FBS teams

(FCS rankings from the STATS poll)

September 4: No. 20 Fordham 37, Army 35
September 5: North Dakota 24, Wyoming 13
September 5: Portland State 24, Washington St 17
September 5: No. 16 South Dakota State 41, Kansas 38
September 19: Furman 16, UCF 15
September 26: No. 9 James Madison 48, SMU 45
October 3: No. 18 Liberty 41, Georgia State 33
October 10: No. 25 Portland State 66, North Texas 7 (NOTE: This was the largest victory margin ever by an FCS team over an FBS team. Portland State also became the first FCS team to defeat two FBS teams in the same season since North Dakota State in 2007).^[1]
November 21: No. 25 The Citadel 23, South Carolina 22

Conference standings

2015 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 18 Southern Utah $^	7	–	1	8	–	4
No. 10 Portland State ^	6	–	2	9	–	3
No. 14 Montana ^	6	–	2	8	–	5
North Dakota	5	–	3	7	–	4
Northern Arizona	5	–	3	7	–	4
Eastern Washington	5	–	3	6	–	5
Weber State	5	–	3	6	–	5
Northern Colorado	3	–	5	6	–	5
Montana State	3	–	5	5	–	6
Cal Poly	3	–	5	4	–	7
UC Davis	2	–	6	2	–	9
Idaho State	1	–	7	2	–	9
Sacramento State	1	–	7	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

2015 Big South Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 6 Charleston Southern $^	6	–	0	10	–	3
No. 16 Coastal Carolina ^	4	–	2	9	–	3
Liberty	3	–	3	6	–	5
Monmouth	3	–	3	5	–	6
Kennesaw State	2	–	4	6	–	5
Gardner–Webb *	2	–	4	4	–	7
Presbyterian	1	–	5	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * Gardner–Webb ineligible for postseason due to APR violations Rankings from STATS Poll

2015 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 4 Richmond +^	6	–	2	10	–	4
No. 11 James Madison +^	6	–	2	9	–	3
No. 12 William & Mary +^	6	–	2	9	–	4
Towson	5	–	3	7	–	4
New Hampshire ^	5	–	3	7	–	5
Villanova	5	–	3	6	–	5
Stony Brook	3	–	5	5	–	5
Delaware	3	–	5	4	–	7
Elon	3	–	5	4	–	7
Maine	3	–	5	3	–	8
Albany	2	–	6	3	–	8
Rhode Island	1	–	7	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

2015 Ivy League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 20 Harvard +	6	–	1	9	–	1
No. 23 Dartmouth +	6	–	1	9	–	1
Penn +	6	–	1	7	–	3
Yale	3	–	4	6	–	4
Brown	3	–	4	5	–	5
Princeton	2	–	5	5	–	5
Columbia	1	–	6	2	–	8
Cornell	1	–	6	1	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from STATS Poll

2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 21 North Carolina A&T +	7	–	1	10	–	2
Bethune–Cookman +	7	–	1	9	–	2
North Carolina Central +	7	–	1	8	–	3
South Carolina State	6	–	2	7	–	4
Hampton	5	–	3	6	–	5
Morgan State	4	–	4	4	–	6
Norfolk State	4	–	4	4	–	7
Savannah State *	1	–	7	1	–	9
Delaware State	1	–	7	1	–	10
Florida A&M *	1	–	7	1	–	10
Howard	1	–	7	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions Florida A&M and Savannah State ineligible for postseason due to APR violations Rankings from STATS Poll

2015 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State +^	7	–	1	13	–	2
No. 5 Illinois State +^	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 8 Northern Iowa ^	5	–	3	9	–	5
No. 15 South Dakota State ^	5	–	3	8	–	4
Western Illinois ^	5	–	3	7	–	6
Indiana State	3	–	5	5	–	6
Youngstown State	3	–	5	5	–	6
South Dakota	3	–	5	5	–	6
Southern Illinois	2	–	6	3	–	8
Missouri State	0	–	8	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

2015 Northeast Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Duquesne $^	5	–	1	8	–	4
Saint Francis (PA)	4	–	2	6	–	4
Sacred Heart	3	–	3	6	–	5
Bryant	3	–	3	5	–	6
Central Connecticut	3	–	3	4	–	7
Robert Morris	2	–	4	4	–	7
Wagner	1	–	5	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant

2015 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Jacksonville State $^	8	–	0	13	–	2
No. 25 Eastern Illinois ^	7	–	1	7	–	5
UT Martin	6	–	2	7	–	4
Eastern Kentucky	5	–	3	6	–	5
SE Missouri State	3	–	4	4	–	7
Tennessee Tech	3	–	5	4	–	7
Murray State	2	–	6	3	–	8
Tennessee State	1	–	6	4	–	6
Austin Peay	0	–	8	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

2015 Patriot League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 17 Colgate $^	6	–	0	9	–	5
No. 19 Fordham ^	5	–	1	9	–	3
Lehigh	4	–	2	6	–	5
Holy Cross	3	–	3	6	–	5
Georgetown	2	–	4	4	–	7
Bucknell	1	–	5	4	–	7
Lafayette	0	–	6	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

2015 Pioneer Football League standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Dayton +^	7	–	1	10	–	2
San Diego +	7	–	1	9	–	2
Jacksonville *	6	–	2	9	–	2
Morehead State	6	–	2	7	–	4
Butler	4	–	4	6	–	5
Drake	4	–	4	5	–	6
Marist	4	–	4	5	–	6
Campbell	3	–	5	5	–	6
Stetson	1	–	7	3	–	8
Valparaiso	1	–	7	2	–	9
Davidson	1	–	7	2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant * Jacksonville ineligible for PFL title and FCS playoffs due to matters regarding the PFL's financial aid rules

2015 Southern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 9 Chattanooga +^	6	–	1	9	–	4
No. 13 The Citadel +^	6	–	1	9	–	4
Western Carolina	5	–	2	7	–	4
Samford	3	–	4	6	–	5
Wofford	3	–	4	5	–	6
Mercer	2	–	5	5	–	6
Furman	2	–	5	4	–	7
VMI	1	–	6	2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

2015 Southland Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 7 McNeese State $^	9	–	0	10	–	1
No. 3 Sam Houston State ^	7	–	2	11	–	4
Central Arkansas	7	–	2	7	–	4
Incarnate Word *	5	–	4	6	–	5
Lamar	4	–	5	5	–	6
Northwestern State	4	–	5	4	–	7
Stephen F. Austin	4	–	5	4	–	7
SE Louisiana	3	–	6	4	–	7
Abilene Christian *	3	–	6	3	–	8
Nicholls State	3	–	6	3	–	8
Houston Baptist	0	–	8	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * – ineligible for FCS playoffs due to transition from NCAA Division II Rankings from STATS poll

2015 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Alcorn State xy$	7	–	2	9	–	4
Alabama State *	5	–	4	6	–	5
Alabama A&M	3	–	6	3	–	8
Jackson State	3	–	6	3	–	8
Mississippi Valley State	1	–	8	1	–	10
West Division
No. 24 Grambling State xy	9	–	0	9	–	3
Prairie View A&M	8	–	1	8	–	2
Southern	6	–	3	6	–	5
Texas Southern	2	–	7	3	–	7
Arkansas–Pine Bluff	1	–	8	2	–	9
Championship: Alcorn State 49, Grambling State 21
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant * – Ineligible for postseason due to APR violations Rankings from STATS Poll

2015 NCAA Division I FCS independents football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Tennessee State		–		2	–	9

Conference summaries

Championship games

Conference	Champion	Runner-up	Score	Offensive Player of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year	Coach of the Year
SWAC	Alcorn State	Grambling State	49–21	Johnathan Williams (Grambling)	Kourtney Berry (Alabama State)	Broderick Fobbs (Grambling)

Other conference winners

Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.

Conference	Champion	Record	Offensive Player of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year	Coach of the Year
Big Sky	Southern Utah	8–3 (7–1)	Cooper Kupp (Eastern Washington)	James Cowser (Southern Utah)	Bruce Barnum (Portland State)
Big South	Charleston Southern	9–2 (6–0)	De'Angelo Henderson (Coastal Carolina)	Chima Uzowihe (Liberty)	Jamey Chadwell (Charleston Southern)
CAA	James Madison Richmond William & Mary	9–2 (6–2) 8–3 (6–2) 8–3 (6–2)	Vad Lee (James Madison)	DeAndre Houston-Carson (William & Mary) Victor Ochi (Stony Brook)	Danny Rocco (Richmond)
Ivy	Dartmouth Harvard Penn	9–1 (6–1) 9–1 (6–1) 7–3 (6–1)	Scott Hosch (Harvard)	Tyler Drake (Yale)	Ray Priore (Penn)
MEAC	Bethune-Cookman North Carolina A&T North Carolina Central	9–2 (7–1) 9–2 (7–1) 8–3 (7–1)	Tarik Cohen (North Carolina A&T)	Javon Hargrave (South Carolina State)	Terry Sims (Bethune-Cookman)
MVFC	Illinois State North Dakota State	9–2 (7–1) 9–2 (7–1)	Marshaun Coprich (Illinois State)	Deiondre' Hall (Northern Iowa)	Bob Nielson (Western Illinois)
NEC	Duquesne	8–3 (5–1)	Ricardo McCray (Bryant)	Christian Kuntz (Duquesne)	Chris Villarrial (Saint Francis)
OVC	Jacksonville State	10–1 (8–0)	Eli Jenkins (Jacksonville State)	Dino Fanti (Eastern Illinois) Noah Spence (Eastern Kentucky)	John Grass (Jacksonville State)
Patriot	Colgate	7–4 (6–0)	Chase Edmonds (Fordham)	Clayton Ewell (Bucknell)	Dan Hunt (Colgate)
Pioneer	Dayton San Diego	10–1 (7–1) 9–2 (7–1)	Austin Gahafer (Morehead State)	Donald Payne (Stetson)	Rick Chamberlin (Dayton)
Southern	Chattanooga The Citadel	8–3 (6–1) 8–3 (6–1)	Jacob Huesman (Chattanooga)	Mitchell Jeter (The Citadel)	Mike Houston (The Citadel)
Southland	McNeese State	10–0 (9–0)	Kade Harrington (Lamar)	Wallace Scott (McNeese State)	Matt Viator (McNeese State)

Playoff qualifiers

Automatic berths for conference champions

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid	Result
Big Sky Conference	Southern Utah	2nd	2013	First Round (L – Sam Houston State)
Big South Conference	Charleston Southern	1st	–	–
Colonial Athletic Association	Richmond	10th	2014	Second Round (L – Coastal Carolina)
Missouri Valley Football Conference	North Dakota State	6th	2014	National Champions (W – Illinois State)
Northeast Conference	Duquesne	1st	–	–
Ohio Valley Conference	Jacksonville State	6th	2014	Second Round (L – Sam Houston State)
Patriot League	Colgate	10th	2012	First Round (L – Wagner)
Pioneer Football League	Dayton	1st	–	–
Southern Conference	Chattanooga	3rd	2014	Quarterfinals (L – New Hampshire)
Southland Conference	McNeese State	16th	2013	Second Round (L – Jacksonville State)

At large qualifiers

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid	Result
Big Sky Conference	Montana	24th	2014	Second Round (L – Eastern Washington)
Big Sky Conference	Portland State	2nd	2000	First Round (L – Delaware)
Big South Conference	Coastal Carolina	6th	2014	Quarterfinals (L – North Dakota State)
Colonial Athletic Association	James Madison	11th	2014	First Round (L – Liberty)
	New Hampshire	14th	2014	Semifinals (L – Illinois State)
	William & Mary	10th	2010	Second Round (L – Georgia Southern)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	None
Missouri Valley Football Conference	Illinois State	6th	2014	Championship Game (L – North Dakota State)
	Northern Iowa	18th	2014	Second Round (L – Illinois State)
	South Dakota State	5th	2014	Second Round (L – North Dakota State)
	Western Illinois	10th	2010	Second Round (L – Appalachian State)
Northeast Conference	None
Ohio Valley Conference	Eastern Illinois	16th	2013	Quarterfinals (L – Towson)
Patriot League	Fordham	5th	2014	Second Round (L – New Hampshire)
Pioneer Football League	None
Southern Conference	The Citadel	4th	1992	Quarterfinals (L – Youngstown State)
Southland Conference	Sam Houston State	9th	2014	Semifinals (L – North Dakota State)
Southwestern Athletic Conference	None

Abstentions

Ivy League – Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina A&T
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Alcorn State

Postseason

Bowl game

Game	Date/TV	Location	Winning Team	Losing Team	Score	Offensive MVP	Defensive MVP
Celebration Bowl	December 19 ABC	Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia	North Carolina A&T 10–2 (7–1)	Alcorn State Braves 9–4 (7–2)	41–34	Tarik Cohen (RB, North Carolina A&T)	Denzel Jones (LB, North Carolina A&T)

NCAA Division I playoff bracket

First Round November 28 Campus sites		Second Round December 5 Campus sites			Quarterfinals December 11 and 12 Campus sites			Semifinals December 18 and 19 Campus sites			National Championship January 9 Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas

		1	Jacksonville State*	41†
Chattanooga*	50		Chattanooga	35
Fordham	20				1	Jacksonville State*	58
					8	Charleston Southern	38
		8	Charleston Southern*	14
Coastal Carolina*	38		The Citadel	6
The Citadel	41							1	Jacksonville State*	62
									Sam Houston State	10
		4	McNeese State*	29
Sam Houston State*	42		Sam Houston State	34
Southern Utah	39				Sam Houston State*		48
					Colgate		21
		5	James Madison*	38
New Hampshire*	20		Colgate	44
Colgate	27										1	Jacksonville State	10
											3	North Dakota State	37
		2	Illinois State*	36
Dayton*	7		Western Illinois	19
Western Illinois	24				2	Illinois State*	27
					7	Richmond	39
		7	Richmond*	48
William & Mary*	52		William & Mary	13
Duquesne	49							7	Richmond	7
								3	North Dakota State*	33
		3	North Dakota State*	37
Montana*	24		Montana	6
South Dakota State	17				3	North Dakota State*	23
						Northern Iowa	13
		6	Portland State*	17
Northern Iowa*	53		Northern Iowa	29
Eastern Illinois	17

* Home team
† Overtime
Winner

Updated stadiums

Home facilities for the two new FCS programs in the 2015 season:

East Tennessee State played at Kermit Tipton Stadium, located on the campus of Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee.^[2]
Kennesaw State played on campus at Fifth Third Bank Stadium, capacity 8,318 (planned expansion to over 10,000).

School	Outgoing coach	Date announced	Reason	Replacement
South Dakota	Joe Glenn	November 22	Retired^[5]	Bob Nielson^[6]
Austin Peay	Kirby Cannon	November 23	Fired^[7]	Will Healy^[8]
Montana State	Rob Ash	November 23	Fired^[9]	Jeff Choate^[10]
Eastern Kentucky	Dean Hood	November 23	Fired^[11]	Mark Elder^[12]
Maine	Jack Cosgrove	November 24	Transferred to Senior Associate Director of Athletics for UMaine^[13]	Joe Harasymiak^[14]
Texas Southern	Darrell Asberry	November 29	Resigned^[15]	Michael Haywood^[16]
Southern Illinois	Dale Lennon	November 30	Fired^[17]	Nick Hill^[18]
Tennessee Tech	Watson Brown	December 2	Retired^[19]	Marcus Satterfield^[20]
Jacksonville	Kerwin Bell	December 3	Fired^[21]	Ian Shields^[22]
Fordham	Joe Moorhead	December 12	Hired as offensive coordinator by Penn State^[23]	Andrew Breiner^[24]
McNeese State	Matt Viator	December 14	Hired as head coach by Louisiana–Monroe^[25]	Lance Guidry^[26]
Western Illinois	Bob Nielson	December 16	Hired as head coach by South Dakota^[6]	Charlie Fisher^[27]
Southern Utah	Ed Lamb	December 26	Hired as assistant head coach by BYU^[28]	Demario Warren
James Madison	Everett Withers	January 7	Hired as head coach by Texas State	Mike Houston^[29]
The Citadel	Mike Houston	January 18	Hired as head coach by James Madison^[29]	Brent Thompson^[30]
Morgan State	Lee Hull	February 8, 2016	Resigned	Fred Farrier (interim)

v t e 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 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961
NCAA University Division	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 2025 2026
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 2025
NCAA College Division	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 2025
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 2025