NCFA teams are typically operated by student sports clubs rather than faculty, and do not formally form part of a school's intercollegiate athletic program. The clubs can be based at any post-secondary college or university provided the institution in question agrees to officially recognize football as a club sport. In contrast the Intercollegiate Club Football Federation (ICFF) recognized, in addition to the above, student clubs without official recognition and independent programs that combine students at multiple schools that would otherwise be unable to play college football (the NCFA allows its members to play such independent teams but does not allow those teams to contest for the championship). A number of clubs had membership in both the ICFF and NCFA, especially in the midwest and south (only in the Northeast, where the ICFF's Yankee conference expelled several NCFA member teams in 2015, was there a major distinction between the two; the Yankee conference last played in 2016, with its remaining members either folding or joining the NCFA).
From 2012 through 2015, the NCFA National Championship Game was held at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia, which had also been the site of the NCAA Division III Football Championship. From 2016 through 2019, the NCFA National Championship Game was held at West Family Stadium on the campus of West Liberty University in Wheeling, West Virginia. In 2021 and 2022, the NCFA National Championship Game was moved to Waynesburg University at John F. Wiley Stadium. After one season at UPMC Graham Field in 2023, the title game returned to Waynesburg University in 2024.
The organization has 16 active clubs for the 2024 season. All current members are located east of the Mississippi River, primarily in the East Coast and Great Lakes regions of the United States. All but three programs are at public institutions; Loyola Chicago and Sacred Heart are private Catholic universities while Clarkson is a private nonsectarian university.[2]
Of the 16 active member schools for the 2024 season, five (Michigan State, Ohio State, South Carolina, Sacred Heart, Toledo) have parent NCAA programs. The remaining 11 teams operate as their schools' only active football programs, despite not being sponsored by their respective athletic departments.
Former members
The NCFA has 50 former, or inactive, member clubs. Several former programs moved to other collegiate football athletic organizations.
The NCFA National Championship Bowl is the final game of the National Club Football Association season, pitting the semi-finalists of the NCFA Playoffs against one another. From 2012 to 2014, the game featured the top-two teams in the country as determined by the NCFA Coaches Poll and Power Rankings. Starting in 2015, the NCFA instituted an eight-team playoff, which featured four conference championship games. Those four winners would determine the semifinalists before the championship was played.
The 2019 NCFA National Championship Bowl Game between Ohio State University and Oakland University featured the first simulcast of the event, with the game being broadcast live on both video and radio outlets. The Buckeyes won the game, 36–9, over the Golden Grizzlies.[3]
Following the canceled 2020 season, the 2021 NCFA National Championship Bowl Game featured the top two teams in the league's final Power Rankings rather than a playoff due to lingering financial effects felt by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the location of the game was moved to Waynesburg University, a more centralized location for the remaining teams in the league. Ohio State went on to beat George Mason University 42-27, to capture their second national championship.[4]
Beginning in 2022, the NCFA reinstated the playoff system after realigning the league into three conferences. The three conference champions and one at-large team are now eligible for a four-team playoff. The at-large team is the highest ranked non-conference champion in the final NCFA Power Rankings. Gordon State would go on to defeat Ohio State in the National Championship game 35-15 in the first year of the realigned league.[5]
*No championship game played. Champion determined by NCFA Coaches Poll.
Yearly Postseason Awards
Starting in 2013, the National Club Football Association began awarding First, Second and Academic All-Americans. Starting in 2014, the league began naming award winners for Players of the Year on both sides of the football as well as the Head Coach of the Year. Starting in 2022, the NCFA added "Freshman of the Year" and "Assistant Coach of the Year" awards. Ohio State leads all schools with seven postseason awards, followed by George Mason with six.
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2024