The 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season, the 2010 season of college football for teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), began in September 2010 and concluded with the 2011 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game on January 7, 2011. In the title game, Eastern Washington defeated Delaware, 20–19, to claim their first Division I national title in any team sport.
For the first time since 1997, the final game was played at a new location—Pizza Hut Park in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas. Every title game since 1997 had been held at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but the NCAA opened the hosting rights for the 2010–2012 championship games for bids during the 2009 season, as the hosting contract between the NCAA and the Chattanooga organizers was set to expire. In addition to Frisco and Chattanooga, three other cities submitted bids: Little Rock, Arkansas — War Memorial Stadium Missoula, Montana — Washington–Grizzly Stadium Spokane, Washington — Joe Albi Stadium
The field of bidders was eventually cut to Chattanooga and Frisco, with Frisco being announced as the winner on February 26, 2010.
The January finish to the season was the result of an expanded playoff schedule. The championship tournament expanded from 16 teams to 20, with the Big South and Northeast Conference earning automatic bids for the first time. Eight teams played first-round games, with the remaining participants receiving byes into the second round. The playoffs began at their normal time on Thanksgiving weekend, specifically on November 27. According to early reports, the championship game would be played sometime between December 29 and January 7, with the latter date ultimately chosen.
Conference changes and new programs School 2009 conference 2010 conference Georgia State New program FCS Independent Hofstra CAA Dropped program Lamar Revived program FCS Independent North Carolina Central FCS Independent MEAC Northeastern CAA Dropped program Savannah State FCS independent MEAC Winston-Salem State CIAA (D-II)
FCS team wins over FBS teams September 4 – Jacksonville State 49, Ole Miss 48 2OT September 4 – North Dakota State 6, Kansas 3 September 11 – James Madison 21, No. 13 Virginia Tech 16 (NOTE: This was only the second win by an FCS school over a ranked FBS team, after Appalachian State's historic win over Michigan in 2007). September 11 – Gardner–Webb 38, Akron 37 OT September 11 – Liberty 27, Ball State 23 September 11 – South Dakota 41, Minnesota 38 October 2 – UC Davis 14, San Jose State 13
Conference standings
Conference summaries
Championship games Conference Champion Runner-upScoreOffensive Player of the YearDefensive Player of the YearCoach of the Year SWAC Texas Southern Alabama State 11–6 Frank Warren (RB, Grambling State) DeJuan Fulghum (LB, Texas Southern) Johnnie Cole (Texas Southern)
Other conference winners
Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games. ConferenceChampionRecordOffensive Player of the YearDefensive Player of the YearCoach of the Year Big Sky Eastern WashingtonMontana State 9–2 (7–1) Taiwan Jones (Eastern Washington)DeNarius McGhee (Montana State) J. C. Sherritt (Eastern Washington) Rob Ash (Montana State) Big South LibertyStony BrookCoastal Carolina 8–3 (5–1)6–5 (5–1)6–5 (5–1) Mike Brown (Liberty) Andrae Jacobs (Coastal Carolina) David Bennett (Coastal Carolina) CAA DelawareWilliam & Mary 9–2 (6–2)8–3 (6–2) Pat Devlin (Delaware) Tyler Holmes (UMass)Eric McBride (Richmond) Joe Trainer (Rhode Island) Great West Southern Utah 6–5 (4–0) Tysson Poots (Southern Utah) Marty Mohamed (Cal Poly) Ed Lamb (Southern Utah) Ivy Penn 9–1 (7–0)Nick Schwieger (Dartmouth)Gino Gordon (Harvard) MEAC Bethune–CookmanSouth Carolina StateFlorida A&M 10–1 (7–1)9–2 (7–1)8–3 (7–1) Matt Johnson (Bethune–Cookman) David Erby (South Carolina State) Brian Jenkins (Bethune–Cookman) MVFC Northern Iowa 7–4 (6–2) Matt Barr (Western Illinois) Kyle Glazier (Western Illinois) Trent Miles (Indiana State) NEC Robert MorrisCentral Connecticut State 8–2 (7–1)8–3 (7–1) Myles Russ (Robert Morris) Alex DiMichele (Robert Morris) Joe Walton (Robert Morris) OVC Southeast Missouri State 9–2 (7–1) Henry Harris (Southeast Missouri State) Andrew Soucy (Eastern Kentucky) Tony Samuel (Southeast Missouri State) Patriot Lehigh 9–2 (5–0) Nate Eachus (Colgate) Zach Smith (Colgate) Andy Coen (Lehigh) Pioneer JacksonvilleDayton 10–1 (8–0) Steve Valentino (Dayton) Dain Taylor (Drake) Rick Chamberlin (Dayton) Southern Appalachian StateWofford 9–2 (6–1) De'Andre Presley (Appalachian State) Ameet Pall (Wofford) Jerry Moore (Appalachian State) Southland Stephen F. Austin 11–0 (7–0) Jeremy Moses (Stephen F. Austin) Jabara Williams (Stephen F. Austin) J. C. Harper (Stephen F. Austin)
Playoff qualifiers Automatic berths for conference champions Big Sky Conference – Montana State Big South Conference – Coastal Carolina Colonial Athletic Association – William & Mary Missouri Valley Football Conference – Northern Iowa Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Bethune–Cookman Northeast Conference – Robert Morris Ohio Valley Conference – Southeast Missouri State Patriot League – Lehigh Southern Conference – Appalachian State Southland Conference – Stephen F. Austin
At large qualifiers Big Sky Conference – Eastern Washington Colonial Athletic Association – Delaware Colonial Athletic Association – New Hampshire Colonial Athletic Association – Villanova Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina State Missouri Valley Football Conference – North Dakota State Missouri Valley Football Conference – Western Illinois Ohio Valley Conference – Jacksonville State Southern Conference – Georgia Southern Southern Conference – Wofford
No teams from the conferences that do not have automatic bids—currently the Great West Conference and Pioneer Football League—received bids. In order for a team from a conference without an automatic bid to be eligible for the playoffs, it must have a minimum of seven Division I wins, with at least two against teams in automatic bid conferences. The team in question also must be ranked an average of 16 or better in the national rankings.
Abstentions Ivy League – Pennsylvania Southwestern Athletic Conference – Texas Southern
(Overall Record, Conference Record)
Postseason After 24 seasons with a playoff field of sixteen teams, the FCS bracket was expanded to twenty this postseason, with the five seeded teams and seven others receiving first-round byes. The championship game was moved to January, three weeks after the mid-December semifinals.
The FCS playoff field was twenty for three seasons, then expanded to 24 in 2013.
NCAA Division I playoff bracket
SWAC Championship Game
Date Location Venue West Div. Champion East Div. Champion Result December 11 Birmingham, Alabama Legion Field Texas Southern Alabama State TSU 11 – ASU 6
Global Kilimanjaro Bowl
On September 1, 2010, Drake University announced it would participate in the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl, the first American football game played on the continent of Africa. The game featured the Drake Bulldogs versus Mexican All-Star team CONADEIP. Due to the seasonal difference in Africa, the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl was played on May 21, 2011.
Date Location Venue Mexican Team USA Team Result May 21, 2011 Arusha, Tanzania Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium CONADEIP Stars Drake Bulldogs Drake 17 – CONADEIP 7
Final poll standings
Standings are from The Sports Network final poll.
Rank Team Record1 Eastern Washington Eagles 13–22 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens 12–33 Villanova Wildcats 9–54 Appalachian State Mountaineers 10–35 Georgia Southern Eagles 10–56 Wofford Terriers 10–37 New Hampshire Wildcats 8–58 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 9–39 North Dakota State Bison 9–510 William & Mary Tribe 8–411 Montana State Bobcats 9–312 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 9–313 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks 9–314 Lehigh Mountain Hawks 10–315 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats 10–216 South Carolina State Bulldogs 9–317 Western Illinois Leathernecks 8–518 Penn Quakers 9–119 Northern Iowa Panthers 7–520 Montana Grizzlies 7–421 Liberty Flames 8–322 Jacksonville Dolphins 10–123 Grambling State Tigers 9–224 Cal Poly Mustangs 7–425 Dayton Flyers 10–1
Standings are from the FCS Coaches final poll. Rank Team Record1 Eastern Washington Eagles 13–22 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens 12–33 Villanova Wildcats 9–54 Appalachian State Mountaineers 10–35 Wofford Terriers 10–36 Georgia Southern Eagles 10–57 New Hampshire Wildcats 8–58 William & Mary Tribe 8–49 North Dakota State Bison 9–510 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 9–311 Montana State Bobcats 9–312 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 9–313 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks 9–314 Lehigh Mountain Hawks 10–315 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats 10–216 Penn Quakers 9–117 South Carolina State Bulldogs 9–318 Northern Iowa Panthers 7–519 Liberty Flames 8–320 Western Illinois Leathernecks 8–521 Montana Grizzlies 7–422 Jacksonville Dolphins 10–123 Cal Poly Mustangs 7–424 Grambling State Tigers 9–225 Dayton Flyers 10–1
References
External links