| Year: | 2019 |
| Number Of Teams: | 126 |
| Regular Season: | August 24 – November 30 |
| Playoffs: | November 30 – December 21 |
| Nc Date: | January 11, 2020 |
| Championship: | Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas |
| Champions: | North Dakota State |
| Payton: | Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State |
| Buchanan: | Dante Olson, LB, Montana |
The 2019 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 11, 2020, in Frisco, Texas.[1] Defending champion North Dakota State completed the regular season undefeated,[2] then won their eighth championship in nine seasons, defeating James Madison, 28-20, for the title.[3]
All FCS teams were allowed to schedule 12 regular season games in the 2019 season. A standard provision of NCAA bylaws allows for 12 regular season games during years having 14 Saturdays in the period starting with the Labor Day (first Monday in September) weekend and ending with the last Saturday of November. The next time that a 12-game regular season will be allowed is 2024.[4]
August 29: Central Arkansas 35, Western Kentucky 28
September 7: Southern Illinois 45, UMass 20
September 14: The Citadel 27, Georgia Tech 24 OT
| School | 2018 conference | 2019 conference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big South | |||
| LIU+ | NE-10 (D-II) | NEC (FCS) | |
| Big South | |||
| MEAC (FCS) | SIAC (D-II) |
Champions of the following 10 conferences automatically received playoff bids:[5]
A 24-team single-elimination tournament bracket culminated in the 2020 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.Teams were announced in a selection show on November 24, with the top eight teams seeded and receiving first-round byes.[6]
Source:[7]
This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2019. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2019, see 2018 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.
Prince was placed on administrative leave by the university, "after allegations of verbal abuse and intimidation of players."[8]| School | Outgoing coach | Date | Reason | Replacement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardner–Webb | Carroll McCray | November 24 | Fired | Tre Lamb | |
| Mercer | Bobby Lamb | November 24 | Fired | Drew Cronic | |
| Murray State | Mitch Stewart | November 24 | Reassigned within athletic department | Dean Hood | |
| Northern Colorado | Earnest Collins Jr. | November 24 | Fired | Ed McCaffrey | |
| Eastern Kentucky | Mark Elder | November 25 | Contract not renewed | Walt Wells | |
| Lamar | Mike Schultz | November 25 | Fired | Blane Morgan | |
| Cal Poly | Tim Walsh | November 25 | Retired | Beau Baldwin | |
| Jacksonville | Ian Shields | December 3 | Program discontinued | None | |
| Wagner | Jason Houghtaling | December 6 | Fired | Tom Masella | |
| Howard | Ron Prince | December 6 | Resigned[9] | Larry Scott | |
| Missouri State | Dave Steckel | January 9 | Fired | Bobby Petrino | |
| McNeese State | Sterlin Gilbert | January 12 | Became OC at Syracuse | Frank Wilson | |
| Youngstown State | Bo Pelini | January 27 | Became DC at LSU | Doug Phillips | |
| Arkansas Pine-Bluff | Cedric Thomas | February 17 | Became DB coach at Southern Miss |