Kerwin Douglas Bell is an American football coach and former player who has been the head coach of the Western Carolina Catamounts football team since 2021. Bell was born in the rural North Central Florida town of Live Oak and was a star high school football quarterback at Lafayette County High School. Though he led the Lafayette Hornets to their only state championship, he did not attract the attention of top college football programs while playing at the small high school. He enrolled at the University of Florida, made the football team as a walk-on, and was redshirted during his freshman season of 1983.
The Georgia Southern Eagles football program represents Georgia Southern University in football as part of the Sun Belt Conference. The current head coach is Clay Helton. The Eagles have won six FCS (I-AA) national championships and have produced two Walter Payton Award winners. Georgia Southern first continuously fielded a football team in 1924, but play was suspended for World War II and did not return until 1981. The Eagles competed as an FCS independent from 1984 to 1992 and as a member of the Southern Conference from 1993 to 2013, winning 10 SoCon championships. In 2014, Georgia Southern moved to the FBS level and joined the Sun Belt Conference, winning the conference championship outright in its first year. Georgia Southern's main Sun Belt rivals are Appalachian State and Georgia State.
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As of the 2023 season, there are 10 conferences and 133 schools in FBS.
The Old Dominion Monarchs football program represents Old Dominion University in U.S. college football. The first iteration of the team created in 1930 was known as the William & Mary Norfolk Division Braves. Founded in 2009, the current Monarchs team competed as an FCS independent for their first two seasons. In the 2011 season, they joined the Colonial Athletic Association and added conference games to their schedule, playing there until joining the Conference USA of the FBS in 2014. They joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2022.
The 2011 Georgia Southern Eagles team represented Georgia Southern University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Eagles were led by second-year head coach Jeff Monken and played their home games at Paulson Stadium. They are a member of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 11–3, 7–1 in Southern Conference play, winning the conference championship outright. They received the conference's automatic bid into the FCS playoffs where they defeated Old Dominion in the second round and Maine in the quarterfinals before falling to North Dakota State in the semifinals.
Jeffrey Michael Monken is an American football coach. He is currently the head football coach at the United States Military Academy, a position he has held since the 2014 season. Monken previously served as the head football coach of Georgia Southern University from 2010 to 2013. Prior to that, he worked under Paul Johnson as a running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Georgia Southern, the United States Naval Academy, and Georgia Tech.
The 2012 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Jeff Monken and played their home games at Paulson Stadium. They were a member of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 10–4, 6–2 in SoCon play to claim a share of the conference championship with Appalachian State and Wofford. They received the SoCon's automatic bid into the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Central Arkansas in the second round and Old Dominion in the quarterfinals before falling to North Dakota State in the semifinals. That would turn out to be Georgia Southern's final FCS playoff game, as they announced they were moving to FBS and the Sun Belt Conference in 2014.
The 2013 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and the 2013 season was the Gators' third under head coach Will Muschamp. The Gators finished the season with a 4–8 overall win–loss record, and finished 3–5 in the SEC and in fifth place in the SEC Eastern Division. The Gators suffered their first losing season since 1979 and did not play in a bowl game for the first time since 1990, when the program was on NCAA probation.
The 2013 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, 2013, and concluded with the 2014 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game on January 4, 2014, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
The 2013 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team represented Appalachian State University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Scott Satterfield and played their home games at Kidd Brewer Stadium. They were a member of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 4–4 in SoCon play to finish in a four way tie for fourth place. This was their last season in the SoCon and in the FCS as they moved to FBS and the Sun Belt Conference in 2014. They would be ineligible for the playoffs.
The 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The 2014 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Willie Fritz and played their home games at Paulson Stadium. They were first year members of the Sun Belt Conference. In their second year of the FCS to FBS transition, the Eagles were eligible for the conference championship; however, they were not bowl-eligible.
The 2014 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 23, 2014, and concluded with the 2015 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game played on January 10, 2015, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
Willie Simmons is the head coach of the Florida A&M Rattlers football team. Simmons was previously the head coach at Prairie View A&M from 2014 to 2017. He has also served as offensive coordinator of the Alcorn State Braves as well as the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders football teams. Simmons played college football at Clemson and The Citadel as a quarterback.
The 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 26, 2016, and ended on December 10, 2016. The postseason concluded on January 9, 2017, with the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship, where the Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide to claim their second national title in school history. The championship game was a rematch of the 2016 edition won by Alabama.
The 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2018.
The 2021 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia, and competed in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Chad Lunsford until he was dismissed mid-season following his third consecutive loss within the first four games of the season. Cornerbacks coach Kevin Whitley was tapped to serve as interim coach until a new head coach was hired by the university. Whitley was in his third year as cornerbacks coach and previously played for Georgia Southern as a four year starter from 1988 to 1991, helping to win two national titles for the Eagles. On November 2, 2021, Clay Helton, former head coach of the USC Trojans, was hired to become the next head coach for Georgia Southern, starting in the 2022 season.
The 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season is the 154th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The regular season began on August 26 and ended on December 9. The postseason will begin on December 15, and, aside from any all-star games that are scheduled, end on January 8, 2024, with the College Football Playoff National Championship at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. This will be the tenth and final season of using the four team College Football Playoff (CFP) system, with the bracket being expanded to 12 teams for the 2024 season.
