The 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 151st season of college football in the United States, organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level, the Football Bowl Subdivision. The regular season ran from September 3 to December 19, 2020. Shortly after, the postseason began on December 21, 2020, culminating in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 11, 2021, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes to claim the national championship with a final score of 52-24.
The season was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States; all of the Power Five conferences initially announced plans to play a fall football season beginning on August 29, but they greatly reduced non-conference games to limit the extent of interstate travel. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big 12, Southeastern Conference (SEC) as well as several other Group of Five conferences began their seasons in September while independent Notre Dame agreed to play a full conference schedule with the ACC.
In August, the Big Ten, Pac-12, Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West, and several independents announced they would delay their football seasons until further notice due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, targeting the possibility of playing in the spring of 2021 instead. By late September, however, the four conferences reversed their decisions and announced plans to play shortened seasons.
Some postseason activities, including the final College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings and the Heisman Trophy nominations, were delayed to provide flexibility for conferences to finish delayed seasons in mid-December. Several bowl games were canceled due to recommendations by local health officials or because they could not secure teams after multiple programs had opted out of bowl games due to COVID-19 concerns. Other contests saw extraordinary relocations; the Rose Bowl was played outside of Pasadena, California, for the first time since 1942, and the New Mexico Bowl was played in Frisco, Texas.
Conference realignment Membership changes SchoolFormer conferenceNew conferenceNotes UConn Huskies American Athletic Conference Independent UConn canceled their 2020 seasonNotre Dame Fighting IrishIndependentAtlantic Coast Conference Conference member for 2020 only
Rule changes The following rule changes were approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel for 2020: Players ejected for targeting were disqualified but permitted to remain on the sidelines instead of returning to the locker room. Players ejected for other reasons (two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, fighting, contact with officials, etc.) were sent to the locker room. Restrictions on the number of players on a team wearing the same uniform number to two; such players still could not be on the field at the same time and had to play different positions. Inclusion of zero as a legal uniform number, available to any position that permits single-digit numbers. Extended the official's jurisdiction before kickoff from 60 to 90 minutes, requiring a coach from each team to be on the field during warm-ups, and identifying each player by number. Defensive teams were allowed to briefly have twelve players on the field to anticipate the offensive formation. However, having twelve (or more) players on the field at the snap was a live-ball five-yard penalty for illegal substitution. Previously, this foul was a dead-ball foul, called if the defense had twelve (or more) players on the field for at least three seconds. Adoption of a limit to 2 minutes maximum for instant replay reviews. Exceptions were to be allowed in "exceptionally complicated" or end-of-game situations. In the case of personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties committed by the defense during a play that resulted in a touchdown, the offense had the option to have the penalty take effect on the try, the ensuing kickoff, or the succeeding spot (if in overtime). If the game clock expired at the end of a half and a replay determined that time was remaining, but the game situation called for the clock to start on the referee's signal, the half ended. This applied unless the replay determined that the clock should have stopped with three or more seconds left.
Other headlines The following headlines were relevant to the 2020 NCAA Division 1 FBS football season: February 18 – The NCAA announced that it was considering a proposal that would allow student-athletes in all sports a one-time waiver to transfer to a new school without having to sit out a season. This would place all NCAA sports under the same transfer rules; currently, first-time transfers are only required to sit out a season in baseball, men's and women's basketball, football, and men's ice hockey. The existing criteria for the waiver would be extended to these five sports—namely, a player must receive a transfer release from his or her previous school, leave that school academically eligible, maintain academic progress at the new school, and not be under any disciplinary suspension. February 20 – Pitt's football program was placed on three years probation as part of a series of violations announced by the Division I Committee on Infractions, which also included violations from their men's basketball team and former head coach Kevin Stallings. The football infractions resulted from a scheme where non-coaching "quality control" staffers performed coaching duties. If people from outside the football program were present at practice, music would be played to alert the staffers to their presence so they could leave. Pat Narduzzi was present at a football practice while three staff members performed coaching duties and were ordered to be held out of practice for two days in August. The school received other sanctions. February 26 – The new LA Bowl was announced on February 26, matching the Mountain West's No. 1 team against the Pac-12's No. 5. Beginning in December, the game was to be held at SoFi Stadium, the new 70,240-seat home of the Los Angeles Chargers and Rams in Inglewood, California. The LA Bowl is locked in at SoFi from 2020 to 2025. December 3 – The Knight Commission, a non-NCAA group backing college athletics reform whose membership includes many university presidents and former athletic directors, recommended that FBS football be separated from the NCAA, with FBS programs becoming part of a new body that would take over all roles that the NCAA now assumes concerning that sport. All other sports at FBS schools would remain under NCAA governance, and the NCAA would continue to govern all lower levels of football, including NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic Season preparations Multiple universities and conferences had already canceled their spring football games as part of the wider, nationwide suspension of organized sports and athletics due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 13, the NCAA announced a suspension of all the division on-campus and off-campus recruiting until April 15. In regards to its impact on the regular season, NCAA president Mark Emmert stated on May 8 that individual decisions on fall semester sports would likely begin to appear as early as June or around July 4. He suggested that the operation of athletics programs would depend on students being present on-campus to a degree (but not necessarily "up and running in the full normal model"), explaining that "you have to treat the health and well-being of the athletes at least as much as the regular students", but that "this is going to be a very unusual school year, and we just have to make the best of it".
The NCAA Division I Council prohibited on-campus activities through May 31; on May 20, the Council voted to end the moratorium and allow voluntary on-campus activity in football and basketball to begin June 1, subject to new safety protocols. On June 17, the Division I Council approved a timetable for a season assumed to begin September 5, including beginning non-voluntary training activities on July 13.
On June 24, USA Today reported that at least 37 FBS schools had reported positive cases of COVID-19 among student-athletes or staff since practices resumed. Amidst a spike in cases in the Southern U.S. since late June, several state governors, including Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, Brian Kemp of Georgia, and Henry McMaster of South Carolina, have warned that football season could be threatened if cases do not subside in time.
On July 13, it was announced that the Patriot League would not be participating in a football season this year. However, the United States Military Academy as well as the Naval Academy were not included in the settlement as their school superintendent was in charge of making decisions regarding whether their athletic programs would have their seasons.
On July 16, the NCAA released a series of recommendations regarding protocols for fall sports, including that all participants in "high contact risk sports" be tested, with results within 72 hours of play. President Emmert noted, however, that the guidelines presumed that the infection rate would be "manageable", and that "If there is to be college sports in the fall, we need to get a much better handle on the pandemic." The American Athletic Conference announced the same day that it will adhere to this protocol; commissioner Michael Aresco stated that "with the proper quarantine and the proper canvassing of close contacts, we think at this point it would be safe to play games." On July 18, the SEC announced that it would still honor scholarships for players who opt out of the fall season due to safety concerns.
On July 28, by request of the Football Oversight Committee, the NCAA announced that it had issued a blanket waiver to allow any team to play in "Week 0", to allow for greater scheduling flexibility amid changing conditions.
On August 12, members of the NCAA Division I council met and discussed eligibility for student-athletes. They recommended to the Division I board that athletes should be granted an extension on their 5-year eligibility due to the pandemic.
If conditions do not improve by the traditional timeframe of football season, the possibility of delaying the football season entirely to spring 2021 was suggested by several coaches. However, it was largely considered by them to be a last resort. Aresco commented that such a delay would likely require practices to be held over the winter indoors—environments that have been shown to exacerbate the spread of COVID-19.
Conference responses All of the Power Five conferences initially announced that they would go on with their season as scheduled but with cuts to non-conference games to overcome logistical concerns and reduce interstate travel. The Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC were all limiting play to in-conference opponents only. The ACC and Big 12 would allow one non-conference game each, with the ACC restricting them to in-state opponents. The ACC also suspended the use of divisions, with the top two teams in conference play by winning percentage advancing to the ACC Championship Game.