2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season

The 2008 NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

season, part of the college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

season, began on August 28, 2008 and concluded on December 19, 2008 in Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...

at the 2008 NCAA Division II National Football Championship game

2008 NCAA Division II National Football Championship game

The 2008 NCAA Division II National Football Championship game was held on December 13, 2008 at Braly Municipal Stadium near the campus of the University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama.-Playoffs:...

, where the Richmond Spiders

2008 Richmond Spiders football team

The 2008 Richmond Spiders football team represented the University of Richmond in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision college football during the 2008 season...

defeated the Montana Grizzlies

2008 Montana Grizzlies football team

The 2008 Montana Grizzlies football team represented the University of Montana in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision college football during the 2008 season...

to win the NCAA Division I Football Championship.

Rule changes for 2008

The NCAA football rules committee made several rule changes for 2008, and includes the following:

The 25-second play clock was replaced by a 40-second version similar to one that was used in the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

until 2005.
The penalty for kicking the ball out of bounds on the kickoff is increased, placing the ball at the 40-yard line, similar to the NFL.
All face-mask penalties result in a 15-yard penalty. Incidental contact with the face mask is no longer penalized.
All horse-collar tackle
Horse-collar tackle
The horse-collar tackle is an American football or Canadian football maneuver in which a defender tackles another player by grabbing the back-inside of an opponent's shoulder pads. The technique is most closely associated with Pro Bowl safety Roy Williams...

s are now subject to a 15-yard penalty.
If a coach challenges a play and they win the challenge, they are given a second challenge to use later in the game, and each coach has a maximum of two challenges per game even if both are decided in their favor.

FCS team wins over FBS teams

August 30 – 29, San Diego State
2008 San Diego State Aztecs football team
The 2008 San Diego State Aztecs football team will represent San Diego State University in the 2008 college football season. They are coached by Chuck Long and play their home games at Qualcomm Stadium, which is also the host of the San Diego Chargers. The 2008 season is expected to be rough for...

27
September 6 – 28, Army
2008 Army Black Knights football team
The 2008 Army Black Knights football team represented the United States Military Academy in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football during the 2008 season...

10

Notable upsets

August 30 – 21, 0 (Division II over Division I FCS)
August 31 – 33, 22 (Division II over Division I FCS)
September 4 – 21, 0 (NAIA over Division I FCS non-scholarship)
September 4 – 35, 27 (Division II over Division I FCS)
September 5 – 14, 13 (Division II over Division I FCS)
September 6 – 32, 21 (Division III over Division I FCS non-scholarship)
September 6 – 21, 9 (Division II over Division I FCS non-scholarship)
September 6 – 34, 0 (Division II over Division I FCS)
September 13 – 31, 28 (Division III over Division I FCS non-scholarship)
September 20 – 22, 21 (Division II over Division I FCS non-scholarship)
September 20 – 13, 10 (NAIA over Division I FCS non-scholarship)
October 4 – 34, 24 (Division II over Division I FCS)
October 11 – 23, 12 (Division III over Division I FCS)

Automatic berths

Conference	Champion	Record*
Big Sky Conference Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I, with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. The BSC was founded in 1963. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the states of Arizona,...	Montana	11–0, 8-0
Colonial Athletic Association Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose full-time members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia. Most of its members are public universities, with five in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond,...	James Madison	10–1, 8–0
Missouri Valley Football Conference	Southern Illinois	9–2, 7–1
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic conference of historically black colleges and universities in the Southeastern United States...	South Carolina State	10–2, 8–0
Ohio Valley Conference Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the midwestern and southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Championship Subdivision , the lower of two levels of Division I...	Eastern Kentucky	8–3, 7–1
Patriot League Patriot League The Patriot League is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I) for a number of sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision...	Colgate	9–2, 5–0
Southern Conference Southern Conference The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...	Appalachian State	10–2, 8–0
Southland Conference Southland Conference The Southland Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the south central United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision...	Texas State	8–4, 5–2

Invitation

Conference	Champion	Record*
Great West Conference	Cal Poly	8–2, 3–0
Big South Conference Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. The conference's football teams are part of the Football Championship Subdivision...	Liberty	10–2, 5–0
Northeast Conference Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference is a college athletic conference whose schools are members of the NCAA. The NCAA designates the Northeast Conference to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision for Division I Men's Football and to Division I Sports for all other sports.Founded in 1981 as the ECAC-Metro...	Albany	8–3, 7–0
Pioneer Football League Pioneer Football League The Pioneer Football League is a college athletic conference which operates in the East, Midwest, and California of the United States. It has member schools that range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. The conference participates in the NCAA's...	Jacksonville	9–3, 7–1

Abstains

Conference	Champion	Record*
Ivy League Ivy League The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...	Brown	7–3, 6–1
Southwestern Athletic Conference Southwestern Athletic Conference The Southwestern Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black universities in the Southern United States...	Grambling State	11–2, 7–0

*Overall record, Conference record

NCAA FCS Playoff bracket

* Host institution

SWAC Championship Game
SWAC Championship Game
The SWAC Championship Game is an American college football game held on the first Saturday in December by the Southwestern Athletic Conference each year to determine its football champion. The game pits the champion of the Eastern Division against the champion of the Western Division in a game...

Date	Location	Venue	West Div. Champion	East Div. Champion	Result
December 13	Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...	Legion Field Legion Field Legion Field is a large stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but is occasionally used for other large outdoor events. The stadium is named in honor of the American Legion, a U.S. organization of military veterans. At its peak...	Grambling State Grambling State Tigers The Grambling Tigers represent Grambling State University in NCAA intercollegiate athletics. Grambling's sports teams participate in Division I as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference...	Jackson State Jackson State Tigers The Jackson State Tigers represent Jackson State University in NCAA intercollegiate athletics.-Conference affiliation:Jackson State University's athletic teams participate in the Southwestern Athletic Conference which is a part of the NCAA Division I. Football participates in the Football...	Grambling State, 41–9

Gridiron Classic

The Gridiron Classic

Gridiron Classic

The Gridiron Classic was the name given to a college football game played between teams from the Pioneer Football League and Northeast Conference at the end of the 2006-2009 seasons...

is an annual game between the champions of the Northeast Conference

Northeast Conference

The Northeast Conference is a college athletic conference whose schools are members of the NCAA. The NCAA designates the Northeast Conference to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision for Division I Men's Football and to Division I Sports for all other sports.Founded in 1981 as the ECAC-Metro...

and the Pioneer Football League

Pioneer Football League

The Pioneer Football League is a college athletic conference which operates in the East, Midwest, and California of the United States. It has member schools that range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. The conference participates in the NCAA's...

that has been held since December 2006.

Date	Location	Venue	NEC Champion	PFL Champion	Result
December 6	Albany, New York Albany, New York Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...	University Field	Albany Albany Great Danes The Albany Great Danes are the intercollegiate athletic programs of the University at Albany, SUNY. The University's intercollegiate athletics date back to the late 1890s, but its development was hampered for several decades by inadequate facilities, uncertain financial support, and the relatively...	Jacksonville	Albany, 28–0

Final poll standings

Standings are from The Sports Network

The Sports Network (wire service)

Based in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, The Sports Network is a wire service providing sports information in real time. Their Web site claims that they are "the largest privately owned international sports information service in North America and possibly the world"...

final 2008 poll.

Rank	Team	Record
1	Richmond Spiders 2008 Richmond Spiders football team The 2008 Richmond Spiders football team represented the University of Richmond in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision college football during the 2008 season...	13–3
2	Montana Grizzlies 2008 Montana Grizzlies football team The 2008 Montana Grizzlies football team represented the University of Montana in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision college football during the 2008 season...	14–2
3		12–2
4	Northern Iowa Panthers 2008 Northern Iowa Panthers football team The 2008 Northern Iowa Panthers football team represented the University of Northern Iowa in the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The previous year's team finished first in the Gateway Football Conference. The Gateway Football Conference was renamed the Missouri Valley Football League in...	12–3
5	Appalachian State Mountaineers 2008 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team The 2008 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team represented Appalachian State University in the college football season of 2008–2009. It was the 79th season of play for the Mountaineers. The team was led by Jerry Moore, the 2006 Eddie Robinson Award winner for Coach of the Year. It was his...	11–3
6		10–3
7		10–4
8		10–3
9		9–3
10		8–3
11		9–3
12		10–2
13		10–3
14		10–2
15		9–1
16		9–3
17		8–4
18		8–5
19		8–4
20	William & Mary Tribe	7–4
21		7–4
22		8–5
23	Jacksonville State Gamecocks 2008 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team The 2008 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team represented Jacksonville State University in the college football Division I FCS . The team was led by ninth-year head coach Jack Crowe. Jacksonville State played their home games at Paul Snow Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama.-Schedule:Schedule...	8–3
24		11–2
25		9–1

External links

List of FCS Schools

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Rule changes for 2008

FCS team wins over FBS teams

Notable upsets

Automatic berths

Invitation

Abstains

NCAA FCS Playoff bracket

Gridiron Classic

Final poll standings

See also

External links