Expert: Vic Winnek - 9/29/2007

Question
My question is simple do all college football teams play for one championship (NCCA) or do they play with teams only in there division like ivy league colleges play with a team like USC or LSU.

Answer
Tom

There is no one NCAA championship.

The NCAA has 4 levels of football (Div. III; Div. II; Div. 1 Football Championship Serries (formerly Div. 1AA) and Div. 1 Bowl Championship Serries (formerly Div. 1-A).

Divisions 1 FCS; II, III all have play-offs.  They do not play teams that are apart of the Div. 1 BCS (i.e. USC, LSU, etc.)

The Division 1 FCS that play for a championship in the NCAA play-offs are :

TEAMS BY CONFERENCE
Colonial
North
Maine
Massachusetts
Hofstra
Northeastern
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
South
Delaware
James Madison
Richmond
Villanova
Towson
William & Mary
  Big Sky
Eastern Washington
Idaho State
Montana
Montana State
Northern Arizona
Portland State
Sacramento State
Weber State
   
 
  Big South
Charleston Southern
Coastal Carolina
Gardner-Webb
Liberty
VMI
 
   
  Gateway
Illinois State
Indiana State
Missouri State
Northern Iowa
Southern Illinois
Western Illinois
Youngstown State
  
Great West
Cal Poly
North Dakota State
Northern Colorado
South Dakota State
Southern Utah
UC Davis
 
 
  I-AA Independents
Savannah State
St. John's
 
  Ivy League
Brown
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth
Harvard
Pennsylvania
Princeton
Yale
  Southland
Jacksonville State
McNeese State
Nicholls State
Northwestern State
SFA
Sam Houston State
Southeastern Louisiana
Texas State-San Marcos

MAAC
Duquesne
Iona
La Salle
Marist
St. Peter's
 
 
 
 
  MEAC
Bethune-Cookman
Delaware State
Florida A&M
Hampton
Howard
Morgan State
Norfolk State
North Carolina A&T
South Carolina State
  Northeast
Albany
Central Connecticut State
Monmouth (NJ)
Robert Morris
Sacred Heart
St. Francis (PA.)
Stony Brook
Wagner
 
  Ohio Valley
Eastern Illinois
Eastern Kentucky
Jacksonville State
Murray State
Samford
Southeast Missouri State
Tennessee State
Tennessee Tech
Tennessee-Martin

Patriot League
Bucknell
Colgate
Fordham
Georgetown
Holy Cross
Lafayette
Lehigh
 
 
 
 
 
  Pioneer League
Northern
Butler
Dayton
Drake
San Diego
Valparaiso
Southern
Austin Peay
Davidson
Jacksonville (Fl)
Morehead State (KY)
 
  Southern
Appalachian State
Chattanooga
Elon
Furman
Georgia Southern
The Citadel
Western Carolina
Wofford
 
 
 
 
  SWAC
Eastern
Alabama A&M
Alabama State
Alcorn State
Jackson State
Mississippi Valley State
Western
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Grambling
Prairie View A&M
Southern
Texas Southern

The Div. 1 Bowl Championship Serries teams that play in bowl games and not play offs are as follows:

TEAMS BY CONFERENCE

Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic
Boston College
Clemson
Florida State
Maryland
North Carolina State
Wake Forest
Coastal
Duke
Georgia Tech
Miami (Fla.)
North Carolina
Virginia
Virginia Tech


  Big 12 Conference
North Division
Colorado
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
Nebraska
South Division
Baylor
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech


  Big East Conference
Cincinnati
Connecticut
Louisville
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
South Florida
Syracuse
West Virginia
 
 

  Big Ten Conference
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Michigan State
Michigan
Minnesota
Northwestern
Ohio State
Penn State
Purdue
Wisconsin

Conference USA
East
UAB
UCF
East Carolina
Marshall
Memphis
Southern Mississippi
West
Houston
Rice
Southern Methodist
Texas-El Paso
Tulane
Tulsa
 
  I-A Independents
Army
Navy
Notre Dame
Western Kentucky
 
 
  Mid American Conference
East Division
Akron
Bowling Green
Buffalo
Kent State
Miami (Ohio)
Ohio
Temple
West Division
Ball State
Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan
Northern Illinois
Toledo
Western Michigan


  Mountain West Conference
Air Force
Brigham Young
Colorado State
New Mexico
San Diego State
TCU
UNLV
Utah
Wyoming
 
 

Pacific 10 Conference
Arizona State
Arizona
California
Oregon
Oregon State
Southern California
Stanford
UCLA
Washington
Washington State
 
 
  Southeastern Conference
East Division
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
West Division
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
LSU
Mississippi
Mississippi State
 

Sun Belt Conference
Arkansas State
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
La.-Lafayette
Louisiana-Monroe
Middle Tennessee
North Texas
Troy
   
  Western Athletic Conference
Boise State
Fresno State
Hawaii
Idaho
Louisiana Tech
Nevada
New Mexico State
San Jose State
Utah State

I hope this answers your question.

Vic Winnek
NCAA Football Official