| Year: | 2017 |
| Number Of Teams: | 124 |
| Regular Season: | August 26 – November 18 |
| Playoffs: | November 25 – December 16 |
| Nc Date: | January 6, 2018 |
| Championship: | Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas |
| Champions: | North Dakota State |
| Payton: | Jeremiah Briscoe, QB, Sam Houston State |
| Buchanan: | Darius Jackson, DE, Jacksonville State |
The 2017 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 FCS Championship Game was played on January 6, 2018, in Frisco, Texas. The North Dakota State Bison beat the James Madison Dukes, 17–13, to capture their sixth title in seven years.
On April 14, the NCAA Division I Council approved a suite of rule changes affecting the recruiting process. The changes most significant to FCS football were to take effect with the 2017–18 school year. A national early signing period for high school players was to be introduced for FBS and FCS, at a time in December to be announced later, and FCS programs would no longer have any restriction on the number of new players that may be signed to letters of intent or financial aid agreements. Previously, FCS teams were limited to signing 30 new players per year.[1] [2]
(FCS rankings from the STATS poll)
August 31: Tennessee State 17, Georgia State 10
September 2: Howard 43, UNLV 40
September 2: No. 1 James Madison 34, East Carolina 14
September 2: Liberty 48, Baylor 45
September 9: No. 12 New Hampshire 22, Georgia Southern 12
September 9: South Dakota 35, Bowling Green 27
September 16: Idaho State 30, Nevada 28
September 16: No. 25 North Carolina A&T 35, Charlotte 31
September 23: No. 19 Western Illinois 52, Coastal Carolina 10
For the first time since 2012 (and just the second time ever), there were no independent programs in FCS during the 2017 season.
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 Weber State | 9–2 (7–1) 9–2 (7–1) | Keelan Doss (UC Davis) | Taron Johnson (Weber State) | Demario Warren (Southern Utah) | |
| Big South | Kennesaw State | 10–1 (5–0) | Chandler Burks (Kennesaw State) | Anthony Ellis (Charleston Southern) | Brian Bohannon (Kennesaw State) | |
| CAA | James Madison | 11–0 (8–0) | Kyle Lauletta (Richmond) | Andrew Ankrah (James Madison) | Curt Cignetti (Elon) | |
| Ivy | Yale | 9–1 (6–1) | Chad Kanoff (Princeton) | Matthew Oplinger (Yale) | Al Bagnoli (Columbia) | |
| MEAC | North Carolina A&T | 11–0 (8–0) | Lamar Raynard (North Carolina A&T) | Shaquille Leonard (South Carolina State) | Rod Broadway (North Carolina A&T) | |
| MVFC | North Dakota State | 10–1 (7–1) | Chris Streveler (South Dakota) | Brett Taylor (Western Illinois) | Chris Klieman (North Dakota State) | |
| NEC | Central Connecticut | 8–3 (6–0) | Tommy Stuart (Duquesne) | Tom Costigan (Bryant) | Peter Rossomando (Central Connecticut) | |
| OVC | Jacksonville State | 10–1 (8–0) | Roc Thomas (Jacksonville State) | Darius Jackson (Jacksonville State) | Will Healy (Austin Peay) | |
| Patriot | Colgate Lehigh | 7–4 (5–1) 5–6 (5–1) | Dom Bragalone (Lehigh) | Abdullah Anderson (Bucknell) | Dan Hunt (Colgate) | |
| Pioneer | San Diego | 9–2 (8–0) | Anthony Lawrence (San Diego) | Jonathan Petersen (San Diego) | Dave Cecchini (Valparaiso) | |
| Southern | Wofford | 9–2 (7–1) | Devlin Hodges (Samford) | Ahmad Gooden (Samford) | Clay Hendrix (Furman) | |
| Southland | Central Arkansas | 10–1 (9–0) | Hayden Hildebrand (Central Arkansas) | George Odum (Central Arkansas) | Steve Campbell (Central Arkansas) |
| Conference | Team | data-sort-type="number" | Appearance | Last bid | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | First Round (L – Sam Houston State) | ||||
| 1st | – | ||||
| 14th | National Champions (W – Youngstown State) | ||||
| 8th | 2016 | Semifinals (L – James Madison) | |||
| 1st | – | ||||
| 8th | 2016 | Second Round (L – Youngstown State) | |||
| 11th | 2016 | First Round (L – New Hampshire) | |||
| 3rd | 2016 | Second Round (L – North Dakota State) | |||
| 8th | 2016 | Quarterfinals (L – Youngstown State) | |||
| 4th | 2016 | Second Round (L – Eastern Washington) |
| Conference | Team | data-sort-type="number" | Appearance | Last bid | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6th | First Round (L – South Dakota State) | ||||
| 6th | First Round (L – Chattanooga) | ||||
| 1st | – | ||||
| 2nd | First Round (L – Richmond) | ||||
| 16th | Second Round (L – James Madison) | ||||
| 3rd | Second Round (L – Montana State) | ||||
| 19th | Quarterfinals (L – North Dakota State) | ||||
| 1st | – | ||||
| 7th | Quarterfinals (L – North Dakota State) | ||||
| 11th | Second Round (L – Illinois State) | ||||
| 17th | Second Round (L – North Dakota State) | ||||
| 5th | First Round (L – Youngstown State) | ||||
| 4th | First Round (L – Furman) | ||||
| 11th | Quarterfinals (L – James Madison) |
* Home team
Winner
All times in Eastern Standard Time
Brian Bohannon, Kennesaw State
This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2017. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2017, see 2016 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.
| School | Outgoing coach | Date | Reason | Replacement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama State | Brian Jenkins | October 6 | Fired | ||
| Holy Cross | Tom Gilmore | October 15 | Fired | Brian Rock (interim) |