2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season

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.

Conference changes and new programs

Main article: 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment

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

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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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)
	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).

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2015. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2015, see 2014 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement
Jackson State	Harold Jackson	October 7	Fired	Derrick McCall (interim) [3] Tony Hughes [4]

End of season

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)

See also

• 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings
• 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season
• 2015 NCAA Division II football season
• 2015 NCAA Division III football season

References

1. Rodger Sherman (October 10, 2015). "FCS Portland State beat North Texas so badly, the Mean Green immediately fired their head coach". SB Nation . Retrieved May 13, 2018.
2. Nathan Baker (November 25, 2014). "ETSU looks to Science Hill for home field advantage over next 2 seasons". Johnson City Press. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
3. Ray Coleman (October 7, 2015). "JSU fires Harold Jackson as football coach". WAPT . Retrieved May 13, 2018.
4. Antonio Morales (December 14, 2015). "Jackson State hires Tony Hughes as next coach". The Clarion-Ledger . Retrieved May 13, 2018.
5. Mick Garry (November 22, 2015). "USD's Joe Glenn to retire". Argus Leader. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
6. Brad Pautsch (December 16, 2015). "South Dakota AD Herbster finds new football coach at conference rival". KTIV . Retrieved May 13, 2018.
7. Autumn Allison (November 23, 2015). "Austin Peay football coach Cannon is out". The Leaf Chronicle. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
8. "Will Healy, head football coach". Austin Peay Governors. Archived from the original on June 22, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
9. Jon Maletz (November 23, 2015). "MSU ousts Ash as head football coach". Bozeman Daily Chronicle . Retrieved May 13, 2018.
10. "Jeff Choate Joins Montana State University as Bobcat Head Football Coach" . Retrieved May 13, 2018.
11. Mark Cornelison (November 23, 2015). "EKU Relieves Dean Hood As Head Football Coach". EKU Athletics. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
12. Josh Moore (December 10, 2015). "'Humbled' Mark Elder introduced as new Eastern Kentucky football coach". Lexington Herald Leader. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
13. "Jack Cosgrove to transfer to Senior Associate Director of Athletics for UMaine". GoBlackBears.com. November 24, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
14. Pete Warner (December 16, 2015). "UMaine selects new head football coach". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
15. Mark Berman (November 29, 2015). "Darrell Asberry resigns as head football coach at Texas Southern". KRIV . Retrieved May 13, 2018.
16. "Texas Southern hiring Michael Haywood as football coach". USA Today . AP. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
17. Zach Barnett. "Southern Illinois head coach Dale Lennon will not return". Football Scoop. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
18. "Dale Lennon Fired/Nick Hill hired as SIU's football coach". The Southern Illinoisan. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
19. Mike Organ (December 2, 2015). "Watson Brown retires as a college football coach". The Tennessean . Retrieved May 13, 2018.
20. "Satterfield selected Tennessee Tech's new coach". Columbia Daily Herald . January 4, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
21. Gene Frenette (December 3, 2015). "Kerwin Bell out as Jacksonville University football coach". Florida Times Union. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
22. Jeff Elliott (December 8, 2015). "Coach Ian Shields bringing new approach to JU football". Florida Times Union. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
23. "Joe Moorhead to take over Nittany Lions' offense". ESPN.com . ESPN. December 12, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
24. "Andrew Breiner Named Head Football Coach at Fordham". Fordham Sports. December 17, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
25. "Matt Viator named head football coach at ULM". ulm.edu. December 14, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
26. "Lance Guidry named McNeese head coach". The Advertiser. December 17, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
27. "Western Illinois tabs Charlie Fisher new football coach". Peoria Journal-Star. January 2, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
28. "SUU football: Ed Lamb accepts position at BYU". The Spectrum. Gannett Company. December 26, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
29. Scott Eisberg and Sam Tyson. "Citadel head football coach Houston leaving for James Madison". WCIV . Retrieved May 13, 2018.
30. Jeff Hartsell (January 18, 2016). "Citadel names Brent Thompson new head football coach". The Post and Courier . Archived from the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2018.