The North Dakota State Bison football program represents North Dakota State University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level and competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Bison play in the 19,000-seat Fargodome located in Fargo. The Bison have won 17 national championships and 37 conference championships. They have won nine NCAA Division I AA FCS National Championships between 2011 and 2021. The Bison hold the record for most overall NCAA national championships and the record for the most consecutive championships with five titles between 2011 and 2015 for Division I FCS.
The James Madison Dukes football program represents James Madison University in the sport of American football. The Dukes compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC), beginning play within the conference for the 2022 season. The university first fielded a football team in 1972, and the Dukes play at the on-campus Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The Dukes are currently coached by Bob Chesney.
The FCS Kickoff is an annual college football game played on the Saturday before the opening weekend of the college football season. The game showcases teams from the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). For the game's first three editions, it was played at campus sites; since 2017, the game has been played at a neutral site, the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. The game is televised nationally by ESPN, and for sponsorship reasons is officially the Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff.
The 2017 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Chris Klieman. The team played their 25th season in the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Bison finished the season 14–1, 7–1 in MVFC play to win the MVFC championship for the seventh consecutive year. As a result, the Bison received the conference's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs as the No. 2 seed. In the playoffs, they defeated San Diego, Wofford, and Sam Houston State to advance to the National Championship game. There they defeated James Madison 17–13 to win the school's sixth National Championship in seven years. The September 30 game against Missouri State was the 700th victory since the team's founding in 1894.
The 2018 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game that determined a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision for the 2017 season. It was played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on January 6, 2018, with kickoff at 12:00 noon EST, and was the culminating game of the 2017 FCS Playoffs. With sponsorship from Northwestern Mutual, the game was officially known as the NCAA FCS Football Championship Presented by Northwestern Mutual.
The 2017 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game that determined a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision for the 2016 season. It was played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on January 7, 2017, with kickoff at 12:00 noon EST, and was the culminating game of the 2016 FCS Playoffs. With sponsorship from Northwestern Mutual, the game was officially known as the NCAA FCS Football Championship Presented by Northwestern Mutual.
The 2016 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game that determined a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision for the 2015 season. It was played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on January 9, 2016, with kickoff at 12:00 noon EST, and was the culminating game of the 2015 FCS Playoffs. With sponsorship from Northwestern Mutual, the game was officially known as the NCAA FCS Football Championship Presented by Northwestern Mutual.
The 2015 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game that determined a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision for the 2014 season. It was played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on January 10, 2015, with kickoff at 1:00 p.m. EST, and was the culminating game of the 2014 FCS Playoffs. With sponsorship by Northwestern Mutual, the game was officially known as the NCAA FCS Championship presented by Northwestern Mutual.
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. Defending champion North Dakota State completed the regular season undefeated, then won their eighth championship in nine seasons, defeating James Madison, 28-20, for the title.
The 2011 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens and the Eastern Washington Eagles. It was played on January 7, 2011, at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The culminating game of the 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season, it was won by Eastern Washington, 20–19.
The 2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the North Dakota State Bison and the Sam Houston State Bearkats. It was played on January 7, 2012, at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The culminating game of the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season, it was won by North Dakota State, 17–6.
The 2013 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the North Dakota State Bison and the Sam Houston State Bearkats. It was played on January 5, 2013, at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The culminating game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season, it was won by North Dakota State, 39–13.
The 2014 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the North Dakota State Bison and the Towson Tigers. It was played on January 4, 2014, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The culminating game of the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season, it was won by North Dakota State, 35–7.
The 2020 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game that determined a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision for the 2019 season. It was played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on January 11, 2020, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST, and television coverage on ABC. It was the culminating game of the 2019 FCS Playoffs.
The 2019 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Matt Entz. The team played in the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota, for the 27th season as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). They entered the season as defending national champions, having won seven of the prior eight FCS titles. In 2019, the Bison finished the regular season 12–0, the second consecutive undefeated Bison season, and won their ninth consecutive MVFC title. They received an automatic qualifying bid to the FCS playoff tournament and were seeded as the No. 1 team. The Bison then went 4–0 in the FCS playoffs to finish 16–0 as FCS champions, becoming the first team at any level of college football to finish a season 16–0 since Yale in 1894. They also extended their FCS-record winning streak to 37 games.
The 2022 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game played to determine a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) for the 2021 FCS season. It was contested at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on January 8, 2022, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST and televised on ESPN2. It was the culminating game of the 2021 FCS Playoffs.
The 2022 Missouri Valley Football Conference football season was the 37th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's 3rd straight season with 11 teams, and was the last as the conference added a 12th team for the 2023 season.
The 2023 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a college football game played on January 8, 2023, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The game determined the national champion of NCAA Division I FCS for the 2022 season, featuring the finalists of the 24-team playoff bracket, which began on November 26, 2022.
The 2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference season was the 34th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's 8th consecutive season with 10 teams, and would be their last for now as they added North Dakota in the following offseason.
The 2024 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a college football game played on January 7, 2024, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The game determined the national champion of NCAA Division I FCS for the 2023 season. The game featured the two finalists of the 24-team playoff bracket, which began on November 25, 2023. The game begin at approximately 1:00 p.m. CST and was broadcast on ABC and ESPN+.
