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NCAA Division I FCS independent schools

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US institutions whose football programs are not part of a conference

NCAA Division I FCS
independent schools

Association	NCAA
Founded	1978; 47 years ago (1978)
Sports fielded	1 men's: 1
Division	Division I
Subdivision	FCS
No. of teams	2 (1 in 2026)
Official website	ncaa.com/independents

NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision independent schools are four-year institutions in the United States whosefootball programs are not members of afootball conference. This means thatFCS independents are not required to schedule each other for competition as conference schools do.

As of the 2025 season,Merrimack andSacred Heart will be competing as independents since their primary conference, theMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference, does not sponsor football.^[1]^[2] They were previously members of theNortheast Conference, which sponsored the sport. Following the 2025 season, Sacred Heart will leave the independent ranks to joinCAA Football.^[3]

As of the 2026 season, theCalifornia State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State), will join theBig West Conference as a full member, leaving theBig Sky Conference. Big West does not sponsor football, so theSacramento State Hornets football team will operate as an FCS Independent.

Current FCS independents

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Institution	Location	Founded	First	Joined	Type	Enrollment	Endowment	Nickname	Colors	Primary conference
Merrimack College	North Andover, Massachusetts	1947	1996	2024	Private (Augustinian)	5,505	$55,700,000	Warriors		MAAC
Sacred Heart University	Fairfield, Connecticut	1963	1991	2024	Private (Catholic)	6,524	$246,000,000	Pioneers		MAAC

Former FCS independents

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The following is a complete list of teams that have been Division I-AA/FCS Independents since the formation of Division I-AA in 1978. The "Current Conference" column indicates affiliations for the 2023 college football season. The years listed in this table are football seasons; since football is a fall sport, this means that the final season of independent status, or membership in a given conference, is the calendar year before a conference change took effect.

Teams initalics are current FBS members; this includes second-year transitional schools that are counted as FBS for scheduling purposes but not bowl game eligibility. Because James Madison met FBS scheduling requirements in its first season in theSun Belt Conference in 2022 (specifically five home games against FBS opposition), it was allowed to skip the first year of the normal two-year process.

Years	Team	Previous conference	Conference joined	Current conference
2013	Abilene Christian	Lone Star (Div. II)	Southland (2014–2020)	UAC (2023–present)^[4]
1987–1991	Arkansas State	Southland	Division I-A Independent (1992)	Sun Belt (2001–present)^{[N 1]}
1997–2000	Austin Peay	Ohio Valley^{[N 2]}	Pioneer Football League (2001–2005)	UAC (2023–present)^[4]
2006	Austin Peay	Pioneer Football League	Ohio Valley (2007–2021)	UAC (2023–present)^[4]
1978–1985	Bucknell	Division II Independent	Patriot League (1986–present)^{[N 3]}
1993–1998	Buffalo	Division III Independent	Mid-American Conference (1999–present)^{[N 4]}
1996–2003	Cal Poly	American West	Great West (2004–2011)^{[N 5]}	Big Sky (2012–present)
2001	Cal State Northridge	Big Sky	Dropped football
2006	Central Arkansas	Gulf South (Div. II)	Southland (2007–2020)	UAC (2023–present)^[4]
1993–1995	Central Connecticut	Division II Independent	Northeast (1996–present)
1993–2001	Charleston Southern	No football program	Big South (2002–2022)	OVC–Big South (2023–present)
2013–2014	Charlotte	No football program	CUSA (2015–2022)	American (2023–present)^[5]
2016	Coastal Carolina	Big South	Sun Belt (2017–present)^{[N 6]}
1982–1985	Colgate	Division I-A Independent	Patriot League (1986–present)^{[N 3]}
1989	Davidson	Colonial League^{[N 3]}	Division III Independent (1990–1992)
1993–2000	Davidson	Division III Independent	Pioneer Football League (2001–present)
1980–1985	Delaware	Division II Independent	Yankee Conference (1986–1996)	Conference USA (2025–present)^{[N 7]}^{[N 8]}^{[N 9]}
1993	Duquesne	Division III Independent	MAAC (1994–2007)	Northeast (2008–present)
2015	East Tennessee State	No football program^{[N 10]}	Southern (2016–present)^{[N 11]}
1984–1986	Eastern Washington	Division II Independent	Big Sky (1987–present)
1998–2001	Elon	Division II Independent	Big South (2002)	CAA Football (2014–present)
1984–1987	Florida A&M	MEAC^{[N 12]}	MEAC (1988–2003, 2005–2020)	SWAC (2021–present)
2004	Florida A&M	MEAC^{[N 13]}	MEAC (2005–2020)	SWAC (2021–present)
2002–2004	FIU	No football program	Sun Belt (2005–2012)	CUSA (2013–present)
2001–2004	Florida Atlantic	No football program	Sun Belt (2005–2012)	The American (2023–present)^[5]
1989	Fordham	Liberty Football Conference	Patriot League (1990–present)
2000	Georgetown	MAAC	Patriot League (2001–present)
1984–1991	Georgia Southern	Club football	Southern (1992–2013)	Sun Belt (2014–present)
2010–2011	Georgia State	No football program	CAA Football (2012)	Sun Belt (2013–present)
2018	Hampton	MEAC	Big South (2019–2021)	CAA Football (2022–present)
1991–2000	Hofstra	Division III Independent	Atlantic 10 (2001–2006)	Dropped football
1982–1985	Holy Cross	Division I-A Independent	Patriot League (1986–present)^{[N 3]}
2013	Houston Christian^{[N 14]}	No football program	Southland (2014–present)
2008	Iona	MAAC (1993–2007)	Dropped football
2013	Incarnate Word	Lone Star (Div. II)	Southland (2014–present)
1982–1985	Indiana State	Division I-A Independent	MVFC (1997–present)^{[N 15]}
1998–2000	Jacksonville	No football program	Pioneer Football League (2001–2019)	Dropped football
1980–1992	James Madison	Division III Independent	Yankee Conference (1993–1996)	Sun Belt (2022–present)
2023	Kennesaw State	ASUN	CUSA (2024–present)
1978–1985	Lafayette	Division II Independent	Patriot League (1986–present)^{[N 3]}
1987–1989	Lamar	Southland	Dropped program (1989–2009)^[6]
2010	Lamar	No football program	Southland (2011–2020)^[6]	Southland (2022–present)^[7]
1997–1998	La Salle	No football program (1942–1996)	MAAC (1999–2007)	Dropped football
1978–1985	Lehigh	Division II Independent	Patriot League (1986–present)^{[N 3]}
1988–2001	Liberty	Division II Independent	Big South (2002–2017)^{[N 16]}	CUSA (2023–present)^{[N 17]}^[8]
1987–1988	Louisiana Tech	Southland	Division I-A Independent (1989–1992)	CUSA (2013–present)
1993	Marist	Liberty Football Conference	MAAC (1994–2007)
2008	Marist	MAAC	Pioneer Football League (2009–present)
1993–1995	Monmouth	No football program	Northeast (1996–2012)	CAA Football (2022–present)
2013	Monmouth	Northeast	Big South (2014–2021)	CAA Football (2022–present)
1996–2000	Morehead State	Ohio Valley	Pioneer Football League (2001–present)
2001–2002	Morris Brown	SIAC (Div. II)	Dropped football
1978	Nevada	Division II Independent	Big Sky (1979–1991)	Mountain West (2012–present)
1980–1983	Nicholls	Division II Independent	Gulf Star (1984–1986)	Southland (1992–present)
1987–1990	Nicholls	Gulf Star	Southland (1991–present)
2018	North Alabama	Gulf South (Div. II)	Big South (2019–2021)	UAC (2023–present)^[4]
2018–2019	North Dakota	Big Sky	MVFC (2020–present)
1978–1992	Northeastern	Division II Independent	Yankee (1993–1996)	Dropped football (2010)
2003	Northern Colorado	North Central	Great West (2004–2005)	Big Sky (2006–present)
1978–1983	Northwestern State	Division I Independent	Gulf Star (1984–1986)	Southland (1987–present)
2009–2010	Old Dominion	No football program	CAA Football (2011–2012)
2013	Old Dominion	CAA Football	CUSA (2014–2021)	Sun Belt (2022–present)
1978–1980	Portland State	Division II Independent	Division II Independent (1981)	Big Sky (1996–present)
2020	Presbyterian	Big South Conference	Pioneer Football League (2021–present)
1982–1985	Richmond	Division I-A Independent	Yankee Conference (1986–1996)	CAA Football (2007–present)^{[N 8]}
1994–1995	Robert Morris	No football program	Northeast (1996–2019)	Northeast (2024–future)
1993–1995	Saint Francis (PA)	Division III Independent	Northeast (1996–present)
1989–2002	Samford	Division III Independent	Ohio Valley (2003–2007)	Southern (2008–present)
2002–2009	Savannah State	Division II Independent	MEAC (2010–2018)	SIAC (Div. II; 2019–present)
2011	South Alabama	Unclassified (exhibition only)	Sun Belt (2012–present)^{[N 18]}
1997–2000	South Florida	No football program	Division I-A Independent (2001–2002)	American (2013–present)^{[N 19]}
1980–1983	Southeastern Louisiana	Division II Independent	Gulf Star (1984–1985)	Southland (2005–present)
2003–2004	Southeastern Louisiana	No football program^{[N 20]}	Southland (2005–present)
1996–2003	Southern Utah	American West	Great West (2004–2011)^{[N 5]}	UAC (2023–present)^[4]
1998–1999	St. John's	MAAC	Northeast (2000–2002)	Dropped football (2003)
1993–2003	Saint Mary's	Division II Independent	Dropped football (2004)
2007	Stony Brook	Northeast	Big South (2008–2012)	CAA Football (2013–present)
2020	Tarleton	Lone Star (Division II)	WAC (2021–2022)	UAC (2023–present)^[4]
1981–1987	Tennessee State	Division I-A Independent	Ohio Valley (1988–2022)	OVC–Big South (2023–present)
1987–1996	Towson	Division II Independent	Patriot League (1997–2003)	CAA Football (2007–present)^{[N 21]}
1993–1995	Troy	Division II Independent	Southland (1996–2000)
2001	Troy	Southland	Division I-A Independent (2002–2003)	Sun Belt (2004–present)^{[N 22]}
1993–1995	UAB	Division III Independent	Division I-A Independent (1996–1998)	American (2023–present)^[5]
1990–1995	UCF	Division II Independent	Division I-A Independent (1996–2001)	Big 12 (2023–present)^[9]
2020	Utah Tech^{[N 23]}	RMAC (Division II)	WAC (2021–2022)	UAC (2023–present)^[4]
2011	UTSA	No football program	WAC (2012)	American (2023–present)^[5]
1987	Villanova	No football program	Yankee Conference (1988–1996)	CAA Football (2007–present)
1993–1995	Wagner	Liberty Football Conference	Northeast (1996–present)
1982–1998	Western Kentucky	Ohio Valley	Ohio Valley (1999–2000)
2007–2008	Western Kentucky	Gateway Football Conference^{[N 15]}	Sun Belt (2009–2013)	CUSA (2014–present)
1982–1992	William & Mary	Division I-A Independent	Yankee Conference (1993–1996)	CAA Football (2007–present)^{[N 24]}^{[N 8]}
1995–1996	Wofford	Division II Independent	Southern (1997–present)
2006	Winston–Salem State	CIAA (Div. II)	MEAC (2007–2009)	CIAA (Div. II) (2010–present)
1988–1996	Youngstown State	Ohio Valley	MVFC (1997–present)^{[N 15]}

Notes

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^Arkansas State has been a full Sun Belt member since 1991, but the conference did not sponsor football until 2001.
^Austin Peay only departed OVC football; it remained a full but non-football member before returning to OVC football in 2007.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^fThe conference now known as the Patriot League began in 1986 as the football-only Colonial League. It adopted its current name in 1990, when it became an all-sports conference.
^Buffalo became a full member of the MAC in 1998, but was not a football member until 1999.
^^a ^bThe Great West Conference began in 2004 as the Great West Football Conference. It became an all-sports conference in 2008.
^Coastal Carolina joined the Sun Belt Conference as a full but non-football member in 2016, and joined Sun Belt football in 2017.
^Delaware had been a full member of theCoastal Athletic Association from 2001 to 2024 (when that conference was known as the Colonial Athletic Association). However, the CAA did not sponsor football until 2007, when it effectively took over the football league previously sponsored by the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10), establishing the separate entity of CAA Football to govern that sport.
^^a ^b ^cCAA Football is the direct successor of both the Yankee Conference and A-10 football conference. The football-only Yankee Conference was absorbed by the A-10 after the 1996 season. After the 2006 season, the A-10 dropped football after all of its football members joined the newly formed CAA Football. The Yankee Conference's automatic bid to the I-AA/FCS playoffs passed in succession to the A-10 and CAA Football.
^Delaware begun its transition to FBS in 2024 and joinedConference USA in 2025.
^ETSU resurrected its football program, dormant since the end of the 2003 season, in 2015, playing that season as an independent before joining Southern Conference football in 2016.
^ETSU, which had previously been a Southern Conference member from 1978 to 2005, rejoined the SoCon in 2014, initially as a non-football member.
^Florida A&M was a member of the MEAC in 1986 & 1987, but games played did not count as conference games.
^Florida A&M was a member of the MEAC in 2004, but games played did not count as conference games
^Known before 2022 as Houston Baptist.
^^a ^b ^cThe MVFC did not adopt its current name until 2008. Before then, it was known as theGateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (1982–1993) and Gateway Football Conference (1993–2008).
^Liberty became a full member of the Big South in 1991, remaining a member until joining the non-footballASUN Conference in 2018, but the Big South did not sponsor football until 2002.
^Liberty began a transition to FBS in the 2017 season, and became a full FBS member in 2019.
^South Alabama has been a Sun Belt member from the conference's creation in 1976. However, the Sun Belt did not sponsor football until 2001. South Alabama did not start a football program until 2009, and did not play Sun Belt football until 2012.
^Theoriginal Big East Conference split into the football-sponsoringAmerican Athletic Conference and a new non-footballBig East Conference in 2013. South Florida remained with the FBS schools in The American.
^Southeastern Louisiana dropped football after the 1985 season.
^Towson was a CAA member at the conference's formation in 1979, but left in 1981; after having been a member of four other conferences, it rejoined the CAA in 2001. However, the CAA did not sponsor football until 2007, when it effectively took over the football league previously sponsored by the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10), establishing the separate entity of CAA Football to govern that sport.
^Troy joined the Sun Belt for football in 2004, and became an all-sports member in 2005.
^Known before 2022 as Dixie State.
^William & Mary has been a CAA member since the conference's establishment in 1979. However, the CAA did not sponsor football until 2007, when it effectively took over the football league previously sponsored by the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10), establishing the separate entity of CAA Football for that sport.

References

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^"Five Home Games Highlight 2024 SHU Football Schedule" (Press release). Sacred Heart Pioneers. February 5, 2024. RetrievedFebruary 8, 2024.The Pioneers, in their first season as an FCS Independent, begin 2024 with three straight home games, including the opener against Delaware State on Aug. 31.
^"Football Releases 2024 Schedule".Merrimack College Athletics. February 8, 2024. RetrievedMarch 9, 2024.
^"CAA Football Welcomes Sacred Heart University As Its Newest Member For 2026 Season" (Press release). CAA Football. July 22, 2025. RetrievedJuly 22, 2025.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g"ASUN-WAC Football Partnership Formally Rebrands as the United Athletic Conference" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. April 17, 2023. RetrievedApril 21, 2023.
^^a ^b ^c ^d"American Announces Entrance Agreements With Incoming Members for 2023-24 Season" (Press release). American Athletic Conference. June 16, 2022. RetrievedJune 16, 2022.
^^a ^b"Lamar Football 2012 Info Guide"(PDF). Lamar University Department of Athletics. p. 101. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on July 28, 2014. RetrievedMarch 30, 2015.
^"Lamar University Prepares for Early Move to Southland Conference" (Press release). Southland Conference. July 11, 2022. RetrievedJuly 12, 2022.
^"Conference USA Adds Four Members" (Press release). Conference USA. November 5, 2021. RetrievedNovember 5, 2021.
^"American Announces Agreements With UCF, Cincinnati and Houston on Departure" (Press release). American Athletic Conference. June 10, 2022. RetrievedJune 10, 2022.

External links

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Official website

v t e NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision conferences
Current conferences	Big Sky CAA (AmEast/CAA) Ivy MEAC MVFC (MVC/Summit) NEC OVC–Big South (OVC/Big South) Patriot Pioneer SoCon Southland SWAC UAC (ASUN /WAC)
Previous conferences	American West(defunct 1996) Great West(non-football 2012; defunct 2013) Gulf Star(defunct 1987) MAAC(non-football 2008) Yankee(became A10 1997)
Independents

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Division I

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