2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season

For the FCS season contested during fall 2020/spring 2021, see 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season.

2021 NCAA Division I FCS season
Regular season
Number of teams	128
Duration	August 28 – November 27
Payton Award	Eric Barriere, QB, Eastern Washington
Buchanan Award	Isaiah Land, DL, Florida A&M
Playoff
Duration	November 27 – December 18
Championship date	January 8, 2022
Championship site	Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
Champion	North Dakota State
NCAA Division I FCS football seasons
« 2020 2022 »

The 2021 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.

After the prior season was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, resulting in some conferences canceling their seasons and significant rescheduling by other conferences, the 2021 season returned to its traditional fall scheduling. The season ended with a single-elimination tournament, with the championship game held on January 8, 2022 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State won its ninth championship in eleven seasons, defeating Montana State, 38-10, for the title.

Rule changes

The following rule changes were approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on April 22: ^{[1] [2]}

• In overtime, teams scoring a touchdown will be required to attempt a two-point conversion starting with the second overtime period (previously the third overtime period) and, if still tied, teams will be required to attempt alternating two point conversions starting with the third overtime (previously the fifth overtime period).
• Permanently extending the team area from between the 25-yard lines to between the 20-yard lines. A rule implemented for the 2020 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic had extended the area to between the 15-yard lines, but it had been scheduled to revert to the 25 for 2021.
• Creating a process for a review panel that can be used by teams and/or conferences for instances of teams feigning injuries to slow down teams' momentum or stop the game clock.
• Explicitly prohibiting video board and lighting system operators from creating "any distraction that obstructs play", with violations being deemed unsportsmanlike conduct.
• If replay overturns a call on the field, the game clock will only be adjusted inside of the last 2:00 of the first half and the last 5:00 of the second half.

Notable headlines

• September 4 – In Kevin Kelley's debut as head coach of Presbyterian, Ren Hefley threw for 10 touchdowns in the Blue Hose's 84–43 win over NAIA member St. Andrews, breaking the previous FCS record of 9 first set in 1984 by Willie Totten of Mississippi Valley State and equaled in 2007 by Drew Hubel of Portland State. Blue Hose backup quarterback Tyler Huff added 2 TD passes to set a new Division I team record (for both FCS and FBS) of 12, surpassing the previous record of 11 thrown by David Klingler of Houston against Eastern Washington in 1990. ^[3]
• November 12 – The Utah Legislature approved changing the name of FCS member Dixie State University to Utah Tech University, effective in the 2022–23 academic year. ^[4]

FCS team wins over FBS teams

September 2: UC Davis 19, Tulsa 17
September 3: Eastern Washington 35, UNLV 33
September 3: South Dakota State 42, Colorado State 23
September 4: Holy Cross 38, UConn 28
September 4: Montana 13, No. 20 Washington 7
September 4: East Tennessee State 23, Vanderbilt 3
September 11: Duquesne 28, Ohio 26
September 11: Jacksonville State 20, Florida State 17
September 18: Incarnate Word 42, Texas State 34
September 18: Northern Arizona 21, Arizona 19
November 6: Rhode Island 35, UMass 22
November 13: Maine 35, UMass 10

Conference changes and new programs

• The Western Athletic Conference (WAC), which had last played football in the 2012 season as an FBS league, reinstated football for the 2021 season at the FCS level. ^{[5] [6]} The ASUN Conference also announced in 2021 that it would sponsor FCS football in the future.
• Because WAC and ASUN programs reclassifying from Division II could not be counted toward the minimum of six members required for a conference champion to be an automatic qualifier (AQ) for the FCS postseason, the two conferences pooled their seven members with active FCS programs in 2021 (four WAC, three ASUN) to form the WAC–ASUN Challenge, a temporary league also referred to as the AQ7. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

School	2020-21 conference	2021 conference
Abilene Christian	Southland	WAC–ASUN Challenge
Bethune–Cookman	MEAC	SWAC
Central Arkansas	Southland	WAC–ASUN Challenge
Dixie State	FCS Independent	WAC
Eastern Kentucky	Ohio Valley	WAC–ASUN Challenge
Florida A&M	MEAC	SWAC
Jacksonville State	Ohio Valley	WAC–ASUN Challenge
Lamar	Southland	WAC–ASUN Challenge
North Carolina A&T	MEAC	Big South
Presbyterian	FCS independent	Pioneer
St. Thomas (MN)	MIAC (D-III)	Pioneer (FCS)
Sam Houston State	Southland	WAC–ASUN Challenge
Stephen F. Austin	Southland	WAC–ASUN Challenge
Tarleton State	FCS Independent	WAC

Conference standings

2021 Big Sky Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 10 Sacramento State $^   8 – 0     9 – 3   No. 2 Montana State ^   7 – 1     11 – 3   No. 7 Eastern Washington ^   6 – 2     10 – 3   No. 6 Montana ^   6 – 2     10 – 3   No. 17 UC Davis ^   5 – 3     8 – 4   Weber State   5 – 3     6 – 5   Northern Arizona   4 – 4     5 – 6   Portland State   4 – 4     5 – 6   Idaho   3 – 5     4 – 7   Northern Colorado   2 – 6     3 – 8   Cal Poly   1 – 7     2 – 9   Idaho State   1 – 7     1 – 10   Southern Utah   0 – 8     1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll	2021 Big South Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 11 Kennesaw State $^   7 – 0     11 – 2   Monmouth   6 – 1     7 – 4   North Carolina A&T   3 – 4     5 – 6   North Alabama   3 – 4     3 – 8   Charleston Southern   3 – 4     4 – 6   Hampton   3 – 4     5 – 6   Robert Morris   3 – 5     4 – 6   Campbell   2 – 5     3 – 8   Gardner–Webb   2 – 5     4 – 7   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll	2021 Colonial Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 3 James Madison +^   7 – 1     12 – 2   No. 8 Villanova +^   7 – 1     10 – 3   Elon   5 – 3     6 – 5   Rhode Island   4 – 4     7 – 4   Maine   4 – 4     6 – 5   Richmond   4 – 4     6 – 5   William & Mary   4 – 4     6 – 5   Stony Brook   4 – 4     5 – 6   Delaware   3 – 5     5 – 6   Towson   3 – 5     4 – 7   New Hampshire   2 – 6     3 – 8   Albany   1 – 7     2 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll
2021 Ivy League football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 20 Dartmouth +   6 – 1     9 – 1   No. 24 Princeton +   6 – 1     9 – 1   Harvard   5 – 2     8 – 2   Yale   4 – 3     5 – 5   Columbia   4 – 3     7 – 3   Penn   1 – 6     3 – 7   Brown   1 – 6     2 – 8   Cornell   1 – 6     2 – 8   + – Conference co-champions Rankings from STATS Poll	2021 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   South Carolina State $   5 – 0     7 – 5   North Carolina Central   4 – 1     6 – 5   Delaware State   2 – 3     5 – 6   Norfolk State   2 – 3     6 – 5   Howard   1 – 4     3 – 8   Morgan State   1 – 4     2 – 9   $ – Conference champion	2021 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 1 North Dakota State $^   7 – 1     14 – 1   No. 14 Missouri State ^   6 – 2     8 – 4   No. 16 Southern Illinois ^   5 – 3     8 – 5   No. 18 South Dakota ^   5 – 3     7 – 5   No. 4 South Dakota State ^   5 – 3     11 – 4   No. 23 Northern Iowa ^   4 – 4     6 – 6   Indiana State   3 – 5     5 – 6   North Dakota   3 – 5     5 – 6   Western Illinois   2 – 6     2 – 9   Illinois State   2 – 6     4 – 7   Youngstown State   2 – 6     3 – 7   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll
2021 Northeast Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Sacred Heart $^   6 – 1     8 – 4   Duquesne   5 – 2     7 – 3   Bryant   5 – 2     7 – 4   Central Connecticut   4 – 3     4 – 7   Saint Francis (PA)   4 – 3     5 – 6   Merrimack *   2 – 5     5 – 6   LIU   2 – 5     2 – 8   Wagner   0 – 7     0 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Note: Merrimack ineligible for NEC title and FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II	2021 Ohio Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 13 UT Martin $^   5 – 1     10 – 3   Southeast Missouri State   4 – 2     4 – 7   Austin Peay   4 – 2     6 – 5   Tennessee State   3 – 3     5 – 6   Murray State   3 – 3     6 – 5   Eastern Illinois   1 – 5     1 – 10   Tennessee Tech   1 – 5     3 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll	2021 Patriot League football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 19 Holy Cross $^   6 – 0     10 – 3   Colgate   5 – 1     5 – 6   Fordham   4 – 2     6 – 5   Lehigh   3 – 3     3 – 8   Lafayette   2 – 4     3 – 8   Georgetown   1 – 5     2 – 8   Bucknell   0 – 6     1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll
2021 Pioneer Football League standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Davidson +^   7 – 1     8 – 3   San Diego +   7 – 1     7 – 4   St. Thomas (MN)*   6 – 2     7 – 3   Morehead State   6 – 2     7 – 4   Marist   5 – 3     5 – 5   Dayton   5 – 3     6 – 4   Valparaiso   4 – 4     4 – 7   Stetson   2 – 6     4 – 7   Drake   1 – 7     2 – 9   Butler   1 – 7     3 – 8   Presbyterian   0 – 8     2 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant * – St. Thomas (MN) ineligible for FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division III	2021 Southern Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 9 East Tennessee State $^   7 – 1     11 – 2   Mercer   6 – 2     7 – 3   Chattanooga   5 – 3     6 – 5   Western Carolina   4 – 4     4 – 7   Furman   4 – 4     6 – 5   VMI   4 – 4     6 – 5   Samford   3 – 5     4 – 7   The Citadel   3 – 5     4 – 7   Wofford   0 – 8     1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll	2021 Southland Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 12 Incarnate Word $^   7 – 1     10 – 3   No. 15 Southeastern Louisiana ^   6 – 2     9 – 4   Nicholls   5 – 3     6 – 5   McNeese State *   3 – 5     4 – 7   Northwestern State   3 – 5     3 – 8   Houston Baptist   0 – 8     0 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * – Ineligible for FCS postseason play due to NCAA sanctions Rankings from STATS Poll
2021 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   East Division No. 22 Jackson State x$   8 – 0     11 – 2   No. 25 Florida A&M ^   7 – 1     9 – 3   Alabama A&M   5 – 3     7 – 3   Mississippi Valley State   3 – 5     4 – 7   Alabama State   3 – 5     5 – 6   Bethune–Cookman   2 – 6     2 – 9   West Division Prairie View A&M x   6 – 2     7 – 5   Alcorn State   5 – 3     6 – 5   Grambling State   3 – 5     4 – 7   Southern   3 – 5     4 – 7   Texas Southern   2 – 6     2 – 8   Arkansas–Pine Bluff   1 – 7     2 – 9   Championship: Jackson State 27, Prairie View A&M 10 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll	2021 WAC–ASUN Challenge football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 5 Sam Houston $^   6 – 0     11 – 1   No. 21 Stephen F. Austin ^   4 – 2     8 – 4   Eastern Kentucky   4 – 2     7 – 4   Central Arkansas   3 – 3     5 – 6   Jacksonville State   3 – 3     5 – 6   Abilene Christian   1 – 5     5 – 6   Lamar   0 – 6     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll	2021 Western Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 5 Sam Houston $^   5 – 0     11 – 1   No. 21 Stephen F. Austin ^   4 – 1     8 – 4   Abilene Christian   2 – 2     5 – 6   Tarleton State *   2 – 3     6 – 5   Dixie State *   0 – 3     1 – 10   Lamar   0 – 4     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * – Ineligible for FCS playoffs due to transition from Division II Rankings from STATS Poll

Playoff qualifiers

Automatic berths for conference champions

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid	Result of last appearance
Big Sky Conference	Sacramento State	2nd	2019	Second Round (L – Austin Peay)
Big South Conference	Kennesaw State	4th	2019	Second Round (L – Weber State)
Colonial Athletic Association	Villanova	14th	2019	First Round (L – Southeastern Louisiana)
Missouri Valley Football Conference	North Dakota State	12th	2020	Quarterfinals (L – Sam Houston State)
Northeast Conference	Sacred Heart	4th	2020	First Round (L – Delaware)
Ohio Valley Conference	UT Martin	2nd	2006	Second Round (L – Southern Illinois)
Patriot League	Holy Cross	4th	2020	First Round (L – South Dakota State)
Pioneer Football League	Davidson	2nd	2020	First Round (L – Jacksonville State)
Southern Conference	East Tennessee State	3rd	2018	First Round (L – Jacksonville State)
Southland Conference	Incarnate Word	2nd	2018	First Round (L – Montana State)
Western Athletic Conference	Sam Houston State	13th	2020	National Champions (W – South Dakota State)

At large qualifiers

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid	Result of last appearance
Big Sky Conference	Eastern Washington	15th	2020	First Round (L – North Dakota State)
	Montana	25th	2019	Quarterfinals (L – Weber State)
	Montana State	11th	2019	Semifinals (L – North Dakota State)
	UC Davis	2nd	2018	Quarterfinals (L – Eastern Washington)
Colonial Athletic Association	James Madison	18th	2020	Semifinals (L – Sam Houston State)
Missouri Valley Football Conference	Missouri State	3rd	2020	First Round (L – North Dakota)
	Northern Iowa	23rd	2019	Quarterfinals (L – James Madison)
	South Dakota	2nd	2017	Second Round (L – Sam Houston State)
	South Dakota State	11th	2020	Championship Game (L – Sam Houston State)
	Southern Illinois	10th	2020	Quarterfinals (L – South Dakota State)
Southland Conference	Southeastern Louisiana	4th	2019	Second Round (L – Montana)
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Florida A&M	8th	2001	First Round (L – Georgia Southern)
Western Athletic Conference	Stephen F. Austin	8th	2014	First Round (L – Northern Iowa)

Abstentions

• Ivy League – Dartmouth
• Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina State
• Southwestern Athletic Conference – Jackson State

Postseason

After the prior season's playoffs were reduced to a 16-team bracket, FCS returned to a 24-team bracket for this season: 11 of the teams were decided via automatic bids issued to conference champions (listed above) and 13 teams were determined via at-large bids; the top eight teams were seeded. ^[10]

Bowl game

Date	Game	Site	Television	Participants	Affiliations	Results	References
Dec. 18	Celebration Bowl	Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, Georgia 12:00 pm	ABC	South Carolina State Bulldogs (6–5) Jackson State Tigers (11–1)	MEAC SWAC	South Carolina State 31 Jackson State 10	[11] [12]

NCAA Division I playoff bracket

	First Round November 27 Campus sites					Second Round December 3/4 Campus sites					Quarterfinals December 10/11 Campus sites					Semifinals December 17/18 Campus sites					National Championship January 8 12:00 pm EST Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
						1	Sam Houston State	49
	Stephen F. Austin		28				Incarnate Word	42
	Incarnate Word		35								1	Sam Houston State	19
											8	Montana State	42
						8	Montana State	26
	UT Martin		32				UT Martin	7
	Missouri State		31													8	Montana State	31
																	South Dakota State	17
						5	Villanova	21
	Sacred Heart		10				Holy Cross	16
	Holy Cross		13								5	Villanova	21
												South Dakota State	35
						4	Sacramento State	19
	UC Davis		24				South Dakota State	24
	South Dakota State		56																		8	Montana State	10
																					2	North Dakota State	38
						3	James Madison	59
	Florida A&M		14				Southeastern Louisiana	20
	Southeastern Louisiana		38								3	James Madison	28
											6	Montana	6
						6	Montana	57
	Northern Iowa		9				Eastern Washington	41
	Eastern Washington		19													3	James Madison	14
																2	North Dakota State	20
						7	East Tennessee State	32
	Davidson		21				Kennesaw State	31
	Kennesaw State		48								7	East Tennessee State	3
											2	North Dakota State	27
						2	North Dakota State	38
	Southern Illinois		22				Southern Illinois	7
	South Dakota		10

Source: ^[13]

Rankings

Main article: 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings

The top 25 from the Stats Perform and USA Today Coaches Polls.

Pre-season polls

Stats Perform Ranking Team 1 Sam Houston State (39) 2 James Madison (8) 3 South Dakota State (4) 4 North Dakota State 5 Delaware 6 Weber State 7 Southern Illinois 8 North Dakota 9 Montana 10 Jacksonville State 11 Eastern Washington 12 Montana State 13 Monmouth 14 Central Arkansas 15 Southeastern Louisiana 16 Villanova 17 VMI 18 Chattanooga 19 Kennesaw State 20 Austin Peay 21 Northern Iowa 22 Nicholls 23 UC Davis 24 Missouri State 25 North Carolina A&T

USA Today Coaches Ranking Team 1 Sam Houston State (18) 2 James Madison (9) 3 North Dakota State 4 South Dakota State (1) 5 Delaware 6 Weber State 7 North Dakota 8 Jacksonville State 9 Montana 10 Southern Illinois 11 Montana State 12 Monmouth 13 Central Arkansas 14 Eastern Washington 15 Villanova 16 Northern Iowa 17 Southeastern Louisiana 18 Chattanooga 19 VMI 20 Kennesaw State 21 UC Davis 22 Richmond 23 Nicholls 24 North Carolina A&T 25 Austin Peay

Final rankings

Rank	Stats Perform [14]	Coaches' Poll [15]
1	North Dakota State (14–1) (50)	North Dakota State (14–1) (24)
2	Montana State (12–3)	Montana State (12–3)
3	James Madison (12–2)	James Madison (12–2)
4	South Dakota State (11–4)	Sam Houston State (11–1)
5	Sam Houston State (11–1)	South Dakota State (11–4)
6	Montana (10–3)	Montana (10–3)
7	Eastern Washington (10–3)	East Tennessee State (11–2)
8	Villanova (10–3)	Villanova (10–3)
9	East Tennessee State (11–2)	Eastern Washington (10–3)
10	Sacramento State (9–3)	Kennesaw State (11–2)
11	Kennesaw State (11–2)	Sacramento State (9–3)
12	Incarnate Word (10–3)	UT Martin (10–3)
13	UT Martin (10–3)	Incarnate Word (10–3)
14	Missouri State (8–4)	Missouri State (8–4)
15	Southeastern Louisiana (9–4)	Southeastern Louisiana (9–4)
16	Southern Illinois (8–5)	UC Davis (8–4)
17	UC Davis (8–4)	Southern Illinois (8–5)
18	South Dakota (7–5)	Stephen F. Austin (8–4)
19	Holy Cross (10–3)	Jackson State (11–2)
20	Dartmouth (9–1)	South Dakota (7–5)
21	Stephen F. Austin (8–4)	Princeton (9–1)
22	Jackson State (11–2)	Holy Cross (10–3)
23	Northern Iowa (6–6)	Dartmouth (9–1)
24	Princeton (9–1)	Florida A&M (9–3)
25	Florida A&M (9–3)	Northern Iowa (6–6)

Kickoff games

The regular season began with three games on Saturday, August 28:

• Indiana State 26, Eastern Illinois 21
• MEAC/SWAC Challenge at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta: North Carolina Central 23, Alcorn State 14
• San Jose State (FBS) 45, Southern Utah 14

Regular season top 10 matchups

Rankings reflect the Stats Perform Poll.

• Week 3
  • No. 3 James Madison defeated No. 9 Weber State, 37–24 (Stewart Stadium, Ogden, Utah)
• Week 5
  • No. 6 Eastern Washington defeated No. 4 Montana, 30–24 (Roos Field, Cheney, Washington)
  • No. 5 North Dakota State defeated No. 10 North Dakota, 16–10 (Alerus Center, Grand Forks, North Dakota)
• Week 6
  • No. 8 Southern Illinois defeated No. 2 South Dakota State, 42–41 ^OT (Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, Brookings, South Dakota)
• Week 10
  • No. 4 Montana State defeated No. 5 Eastern Washington, 23–20 (Roos Field, Cheney, Washington)
  • No. 9 South Dakota State defeated No. 2 North Dakota State, 27–19 (Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, Brookings, South Dakota)
• Week 11
  • No. 7 Eastern Washington defeated No. 6 UC Davis, 38–20 (UC Davis Health Stadium, Davis, California)
• Week 12
  • No. 6 Montana defeated No. 3 Montana State, 29–10 (Washington–Grizzly Stadium, Missoula, Montana)

Upsets

This section lists instances of unranked teams defeating ranked teams during the season.

Regular season

During the regular season, 33 unranked teams have defeated a ranked team.

• September 4, 2021:
  • Furman 29, No. 25 North Carolina A&T 18
• September 11, 2021:
  • Merrimack 35, No. 24 Holy Cross 21
• September 25, 2021
  • Holy Cross 45, No. 20 Monmouth 15
  • Eastern Kentucky 35, No. 19 Austin Peay 27
  • UT Martin 34, No. 9 Jacksonville State 31
• October 2, 2021
  • Elon 20, No. 22 Richmond 7
  • The Citadel 35, No. 18 VMI 24
• October 9, 2021
  • Idaho State 27, No. 7 UC Davis 17
  • South Dakota 20, No. 13 North Dakota 13
  • Youngstown State 41, No. 16 Missouri State 33
• October 16, 2021
  • Dartmouth 38, No. 23 New Hampshire 21
  • Chattanooga 21, No. 10 East Tennessee State 16
  • Sacramento State 28, No. 5 Montana 27
  • Stony Brook 34, No. 14 Delaware 17
  • Towson 28, No. 12 Rhode Island 7
• October 22, 2021
  • Columbia 19, No. 25 Dartmouth 0
• October 23, 2021
  • Weber State 35, No. 2 Eastern Washington 34
  • Illinois State 20, No. 15 South Dakota 14
  • McNeese State 28, No. 16 Incarnate Word 20
• October 30, 2021
  • William & Mary 31, No. 4 Villanova 18
  • Maine 45, No. 24 Rhode Island 24
• November 5, 2021
  • Dartmouth 31, No. 20т Princeton 7
• November 6, 2021
  • Portland State 30, No. 24 Weber State 18
  • Delaware 24, No. 20т William & Mary 3
  • Illinois State 17, No. 13 Northern Iowa 10 ^OT
  • Stephen F. Austin 31, No. 25 Eastern Kentucky 17
• November 13, 2021
  • Alcorn State 31, No. 24 Prairie View A&M 29
  • Furman 37, No. 21 VMI 31
  • Mercer 10, No. 22т Chattanooga 6
• November 20, 2021
  • Southeast Missouri State 31, No. 13 UT Martin 14
  • Nicholls 45, No. 15 Southeastern Louisiana 42
  • Youngstown State 35, No. 17 Southern Illinois 18
  • Elon 43, No. 25 Rhode Island 28

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2021. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2021, see 2020 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.

Team	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement
Stetson	Roger Hughes	May 7, 2021	Resigned [16]	Brian Young
Colgate	Dan Hunt	May 17, 2021	Resigned [17]	Stan Dakosty
LIU	Bryan Collins	June 29, 2021	Resigned [18]	Jonathan Gill (interim)
Alabama State	Donald Hill-Eley	November 1, 2021	Fired [19]	Travis Pearson (interim)
Jacksonville State	John Grass	November 6, 2021	Resigned [20]	Maxwell Thurmond (interim)
Grambling State	Broderick Fobbs	November 15, 2021	Fired [21]	Terrence Graves (interim)

End of season

Team	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement
Western Illinois	Jared Elliott	November 10, 2021	Parted ways at end of season [22]	Myers Hendrickson
Southern Utah	Demario Warren	November 15, 2021	Mutually parted ways [23]	DeLane Fitzgerald
Idaho	Paul Petrino	November 19, 2021	Will not return in 2022 [24]	Jason Eck
Abilene Christian	Adam Dorrel	November 21, 2021	Fired [25]	Keith Patterson
Idaho State	Rob Phenicie	November 21, 2021	Fired [26]	Charlie Ragle
Lafayette	John Garrett	November 22, 2021	Fired [27]	John Troxell
Alabama State	Travis Pearson (interim)	November 26, 2021	Permanent replacement [28]	Eddie Robinson
Maine	Nick Charlton	November 28, 2021	Became OC at UConn [29]	Jordan Stevens
Delaware	Danny Rocco	November 29, 2021	Fired [30]	Ryan Carty [31]
Jacksonville State	Maxwell Thurmond (interim)	November 29, 2021	Permanent replacement [32]	Rich Rodriguez
Butler	Jeff Voris	November 30, 2021	Resigned [33]	Mike Uremovich
New Hampshire	Sean McDonnell	December 1, 2021	Retired [34]	Ricky Santos
Presbyterian	Kevin Kelley	December 4, 2021	Resigned [35]	Steve Englehart
Incarnate Word	Eric Morris	December 5, 2021	Became OC at Washington State [36]	G. J. Kinne
McNeese State	Frank Wilson	December 7, 2021	Became associate head coach at LSU [37]	Gary Goff
Southern	Jason Rollins (interim)	December 7, 2021	Permanent replacement [38]	Eric Dooley
Prairie View A&M	Eric Dooley	December 7, 2021	Hired by Southern [38]	Bubba McDowell
Grambling State	Terrence Graves (interim)	December 10, 2021	Permanent replacement [39]	Hue Jackson
East Tennessee State	Randy Sanders	December 13, 2021	Retired [40]	George Quarles
LIU	Jonathan Gill (interim)	January 3, 2022	Permanent replacement	Ron Cooper [41]
Eastern Illinois	Adam Cushing	January 11, 2022	Became OL coach at Duke [42]	Chris Wilkerson
Morgan State	Tyrone Wheatley	February 12, 2022	Became RB coach for Denver Broncos [43]	Damon Wilson

See also

• 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season
• 2021 NCAA Division II football season
• 2021 NCAA Division III football season
• 2021 NAIA football season

References

1. "2021 Football Rules Committee recommends tweak to overtime rules" (Press release). NCAA. March 12, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
2. "Panel approves changes to overtime rules in football". NCAA. April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
3. "Presbyterian Blue Hose QB Ren Hefley sets FCS TD pass record in season-opener". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 4, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
4. Imlay, Ashley (November 10, 2021). "Utah Legislature passes Dixie State name change". KSL-TV . Retrieved November 13, 2021.
5. Blum, Sam (January 14, 2021). "As WAC announces addition of 5 schools, Frisco-based Southland Conference left in no man's land". The Dallas Morning News . Retrieved January 18, 2021.
6. "WAC Announces Expansion, Plans to Reinstate Football" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
7. "ASUN, WAC Conferences Announce Football Partnership for 2021" (Press release). ASUN Conference. February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
8. "From the Commissioner's Desk: @ASUN_Football Update" (Press release). ASUN Conference. February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
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