FBS programs are allowed to provide scholarship aid to a total of 85 players, and may grant a full scholarship to all 85. FCS schools are limited to financial assistance amounting to a maximum of 63 full scholarships (although some conferences voluntarily place further restrictions on athletic aid). Unlike FBS schools, for whom an athlete receiving a partial scholarship counts fully against the limit of 85, FCS schools can freely grant partial scholarships, but are also limited to a total of 85 players receiving assistance.
The three service academies that play in Division I FBS — Air Force, Army, and Navy — are exempt from this rule because all students at these schools receive full scholarships from the federal government.
Division I FBS football is the only NCAA sport without a formal tournament to determine an undisputed national champion. FBS schools instead play in a series of postseason bowl games, culminating in the BCSNational Championship Game, which attempts to crown a single national champion. Other organizations, most notably the Associated Press, crown their own champions via polling. The BCS and AP have not always agreed on a single champion. FCS football, on the other hand, conducts a 16-team single-elimination tournament to determine its undisputed champion.
1 The official, trademarked name of the athletic program is Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns. National media, however, add "Lafayette" to distinguish the school from Louisiana-Monroe.
1 National media generally use "Mississippi" in score listings and on first reference, but will frequently use "Ole Miss" on later reference. The school athletic department prefers "Ole Miss".
Alaska, Delaware, Maine, Montana, New Hampsire, North Dakota, Rhode Islande, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Washington D.C. do not currently have FBS programs.
Notes and references
^At that time, the school was a two-year college known as Boise Junior College. The school did not become a four-year institution until 1965, and only began playing football against four-year schools in 1968.
Several schools have different athletic nicknames for men's and women's teams. Usually, this is a matter of preceding the main nickname with "Lady", such as LSU Lady Tigers and Tennessee Lady Vols. The two FBS schools nicknamed Cowboys, Oklahoma State and Wyoming, use Cowgirls for women's teams. However, in some cases, the women's team nickname has a completely different form, as in Hawaiʻi Rainbow Wahine and Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters.
However, because this is a list of American football programs, which by definition are traditionally all-male (Katie Hnida notwithstanding), only the men's form is given. Hawaiʻi is a special case, as its men's teams are variously called Warriors, Rainbow Warriors, and Rainbows. Here, the football nickname is used.
