2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season

For the 2024 FCS season, see 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season.

2024 NCAA Division I FBS season
Number of teams	134
Duration	August 24, 2024 – December 14, 2024
Post-season
Duration	December 20, 2024 – January 20, 2025
Bowl games	42 [lower-alpha 1]
College Football Playoff
2025 College Football Playoff National Championship
Site	Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, Georgia
NCAA Division I FBS football seasons
←  2023

The 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season will be the 155th 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 will begin on August 24 and will end on December 14. The postseason will begin on December 20, and, aside from any all-star games that are scheduled, end on January 20, 2025, with the College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. This will be the first season of the new College Football Playoff (CFP) system, with the bracket being expanded to 12 teams. ^[1]

Conference realignment

Main article: 2021–2024 NCAA conference realignment

One school will play its first FBS season in 2024; Kennesaw State (from FCS independents) began its transition from Division I FCS in 2023 and will join Conference USA (CUSA) in July 2024. ^[2] One formerly independent school, Army, will join the American Athletic Conference in 2024. ^[3] SMU announced it would join the ACC in 2024. ^[4]

Overall, 10 schools from the Pac-12 are leaving for another conference in 2024. The 10 teams and conferences are:

• Big 12: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah ^[5]
• ACC: California and Stanford ^[4]
• Big Ten: Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington ^[6]

The remaining two schools in the Pac-12, Oregon State and Washington State, made an agreement with the Mountain West Conference (MW) such that each remaining Pac-12 team will play six MW teams in 2024. ^[7]

Team	Conference in 2023	Conference in 2024
Arizona	Pac-12	Big 12
Arizona State	Pac-12	Big 12
Army	Independent (FBS)	American
California	Pac-12	ACC
Colorado	Pac-12	Big 12
Kennesaw State	Independent (FCS)	CUSA
Oklahoma	Big 12	SEC
Oregon	Pac-12	Big Ten
SMU	American	ACC
Stanford	Pac-12	ACC
Texas	Big 12	SEC
UCLA	Pac-12	Big Ten
USC	Pac-12	Big Ten
Utah	Pac-12	Big 12
Washington	Pac-12	Big Ten

The 2024 season will be the last for one team as an FBS independent. ^{[8] [9]}

School	Current conference	Future conference
UMass	Independent (FBS)	MAC

One FCS school, Delaware, will start the transition of its program to FBS in the 2024 season. It will play that season in CAA Football, but will not be eligible for the FCS playoffs due to NCAA transition rules. Delaware will join CUSA in 2025. ^[10]

School	Current conference	Future conference
Delaware	CAA Football (FCS)	CUSA

Rule changes

The following rule changes were approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel for the 2024 season: ^[11]

• Implementing a time-out at the first dead ball on or after the two-minute mark of the second and fourth quarters (similar to the NFL's Two-minute warning). All timing rules such as stopping the game clock on first downs and implementing the 10-second runoff will be synchronized to begin at that time. Previously the use of the ten second runoff did not occur until the last minute of each half.
• Allowing use of coach-to-player communications via the helmet for one player (indicated by a green dot on the helmet), which would be turned off either with 15 seconds on the play clock or when the ball is snapped, whichever occurs first. Also the use of tablets on the sidelines for in-game video only will be permitted.
• Division III will be adopting the first down timing rules that were implemented for FBS, FCS, and Division II in the 2023 season.
• Allowing conferences to use a collaborative instant replay system as a regular (instead of an experimental) rule.
• Horse-collar tackles within the tackle box will now be penalized as a personal foul (15 yards). Previously this action was not penalized within the tackle box.
• Head coaches will be permitted to be interviewed by the media at the end of the first and third quarters, making permanent an experimental rule.

Headlines

• January 25, 2024 – The Mid-American Conference announced that it would eliminate its football divisions, effective immediately. The championship game will instead involve the top two teams in the conference standings. ^[12]

Kickoff games

Week 0

The regular season will begin on Saturday, August 24 with four games in Week 0.

• Aer Lingus College Football Classic
  • Florida State vs. Georgia Tech (at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland)
• SMU at Nevada
• Montana State at New Mexico
• Delaware State at Hawaii

Week 1

• Aflac Kickoff Game :
  • Clemson vs. Georgia (at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia)
• Vegas Kickoff Classic :
  • LSU vs. USC (at Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada)

Week 2

• Duke's Mayo Classic :
  • NC State vs. Tennessee (at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina)

Conference standings

2024 American Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Army   0 – 0     0 – 0   Charlotte   0 – 0     0 – 0   East Carolina   0 – 0     0 – 0   Florida Atlantic   0 – 0     0 – 0   Memphis   0 – 0     0 – 0   Navy   0 – 0     0 – 0   North Texas   0 – 0     0 – 0   Rice   0 – 0     0 – 0   South Florida   0 – 0     0 – 0   Temple   0 – 0     0 – 0   Tulane   0 – 0     0 – 0   Tulsa   0 – 0     0 – 0   UAB   0 – 0     0 – 0   UTSA   0 – 0     0 – 0   Championship: December 7, 2024 $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant As of April 19, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll	2024 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Boston College   0 – 0     0 – 0   California   0 – 0     0 – 0   Clemson   0 – 0     0 – 0   Duke   0 – 0     0 – 0   Florida State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Georgia Tech   0 – 0     0 – 0   Louisville   0 – 0     0 – 0   Miami (FL)   0 – 0     0 – 0   NC State   0 – 0     0 – 0   North Carolina   0 – 0     0 – 0   Pittsburgh   0 – 0     0 – 0   SMU   0 – 0     0 – 0   Stanford   0 – 0     0 – 0   Syracuse   0 – 0     0 – 0   Virginia   0 – 0     0 – 0   Virginia Tech   0 – 0     0 – 0   Wake Forest   0 – 0     0 – 0   Championship: December 7, 2024 $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant As of April 19, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll	2024 Big Ten Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Illinois   0 – 0     0 – 0   Indiana   0 – 0     0 – 0   Iowa   0 – 0     0 – 0   Maryland   0 – 0     0 – 0   Michigan   0 – 0     0 – 0   Michigan State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Minnesota   0 – 0     0 – 0   Nebraska   0 – 0     0 – 0   Northwestern   0 – 0     0 – 0   Ohio State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Oregon   0 – 0     0 – 0   Penn State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Purdue   0 – 0     0 – 0   Rutgers   0 – 0     0 – 0   UCLA   0 – 0     0 – 0   USC   0 – 0     0 – 0   Washington   0 – 0     0 – 0   Wisconsin   0 – 0     0 – 0   Championship: December 2024 ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant As of April 19, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll
2024 Big 12 Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Arizona   0 – 0     0 – 0   Arizona State   0 – 0     0 – 0   BYU   0 – 0     0 – 0   Baylor   0 – 0     0 – 0   Cincinnati   0 – 0     0 – 0   Colorado   0 – 0     0 – 0   Houston   0 – 0     0 – 0   Iowa State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Kansas   0 – 0     0 – 0   Kansas State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Oklahoma State   0 – 0     0 – 0   TCU   0 – 0     0 – 0   Texas Tech   0 – 0     0 – 0   UCF   0 – 0     0 – 0   Utah   0 – 0     0 – 0   West Virginia   0 – 0     0 – 0   Championship: December 7, 2024 ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant As of April 19, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll	2024 Conference USA football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   FIU   0 – 0     0 – 0   Jacksonville State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Kennesaw State*   0 – 0     0 – 0   Liberty   0 – 0     0 – 0   Louisiana Tech   0 – 0     0 – 0   Middle Tennessee   0 – 0     0 – 0   New Mexico State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Sam Houston   0 – 0     0 – 0   UTEP   0 – 0     0 – 0   Western Kentucky   0 – 0     0 – 0   Championship: December 6, 2024 $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant * – Ineligible for postseason play due to FCS-to-FBS transition rules As of April 19, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll	2024 Mid-American Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Akron   0 – 0     0 – 0   Ball State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Bowling Green   0 – 0     0 – 0   Buffalo   0 – 0     0 – 0   Central Michigan   0 – 0     0 – 0   Eastern Michigan   0 – 0     0 – 0   Kent State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Miami (OH)   0 – 0     0 – 0   Northern Illinois   0 – 0     0 – 0   Ohio   0 – 0     0 – 0   Toledo   0 – 0     0 – 0   Western Michigan   0 – 0     0 – 0   Championship: TBD $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant As of April 19, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll
2024 Mountain West Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Air Force   0 – 0     0 – 0   Boise State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Colorado State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Fresno State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Hawaii   0 – 0     0 – 0   Nevada   0 – 0     0 – 0   New Mexico   0 – 0     0 – 0   San Diego State   0 – 0     0 – 0   San Jose State   0 – 0     0 – 0   UNLV   0 – 0     0 – 0   Utah State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Wyoming   0 – 0     0 – 0   Championship: December 7, 2024 $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant As of April 19, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll	2024 Pac-12 Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Oregon State   –     0 – 0   Washington State   –     0 – 0   As of April 19, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll	2024 Southeastern Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Alabama   0 – 0     0 – 0   Arkansas   0 – 0     0 – 0   Auburn   0 – 0     0 – 0   Florida   0 – 0     0 – 0   Georgia   0 – 0     0 – 0   Kentucky   0 – 0     0 – 0   LSU   0 – 0     0 – 0   Mississippi State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Missouri   0 – 0     0 – 0   Oklahoma   0 – 0     0 – 0   Ole Miss   0 – 0     0 – 0   South Carolina   0 – 0     0 – 0   Tennessee   0 – 0     0 – 0   Texas   0 – 0     0 – 0   Texas A&M   0 – 0     0 – 0   Vanderbilt   0 – 0     0 – 0   Championship: December 7, 2024 As of April 19, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll
2024 Sun Belt Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   East Division Appalachian State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Coastal Carolina   0 – 0     0 – 0   Georgia Southern   0 – 0     0 – 0   Georgia State   0 – 0     0 – 0   James Madison   0 – 0     0 – 0   Marshall   0 – 0     0 – 0   Old Dominion   0 – 0     0 – 0   West Division Arkansas State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Louisiana   0 – 0     0 – 0   Louisiana–Monroe   0 – 0     0 – 0   South Alabama   0 – 0     0 – 0   Southern Miss   0 – 0     0 – 0   Texas State   0 – 0     0 – 0   Troy   0 – 0     0 – 0   Championship: December 2024 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant As of April 19, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll	2024 NCAA Division I FBS independents football records v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Notre Dame   –     0 – 0   UConn   –     0 – 0   UMass   –     0 – 0   As of April 19, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll

Rankings

The Top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls

Preseason polls

AP Ranking Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

USA Today Coaches Ranking Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Postseason

Main article: 2024–25 NCAA football bowl games

There are 41 team-competitive FBS post-season bowl games, with two teams advancing to a 42nd – the CFP National Championship game. Normally a team required to have a .500 minimum winning percentage during the regular season to become bowl-eligible (six wins for an 11- or 12-game schedule, and seven wins for a 13-game schedule) if there are not enough winning teams to fulfill all open bowl slots, teams with losing records may be chosen to fill all 82 bowl slots. Additionally on the rare occasion in which a conference champion does not meet eligibility requirements, they are usually still chosen for bowl games via tie-ins for their conference.

College Football Playoff

Main article: 2024–25 College Football Playoff

	First round December 20 or 21 at higher seed Campus Sites					Quarterfinals December 31 (Fiesta) or January 1 (Peach, Rose, Sugar)					Semifinals January 9 (Orange) or January 10 (Cotton)					Championship January 20
						1
	8
	9
						4
																Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
	5
	12
						2
	7
	10
						3
	6
	11

All-star games

Each of these games features college seniors, or players whose college football eligibility is ending, who are individually invited by game organizers. These games are scheduled to follow the team-competitive bowls, to allow players selected from bowl teams to participate. The all-star games may include some players from non-FBS programs.

The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, which debuted in 2012 and was played 12 times through January 2023, was discontinued. The East–West Shrine Bowl relocated from Nevada (where its prior two editions had been played) to Texas.

Date	Time (EST)	Game	Site	Television	Participants	Results	Ref.
Jan. 2025		Hula Bowl	FBC Mortgage Stadium Orlando, Florida	CBS Sports Network	Team Kai Team Aina		[13]
Jan. 2025		Tropical Bowl	Camping World Stadium Orlando, Florida	Varsity Sports Network	American Team National Team		[14]
Feb. 2025		East-West Shrine Bowl	Ford Center at The Star Frisco, Texas	NFL Network	West Team East Team		[15]
Feb. 2025		Senior Bowl	Hancock Whitney Stadium Mobile, Alabama		National Team American Team		[16]
Feb. 2025		HBCU Legacy Bowl	Yulman Stadium New Orleans, Louisiana		Team Robinson Team Gaither		[17]

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching changes taking place on or after May 1, 2024, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled game but before its bowl game. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2024, see 2023 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.

School	Outgoing Coach	Date	Reason	Replacement

Television changes

This is the first year of a new 10-year television deal for the Southeastern Conference. SEC games will air exclusively on ESPN networks. ABC replaces CBS as the over-the-air television home of the SEC and exclusive television home of the SEC Championship Game. ^[18]

Oregon State and Washington State, the two remaining members of the Pac-12 Conference, have not announced a television deal for the 2024 season.

UConn's media rights deal with CBS Sports expired following the 2023 season. ^[19] A new television deal or extension has not been announced for the 2024 season.

Notes

1. 41 FBS bowl games plus the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

References

1. Thamel, Pete (November 30, 2022). "Rose Bowl agrees to deal allowing early CFP expansion in '24". ESPN.com . Retrieved December 9, 2023.
2. Alexander, Nolan (October 14, 2022). "Kennesaw State to Join Conference USA in 2024-25". Kennesaw State Owls . Retrieved December 9, 2023.
3. Helwick, Steve (October 26, 2023). "Army will join the AAC in 2024: What to know about the Black Knights' conference move". SBNation . Retrieved December 9, 2023.
4. Russo, Ralph D.; Beard, Aaron (September 1, 2023). "ACC adds two Pac-12 schools to become latest super conference". The Salt Lake Tribune . Associated Press . Retrieved December 10, 2023.
5. Parks, James (August 4, 2023). "Big 12 votes to add Arizona, Arizona State, Utah in realignment move; Pac-12 responds". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved December 9, 2023.
6. Rittenberg, Adam (August 4, 2023). "Big Ten adds Oregon, Washington as newest members in blow to Pac-12". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
7. Bonagura, Kyle (December 5, 2023). "What Oregon State and Washington State's agreement with Mountain West means moving forward". ESPN . Retrieved January 1, 2024.
8. Withers, Tom (February 27, 2024). "UMass will join Mid-American Conference as a full sports member in 2025, MAC commissioner says". Associated Press . Retrieved February 27, 2024.
9. Hernandez, Victoria (February 26, 2024). "UMass to join MAC conference, including previously independent football, per reports". USA Today . Retrieved February 27, 2024.
10. "CUSA Adds Delaware, Blue Hens to Join in 2025". Conference USA (Press release). November 28, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
11. "Football Rules Committee Proposes Technology Rules" (Press release). NCAA. March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
12. "MAC Announces Future Football Schedule Formats for 2024-26" (Press release). Mid-American Conference. January 25, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
13. "Caribe Royale Orlando Resort to Serve as Title Sponsor of the 2024 Hula Bowl". hulabowl.com (Press release). Retrieved November 11, 2023.
14. "TV – Trillion Tropical Bowl". tropicalbowl.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
15. "Events". shrinebowl.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
16. "Game Central". seniorbowl.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
17. "Home". hbculegacybowl.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
18. "SEC ESPN Deal Now Offcial ABC Replacing CBS Will Go Into Effect In 2024". SportsMediaWatch.com. December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
19. admin (2020-05-11). "UCONN AND CBS SPORTS AGREE TO MULTI-YEAR TELEVISION DEAL FOR HOME FOOTBALL GAMES". LEARFIELD. Retrieved 2024-02-02.