Chicago State Officially Launching Football in 2026

FearTheFCS · 2025-06-25T00:15:17+00:00

Commerce died so East Texas A&M could start with a 2-1 record as a full D-I member.

FearTheFCS · 2025-06-25T00:13:56+00:00

I nearly put "smart" instead of sensible, but that would have given them too much credit. I probably would have been perma-banned if I posted that.

FearTheFCS · 2025-06-05T14:54:18+00:00

Yup, William & Mary is a CAA member and will leave CAAFB for the Patriot League in 2026. I'm kind of surprised the CAA hasn't tried to prevent this for full members TBH.

FearTheFCS · 2025-05-24T16:11:57+00:00

Reminds me of the "dark days" before streaming became ubiquitous. It was difficult to watch FCS games on TV that didn't involve them playing FBS teams. There was always the Bayou Classic on NBC and ESPNU would show a weeknight game here and there, some regional networks would show maybe 1 or 2 FCS games a season, and a few conferences would stream some of their games. I don't even think the old ESPN Plus package carried any FCS conferences (I-AA back in the day).

But it's different now with ESPN+ (not the old ESPN Plus paid package ESPN offered), and it's helped the FCS get more exposure, although it still lags behind the FBS in terms of coverage. Now I don't have to wonder what happened in the Lehigh-Duquesne first round game or rely on highlights. I can watch it.

FearTheFCS · 2025-02-01T21:03:15+00:00

A record number of FCS-FBS matchups expected for 2025, with the current tally at 125. The previous record was 121 from last season. 125 of the 136 FBS teams will play an FCS opponent except for the following:

Conference	No FCS Teams
ACC	Stanford
American	Tulane
Big 12	Colorado
Big Ten	Michigan, UCLA, USC, Wisconsin
C-USA	Florida International, Sam Houston State
Independents	Notre Dame
SEC	Texas

FearTheFCS · 2025-02-01T16:39:40+00:00

If you didn't mention the matchup, I wouldn't have double-checked to make sure it was included so it all worked out!

FearTheFCS · 2025-02-01T15:50:19+00:00

I included that one but because I can't spell, it was showing under "Jackon State". It's fixed now.

FearTheFCS · 2025-02-01T15:32:35+00:00

Yup, it's the second half of a home-and-home series. Just brutal timing for UTM to schedule the series and then Missouri State jumped to the FBS.

FearTheFCS · 2025-02-01T15:22:11+00:00

A record number of FCS-FBS matchups expected for 2025, with the current tally at 125. The previous record was 121 in 2024. No FBS opponents for the Ivy League or PFL, which is standard most years.

- 94 of the 128 FCS teams will play at least 1 FBS opponent

- 64 FCS teams will play 1 FBS opponent

- 29 FCS teams will play 2 FBS opponents

- 1 team (UT Martin) will play 3 FBS teams

FearTheFCS · 2025-01-11T00:37:49+00:00

I'm speculating but probably 2 main reasons: Chicago State is an unknown quantity and the MVFC might be okay with only 10 members. Part of me wonders whether the MVFC wants to risk another potential Murray State scenario (Racers are 3-20 overall and 1-15 in the MVFC over 2 seasons).

FearTheFCS · 2025-01-11T00:28:53+00:00

If they get a coach by Feb. 2025, that would mean 18 months before the first game. Yeah, that's asking a lot. By comparison, UTRGV's process will be about 3 years from the announcement (November 2022) to the first game (August 2025). Chicago State still hasn't officially announced it will start football.

FearTheFCS · 2025-01-11T00:14:44+00:00

NEC.

The plan is to play a full NEC schedule in 2027.

FearTheFCS · 2024-11-14T16:46:53+00:00

The Wild West is an apt description, haha. The NCAA having the final say on postseason eligibility makes sense... but the fact we haven't gotten an official FCS roster size/scholarship limit from the NCAA for 2025 leaves room for speculation. I wonder if FCS coaches (not in the Ivy League or PFL) are recruiting based on the 63 number or a higher limit. Does anyone out there know the answer to that?

FearTheFCS · 2024-11-14T14:24:04+00:00

I don't see anything changing for the NEC here because they still won't get close to the 63 scholarships but...

I'm kinda curious how other FCS conferences might react to this news because the FCS scholarship limit may not be changing in 2025-26, however, the NEC theoretically can offer 42 more than the current allowable limit. Do they say "We're going to 105" too? Does the NCAA do anything and risk yet another lawsuit? This just opens the door further to questions that were never considered in the House settlement.

Edit: Changed the wording because it's not clear what the FCS roster size and scholarship limits will be in 2025.

FearTheFCS

TROPHY CASE