History UsefulNotes / CollegiateAmericanFootballConferences

'''Conference Affiliations:''' ALNESC (1897–1922),[[note]]Did not play in the war years of 1917-18[[/note]] New England[[labelnote:*]]Operated from 1923-47; the earliest predecessor to today's CAA Football, though CAA Football [[CanonDiscontinuity doesn't recognize it as such]].[[/labelnote]] (1923-46),[[note]]Did not play in 1943[[/note]] Yankee[[labelnote:*]]Founded in 1946, with play starting in 1947, by the last four New England Conference members and two other schools under a new charter; became a football-only conference in 1976 and disbanded in 1997, merging into the Atlantic 10 Conference. Both the Yankee and A-10 are also de facto predecessors to CAA Football, with the CAA effectively taking over A-10 football in 2007.[[/labelnote]] (1947-96), A-10 (1997-99), Ind. (2000-03, 2020-), Big East (2004-12), American (2013-19) \\
'''Overall Win Record:''' 521-609-38 (.462)\\
'''Bowl Record:''' 3-4 (.429)\\

'''Conference Championships:''' 26 (1 ALNESC – 1901; 7 New England – 1924, 1926, 1928, 1936-37, 1942, 1945; 15 Yankee – 1952, 1956–60, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1982-83, 1986, 1989; 2 Big East – 2007, 2010)

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1879-96, 1923-46, 2016-), ALNESC[[labelnote:*]]Athletic League of New England State Colleges, which operated from 1896–1923[[/labelnote]] (1897-1922), Yankee (1947-96), A-10 (1997-2006), CAA (2007-11), MAC (2012-15)\\
'''Overall Win Record:''' 580-641-50 (.476)\\
'''Bowl Record:''' N/A[[note]]1-1 (.500) as a "Small College"[[/note]]\\

'''Conference Championships:''' 22, but none at the FBS level (17 Yankee - 1960, 1963-64, 1966-67, 1969, 1971-72, 1974, 1977-79, 1981-82, 1986, 1988, 1990; 4 Atlantic 10 - 1998-99, 2003, 2006; Colonial 2007)

The '''University of Massachusetts Amherst''' is its state's flagship public school, located in the western half of the state (just north of [[UsefulNotes/{{Basketball}} Springfield]]) and notable for its massive library. Its football team became independent by default, being effectively kicked out of MAC football after 2015. The Minutemen had been a quite successful FCS program, even winning a national title in 1998, but had little success after moving to FBS and MAC football in 2012; they are the only FBS program to never play in an FBS bowl game.[[note]]Technically, Sam Houston also hasn't played in a bowl game, but being brand new to the FBS, it isn't even eligible to qualify for a bowl game until 2024, so it wouldn't be fair to include SH unless it misses out in 2024.[[/note]] After four seasons, they left to an uncertain future, with no FBS conference in their region willing to take them in. They've become a fixture in ESPN's "Bottom 10" as "[=UMess=]" and went completely winless in a COVID-shortened 2020 season. However, the Minutemen (and Minutewomen) will return to the MAC in 2025, this time as a full member.

Formed in 1963, the '''Big Sky Conference''' is one of the better FCS conferences. Popular among Western schools seeking easy wins, though two of its teams have delivered upsets over ranked FBS programs (Eastern Washington against Oregon State in 2013, Montana against Washington in 2021). The MedalOfDishonor in this respect would however go to North Texas, which ended up on the wrong end of a [[CurbStompBattle 66–7 shellacking]] by Portland State in 2015. At the Mean Green's ''homecoming''.[[note]]The loss, the largest ever by an FBS team to an FCS team, was so humiliating that North Texas fired its head coach on the spot.[[/note]] It's also known for having another oddly-colored field, in this case Eastern Washington's red field, nicknamed [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "The Inferno"]]. Idaho State's ICCU Dome[[note]]"ICCU" is an abbreviation for Idaho Central Credit Union.[[/note]] (originally the Mini-Dome and later Holt Arena) is the oldest on-campus domed stadium in America, built in 1970. Two other conference teams play in domes: Idaho (the Kibbie Dome,[[labelnote:*]]One of the rejected names for it was the [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Palouse Pea Palace.]] Before it picked up a corporate sponsorship in 2023 and officially became the [=P1FCU=] Kibbie Dome, it also had an {{overly long|Name}} official name of William H. Kibbie–ASUI Activity Center. Both names would be even longer if they were spelled out (respectively Potlatch No. 1 Federal Credit Union and Associated Students of the University of Idaho).[[/labelnote]] built in 1975) and Northern Arizona (the Walkup Skydome, built in 1977, not because of extreme heat, as you might guess, but because of the cold temperatures and heavy snow in Flagstaff, which sits at an elevation of 6,900+ feet). NAU's stadium, at 6,980 feet, has the highest elevation of any in FCS, and is second only to Wyoming in all of D-I. Montana State has won national championships at the NAIA (1956)[[note]]Technically a shared title with St. Joseph's (Indiana), since the game ended in a scoreless tie[[/note]], D-II (1976), and FCS (1984) levels, making it the only team to win titles in three different classifications.\\\

'''CAA Football''' is the football arm of the '''Coastal Athletic Association''' (or just '''CAA'''). Legally, CAA Football and the all-sports CAA are separate entities, but both share the same administration.[[note]]The NCAA considers the football conference part of the all-sports CAA, but the CAA itself treats the football league as separate.[[/note]] The all-sports CAA was created in 1979 as the basketball-only ECAC[[note]]Eastern College Athletic Conference, a huge (over 200 schools) multi-sports consortium founded in 1938 that no longer sponsors football or basketball on the NCAA Division I level[[/note]] South. It added other sports in 1985 and became the Colonial Athletic Association, but did not start sponsoring football until 2007. However, CAA Football can trace its history to the late 1930s through three other leagues,[[note]](though it [[CanonDiscontinuity ignores the earliest of said leagues]])[[/note]] including the Yankee Conference, one of the charter members of I-AA in 1978, though it's been the division's RevolvingDoorBand. Of the 1978 Yankee Conference teams, only Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island remain. Historically, it has been one of the better FCS leagues. In 2010, James Madison defeated then-#13 Virginia Tech in the second win by an FCS team over a ranked FBS team. The same school ended North Dakota State's five-year reign as FCS champions in the 2016 semifinals on the way to the FCS crown. (NDSU got its revenge by beating JMU in the 2017 and 2019 title games.) A decent chunk of the schools in CAA Football are not members of the all-sports CAA. As of 2023, when the CAA adopted its current name, only Campbell, Delaware, Elon, Hampton, Monmouth, North Carolina A&T, Stony Brook, Towson, and W&M are members of both sides. The all-sports CAA has five members without football teams (College of Charleston, Drexel, Hofstra, Northeastern, and UNC Wilmington).\\\

'''Current commissioner:''' Oliver Luck[[note]]Titled as "Executive Director". Yes, [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeagueQuarterbacks Andrew's]] father.[[/note]]\\

->'''Current schools:''' Notre Dame, [=UConn=], [=UMass=]

In the past, many schools, especially along the east coast, were able to fill out strong schedules without the need for a conference, but that largely ended once [[MoneyDearBoy TV money]] became the focus of major-college sports. With three schools having left the independent ranks in 2023 (BYU to the Big 12, Liberty and New Mexico State to Conference USA) and Army leaving in 2024 for the American Athletic Conference, only three remain. All of these schools belong to conferences for other sports; Notre Dame has special circumstances that minimize its need for a football conference.

The '''University of Massachusetts Amherst''' is its state's flagship public school, located in the western half of the state (just north of [[UsefulNotes/{{Basketball}} Springfield]]) and notable for its massive library. Its football team became independent by default, being effectively kicked out of MAC football after 2015. The Minutemen had been a quite successful FCS program, even winning a national title in 1998, but had little success after moving to FBS and MAC football in 2012; they are the only FBS program to never play in an FBS bowl game.[[note]]Technically, Sam Houston also hasn't played in a bowl game, but being brand new to the FBS, it isn't even eligible to qualify for a bowl game until 2024, so it wouldn't be fair to include SH unless it misses out in 2024.[[/note]] After four seasons, they left to an uncertain future, with no FBS conference in their region willing to take them in. They've become a fixture in ESPN's "Bottom 10" as "[=UMess=]" and went completely winless in a COVID-shortened 2020 season.

Formed in 1963, the '''Big Sky Conference''' is one of the better FCS conferences. Popular among Western schools seeking easy wins, though two of its teams have delivered upsets over ranked FBS programs (Eastern Washington against Oregon State in 2013, Montana against Washington in 2021). The MedalOfDishonor in this respect would however go to North Texas, which ended up on the wrong end of a [[CurbStompBattle 66–7 shellacking]] by Portland State in 2015. At the Mean Green's ''homecoming''.[[note]]The loss, the largest ever by an FBS team to an FCS team, was so humiliating that North Texas fired its head coach on the spot.[[/note]] It's also known for having another oddly-colored field, in this case Eastern Washington's red field, nicknamed [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "The Inferno"]]. Idaho State's Holt Arena (formerly the Mini-Dome) is the oldest on-campus domed stadium in America, built in 1970. Two other conference teams play in domes: Idaho (the Kibbie Dome,[[labelnote:*]]One of the rejected names for it was the [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Palouse Pea Palace.]] Before it picked up a corporate sponsorship in 2023 and officially became the [=P1FCU=] Kibbie Dome, it also had an {{overly long|Name}} official name of William H. Kibbie–ASUI Activity Center. Both names would be even longer if they were spelled out (respectively Potlatch No. 1 Federal Credit Union and Associated Students of the University of Idaho).[[/labelnote]] built in 1975) and Northern Arizona (the Walkup Skydome, built in 1977, not because of extreme heat, as you might guess, but because of the cold temperatures and heavy snow in Flagstaff, which sits at an elevation of 6,900+ feet). NAU's stadium, at 6,980 feet, has the highest elevation of any in FCS, and is second only to Wyoming in all of D-I. Montana State has won national championships at the NAIA (1956)[[note]]Technically a shared title with St. Joseph's (Indiana), since the game ended in a scoreless tie[[/note]], D-II (1976), and FCS (1984) levels, making it the only team to win titles in three different classifications.\\\

->'''Current schools:''' Central Connecticut, Duquesne (football only), LIU, Merrimack, Robert Morris (football only), Sacred Heart, Saint Francis,[[note]]The one in Pennsylvania; see below for a former conference mate. Formally Saint Francis University ("Saint" spelled out).[[/note]] Stonehill, Wagner\\

Formed in 1981, the '''Northeast Conference''' (or '''NEC''') did not sponsor football until 1996. It is in the lower tier of FCS, largely because it restricts football scholarships to a shade over two-thirds of the FCS maximum (45 instead of 63). As of the 2023 season, the only full NEC members that don't play football are Fairleigh Dickinson[[note]]The D-I program at the school's "Metropolitan" campus in Teaneck, New Jersey, that is. The "Florham" campus thirty miles away in Madison is a member of the D-III Middle Atlantic Conference and ''does'' play football.[[/note]] and Le Moyne (see below). Chicago State joins this group in 2024, though as noted in the MEAC folder it is exploring adding FCS football. Until fairly recently, those ranks included three other schools: LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary's, and St. Francis Brooklyn.[[note]]Formally St. Francis College ("Saint" officially abbreviated).[[/note]] First, Long Island University merged the Brooklyn athletic program with the D-II LIU Post program (which did play football) into a single D-I LIU program effective in 2019–20. The football team that played as the LIU Post Pioneers in 2018 accordingly became the LIU Sharks. As for Mount St. Mary's, it left the NEC in 2022 for another non-football league, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. St. Francis Brooklyn shut down its entire athletic program at the end of the 2022–23 school year, and the conference quickly replaced them with Le Moyne, a longtime D-II Jesuit school in suburban Syracuse, New York, whose signature sport is lacrosse. Merrimack and Sacred Heart announced their departure for the MAAC effective in 2024, but given that their new full-time home has only one other football-sponsoring school (Pioneer League member Marist), either or both may stay in NEC football. The NEC further shored up its football numbers for 2024 by bringing back Robert Morris, which had been in NEC football from its start in 1996 until leaving after the 2019 season, as a football associate.[[note]]Both RMU and the other football associate, Duquesne, are (or will be) NEC members in an additional sport. Duquesne is also a member in the niche sport of women's bowling, while RMU will join for men's lacrosse at the same time it joins for football.[[/note]]\\\

->'''Current schools:''' Bucknell, Colgate, Fordham (football only), Georgetown (football only), Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh[[note]]Army and Navy also call the Patriot League as their primary conference.[[/note]]\\

With Kennesaw State moving to CUSA in 2024, there will be no FCS independents in that season. Delaware will play one final season in CAA Football, though without playoff eligibility, before following KSU to CUSA in 2025.

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Knute Rockne, Curly Lambeau, George Gipp, Jack Chevigny, The Four Horsemen (Harry Stuhldreher, Jim Crowley, Don Miller, Elmer Layden), Buck Shaw, Frank Leahy, "Jumping" Joe Savoldi, Bill Shakespeare, Wayne Millner, Lou Rymkus, Angelo Bertelli, Frank Danciewicz, Johnny Lujack, George Connor, Leon Hart, Frank Tripucka, Johnny Lattner, Ralph Guglielmi, Paul Hornung, George Izo, Nick Buoniconti, Daryle Lamonica, John Huarte, Alan Page, Kevin Hardy, Rocky Bleier, Bob Kuechenberg, Joe Theismann, Walt Patulski, Dave Casper, Steve Niehaus, [[Film/{{Rudy}} Rudy Ruettiger]], Joe Montana, Rusty Lisch, Greg Bell, Allen Pinkett, John Carney, Steve Beuerlein, Tim Brown, Ricky Watters, Allen Rossum, Rick Mirer, Derek Brown, Jeff Alm, Bryant Young, Ron Powlus, Jeff Faine, Jerome Bettis, Justin Tuck, Brady Quinn, J.J. Jansen, Jimmy Clausen, Michael Floyd, Manti Te'o, Harrison Smith, Zack Martin, Sam Hartman\\

The latest arrivals came in 2021, specifically the aforementioned Presbyterian and St. Thomas of Minnesota. Presbyterian effectively replaced Jacksonville (FL), which dropped football after 2019. While technically independent in 2020–21, the Blue Hose nonetheless played a full Pioneer League slate that spring; they weren't eligible for the league title but were eligible for individual awards. As for St. Thomas, the UsefulNotes/TwinCities school was involuntarily kicked out of its D-III league for being too strong in multiple sports, and soon got an invite from the D-I non-football Summit League. With the Summit's backing, St. Thomas successfully obtained a waiver of an NCAA rule that would have effectively barred them from a direct move to D-I. The Tommies joined the Pioneer League for football, going through the same four-year transition process used for moves from D-II.[[note]]At the time St. Thomas got its waiver, a D-III to D-I transition would have taken ''12 years'', but the NCAA had been preparing to vote on a proposal to shorten such a transition to five. The NCAA decided to punt on that legislation and give St. Thomas the planned five-year time frame.[[/note]]

->'''Current schools:''' Central Connecticut, Duquesne (football only), LIU, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis,[[note]]The one in Pennsylvania; see below for a former conference mate. Formally Saint Francis University ("Saint" spelled out).[[/note]] Stonehill, Wagner\\
'''Arriving schools:''' Robert Morris (2024, football only)\\

The 2023 season is the first in which Merrimack, which joined the conference in all sports from D-II in 2019, is eligible for the FCS playoffs. Stonehill, which made the same move in 2022, is ineligible until 2026. The latter replaced Bryant, which left for the non-football America East Conference in 2022 and parked football in the Big South, thereby becoming part of the Big South–OVC football alliance in 2023 (and moving from there to CAA Football in 2024).

In the past, many schools, especially along the east coast, were able to fill out strong schedules without the need for a conference, but that largely ended once [[MoneyDearBoy TV money]] became the focus of major-college sports. With three schools having left the independent ranks in 2023 (BYU to the Big 12, Liberty and New Mexico State to C-USA), only four remain. All of these schools belong to conferences for other sports; two of them have special circumstances that minimize their need for a football conference.

The top level of NCAA Division I football, also known as FBS or occasionally by its former designation of "I-A" (pronounced "one-A"). The 10 conferences in FBS are the ones most casual football fans think of when they hear the term "college football", particularly the "Power Five" conferences that receive the heaviest media attention and are guaranteed at least one bid in the "New Year's Six" bowl games. The remaining "Group of Five" are generally made of smaller schools that don't receive as much national attention. For more on the Power Five programs (except for Notre Dame), see [[UsefulNotes/PowerFiveConferences their dedicated page]]. For more on the schools in the Group of Five (sans Army, [=UMass=], and [=UConn=]), see [[UsefulNotes/GroupOfFiveConferences their page]].

See UsefulNotes/GroupOfFiveConferences. For Army, [=UMass=], and [=UConn=], see the "FBS Independents" folder.

->'''Current schools:''' Army, Notre Dame, [=UConn=], [=UMass=]\\
'''Departing schools:''' Army (2024)

!!!Army Black Knights
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/army_2.png]]
->'''Location:''' West Point, NY\\
'''School Established:''' 1802\\
'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1890-1997, 2005-23), C-USA (1998-2004), American (2024-)\\
'''Overall Win Record:''' 727-545-51 (.569)\\
'''Bowl Record:''' 7–3 (.700)\\
'''Colors:''' Black, gold, and gray\\
'''Stadium:''' Michie Stadium (capacity 38,000)[[note]]pronounced "Mikey"[[/note]]\\
'''Current Head Coach:''' Jeff Monken\\
'''Notable Historic Coaches:''' Earl "Red" Blaik, Paul Dietzel, Lou Saban, Bobby Ross\\
'''Notable Historic Players:''' Robert Neyland, UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower, Earl "Red" Blaik, Felix "Doc" Blanchard, Glenn Davis, Pete Dawkins, Alejandro Villanueva\\
'''National Championships:''' 3 (1944-46)[[note]]2 unclaimed (1914, 1916)[[/note]]\\
'''Conference Championships:''' 0[[note]]Won 9 Lambert Trophies for "Best Team in the East" as an independent (1944-46, 1948-49, 1953, 1958, 2018, 2020)[[/note]]

The '''United States Military Academy''' in West Point is the oldest of the three major [[MilitaryAcademy academies]] that train officers for the [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks US military]][[note]]There are a total of five federal service academies. The other two, Coast Guard in New London and Merchant Marine in Kings Point, are much smaller and their athletic programs compete in the D-III level New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) alongside schools like MIT and Emerson.[[/note]] and set precedents for many military and civilian American universities that followed. Since the federal government funds all necessary academic operations, TV exposure and money are less of an issue for Army than for most other D-I schools. Also, being able to play a national schedule enables West Point to expose itself to potential cadets throughout the country, making the team a useful recruiting tool for the highly selective academy. The Black Knights ''used'' to be a powerhouse in college football in an era where a military career was likely to be more stable and respectable than playing a game for the rest of one's life. Much like the Army the school represents, the program peaked in prestige in the mid-1940s under legendary coach Red Blaik (1941-58), winning three straight national titles, posting multiple undefeated seasons, and producing three Heisman winners in the dominant FB/HB tandem of Doc Blanchard (1945) and Glenn Davis (1946) and future general Pete Dawkins (1958). However, as pro football salaries rocketed into the stratosphere in the '70s, West Point had a difficult time convincing great athletes to come play for them, as potential cadets faced the choice of spending the prime of their athletic potential in service to their country rather than making money and being famous. (Basically, the NFL stopped drafting Army players when the Army stopped drafting high school players.) The school bottomed out with winless seasons in 1973 and 2003 and have lost far more games than they've won since the 1960s, though current coach Jeff Monken (who inherited a program in 2014 that had one winning season in the last 17 years) has finally returned the Black Knights to consistent winning and bowl appearances; the school is tied with Western Kentucky for the best FBS bowl win percentage among teams that have played at least 10 bowls.[[note]]However, WKU's overall bowl record is a shade below Army's; the Hilltoppers went 4–2 in small-college and D-II bowls before joining FBS. As of the 2023 season, the best record overall among teams that have played 5 or more bowls is Appalachian State's 7–1 (.875).[[/note]]\\\

The "Black Knights" nickname was only officially adopted in 1999, in reference of their black uniforms[[note]]Specifically, their nickname was "The Black Knights of the Hudson".[[/note]]; prior to that, they had just been known as [[ShapedLikeItself the Cadets]], and their mascot is a mule. Army is a member of the Patriot League (see FCS section below) for (most) non-football sports, as is Navy; outside of football, the academy is known for its very competitive lacrosse team, which won eight pre-NCAA national titles. Outside of a relatively brief membership with C-USA, Army has been a football independent through all of its history and is the only service academy that is still unaffiliated. It won't be for long; it is set to join Navy and replace SMU as a football-only American member in 2024.\\\

Back in the 1940s, the rivalry between Army and Notre Dame was arguably the most important in college football, as they claimed the majority of national championships and Heisman winners in that decade; it has greatly cooled in intensity since then. Army seems to have barely noticed, as the only rivalry--and, indeed, the only ''thing''--that really matters to the program is with Navy. Said contest has kept the program in the spotlight for at least one Saturday a year, as the Army-Navy game is traditionally the last of the regular season and the only FBS game played on that week. Even though Army and Navy will soon be united in American Conference football, the game will continue to be played on its traditional date as a nonconference matchup.[[note]]Meaning that should the two academies make the conference title game, they will play in back-to-back weeks.[[/note]] It is typically played at a neutral site, which means relatively few football fans get to see Army home games on TV these days; a shame, considering that the relatively small and asymmetrical Michie Stadium is often considered one of the most beautiful venues in the U.S., located right up against the shores of the Hudson River and nestled in a valley that looks truly breathtaking in the fall (weather permitting).

Three new members arrived in 2022, although only one of them plays football. Little Rock, a non-football Sun Belt member for over 30 years, saw the writing on the wall with the SBC's coming football expansion and moved to the OVC. Two D-II upgraders, football-sponsoring Lindenwood (out of the St. Louis area) and non-football Southern Indiana, also arrived. While all this was going on, the OVC and the Southland Conference, another league that experienced major membership losses, announced a football scheduling alliance for 2022 and 2023... but then the OVC and Big South announced their more comprehensive football alliance. In 2024, the alliance adds Western Illinois, which became a full OVC member in 2023. WIU is probably most notable for its nickname of Leathernecks—which ''does'' come from [[SemperFi the Marines]], with permission.[[note]]In 1927, the Marines' parent organization, the Department of the Navy, okayed Western's use of the nickname, as well as the Marine seal and bulldog mascot. The team's HC and AD at the time, Roy Hanson, was a highly decorated Marine veteran of World War I, and was serving as a Marine reservist. WIU's football stadium bears his name.[[/note]])\\\

As described on the UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball main page, there are a lot of different conferences and programs in college football, the number and organization of which is apt to shift around from season to season. On any given Saturday in the fall, most of the major broadcast and sports networks on American television will feature matchups of these schools, often littered with references to [[LongRunner 150+ years of history]] that the casual viewer might find confusing. These teams are also frequently featured, referenced, and parodied in other American media. This page lays out the alignments of college football conferences as of the current 2023 season and provides a description of their more prominent programs.

Also of note is that once Kennesaw State leaves the FBS ranks for C-USA in 2024, the Big Sky will be home to the two largest football-sponsoring schools outside FBS—UC Davis has about 31,000 undergraduates and Sacramento State has about 29,000.

->'''Current schools:''' Big South: Bryant (football only), Charleston Southern, Gardner–Webb, Robert Morris (football only); OVC: Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, Southeast Missouri, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, UT Martin\\
'''Arriving schools:''' Western Illinois (2024)\\
'''Departing schools:''' Bryant, Robert Morris (2024)\\

New for 2023 is the '''Big South–OVC Football Association''', a football-only alliance between the '''Big South Conference''' and '''Ohio Valley Conference (OVC)'''. For now, it appears this alliance will follow the model that the ASUN and WAC used in 2021 and 2022 before merging for football in 2023 (see the United Athletic Conference below), with both leagues playing full in-conference schedules plus a partially interlocking set of inter-conference games and sharing a single automatic playoff berth.\\\

Three new members arrived in 2022, although only one of them plays football. Little Rock, a non-football Sun Belt member for over 30 years, saw the writing on the wall with the SBC's coming football expansion and moved to the OVC. Two D-II upgraders, football-sponsoring Lindenwood (out of the St. Louis area) and non-football Southern Indiana, also arrived. While all this was going on, the OVC and the Southland Conference, another league that experienced major membership losses, announced a football scheduling alliance for 2022 and 2023... but then the OVC and Big South announced their more comprehensive football alliance. In 2024, the alliance will add Western Illinois, which became a full OVC member in 2023.\\\

Given that Charleston Southern and Gardner–Webb will be the Big South's only representatives in the alliance in 2024, it's possible that the alliance may end up evolving back to OVC football... stay tuned.

->'''Current schools:''' Albany, Campbell, Delaware, Elon, Hampton, Maine, Monmouth, New Hampshire, North Carolina A&T, Rhode Island, Richmond, Stony Brook, Towson, Villanova, William & Mary\\
'''Arriving schools:''' Bryant (2024)\\

Depending on definitions, CAA Football member Villanova (otherwise a Big East member) has a claim to the most NCAA D-I team titles of any FCS school, with 21 in all,[[note]]13 in cross country (9 women's, 4 men's), 4 in men's track & field (3 indoor, 1 outdoor), 3 in men's basketball, and one FCS title in 2009.[[/note]] though Yale has a separate claim to this honor.[[note]]The NCAA credits Yale with 29 titles in all, surpassing Nova. However, only 9 of these were actually awarded by the NCAA. The other 20 are men's golf titles awarded by the National Intercollegiate Golf Association before the NCAA launched its own men's golf championship in 1939. The NCAA recognizes pre-1939 NIGA titles as its own.[[/note]] The CAA suffered a significant blow in the 2021 realignment saga when James Madison, which had spent the last 20 years openly seeking an FBS move, was announced as a future member of the Sun Belt Conference. While JMU initially planned to join the Sun Belt in 2023, the move was pushed forward to 2022 after the all-sports CAA chose to enforce a provision in its bylaws stating that any school that announces its departure can be banned from the conference's postseason tournaments.[[labelnote:*]]JMU was still eligible for the 2021 CAA Football title because that league's bylaws lacked said provision. The all-sports CAA has since changed its bylaws on this point, no longer banning departing members from its conference tournaments.[[/labelnote]] The CAA reloaded shortly thereafter, bringing football member Stony Brook into the all-sports league and also poaching Campbell, Hampton, Monmouth, and North Carolina A&T for both sides of the league and Bryant for football only to expand its football membership to 13 effective in 2022, 15 in 2023, and 16 in 2024. (A&T joined the all-sports CAA in 2022 but didn't join for football until 2023.) The 16-team lineup will last only one season, as Delaware will start a transition to FBS in 2024 and join Conference USA in 2025.

->'''Current schools:''' Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State, Murray State, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Southern Illinois, Western Illinois, Youngstown State\\
'''Departing schools:''' Western Illinois (2024)\\

The latest membership change was announced in 2023, when Western Illinois left the Summit League for the OVC. The Leathernecks (yes, the nickname ''does'' come from [[SemperFi the Marines]], with permission[[note]]In 1927, the Marines' parent organization, the Department of the Navy, okayed Western's use of the nickname, as well as the Marine seal and bulldog mascot. The team's HC and AD at the time, Roy Hanson, was a highly decorated Marine veteran of World War I, and was serving as a Marine reservist. WIU's football stadium bears his name.[[/note]]) will play one last MVFC season in 2023 before moving football to the Big South–OVC alliance in 2024).

The latest arrivals came in 2021, specifically the aforementioned Presbyterian and St. Thomas of Minnesota. Presbyterian effectively replaced Jacksonville (FL), which dropped football after 2019. While technically independent in 2020–21, the Blue Hose nonetheless played a full Pioneer League slate that spring; they weren't eligible for the league title but were eligible for individual awards. As for St. Thomas, the UsefulNotes/TwinCities school was involuntarily kicked out of its D-III league for being too strong in multiple sports, and soon got an invite from the D-I non-football Summit League. With the Summit's backing, St. Thomas successfully obtained a waiver of an NCAA rule that would have effectively barred them from a direct move to D-I. The Tommies joined the Pioneer League for football, going through the same four-year transition process used for moves from D-II.[[note]]At the time St. Thomas got its waiver, a D-III to D-I transition would have taken ''12 years'', but the NCAA had been preparing to vote on a proposal to shorten such a transition to five. The NCAA decided to punt on that legislation and just give St. Thomas the four-year time frame.[[/note]]

->'''Current schools:''' Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin,[[labelnote:*]][[RunningGag also with "State" in its formal name]] but dropped that word from its athletic branding long before [=McNeese=], Nicholls, Sam Houston, or Tarleton did[[/labelnote]] Tarleton[[labelnote:*]][[OverusedRunningGag yet another]] school that has dropped "State" from its athletic branding[[/labelnote]], Utah Tech[[labelnote:*]]Officially adopted that name on July 1, 2022. Located in St. George, the largest city in what's called "Utah's Dixie", so named because its earliest white settlers were Mormon converts from the DeepSouth. The school had "Dixie" in its name for over a century as it evolved from a church academy to a public junior college and finally a four-year university. It entered the NCAA as the Dixie State Rebels in 2006, a name that confused most people who didn't know the region's history, and the Confederate connotations of that branding led the school to first change its nickname (to the Red Storm, then after a few years, the Trailblazers), then finally its name. Ironically, its instate (non-football) conference rival Utah Valley was once called Utah Technical College.[[/labelnote]]\\
'''Arriving schools:''' West Georgia (2024), UTRGV (non-football WAC member adding football in 2025)\\

The '''United Athletic Conference''' is the newest FCS conference, created in December 2022 by the announcement that the '''ASUN Conference''' (or '''Atlantic Sun''') and '''Western Athletic Conference (WAC)''' would merge their football leagues. The league used the placeholder name of "ASUN–WAC Football Conference" before unveiling its new name in April 2023. The ASUN is contributing Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, and North Alabama, with the WAC contributing Abilene Christian, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton, and Utah Tech (i.e., the Texas and Utah schools). Due to scheduling commitments, the UAC will have only a 6-game schedule in 2023. It was set to move to a full round-robin in 2024, but that was before D-II upgrader West Georgia was announced as joining in that season. On top of that, WAC member UTRGV will add football in 2025.[[note]]A 9-game conference schedule is viable for FBS programs, which have 12-game regular seasons, but FCS programs are limited to 11 games in most seasons.[[/note]] While media reports indicated that the new football conference planned to move en masse to FBS in the near future, neither conference mentioned an FBS move. In any event, stay tuned.

The ASUN was founded as the Trans America Athletic Conference in 1978, changed its name to the '''Atlantic Sun Conference''' in 2001, adopted the '''ASUN''' branding in 2016, and went back to "Atlantic Sun" in 2023 (though it still uses "ASUN" as s short form). Regardless of brand name, the conference did not begin football competition until 2022. For a few years, the ASUN had a football alliance with the Big South, but replaced it in 2021 with an alliance with the WAC that eventually became the UAC.\\\

As of the 2023 season, seven ASUN members aren't in the UAC; for now, no member of either partner conference is required to add football or change its football status. Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, Lipscomb, North Florida, and D-II upgrader Queens[[note]]Formally Queens University of Charlotte; not to be confused with Queens College in the NYC borough of that name, which stayed in D-II.[[/note]] don't play football at all. Stetson plays non-scholarship football in the Pioneer League. Bellarmine added football in 2022 but plays sprint football, a variant played under standard college rules but with an upper limit of 178 lb (81 kg) for player weight. However, the next school to join the ASUN, West Georgia, does sponsor (full-sized) football and thus will become a UAC member, reuniting with their former D-II Gulf South Conference mates Central Arkansas and North Alabama.\\\

The WAC currently has five non-football members in California Baptist, Grand Canyon, Seattle, UTRGV,[[labelnote:*]]Texas–Rio Grande Valley[[/labelnote]] and Utah Valley. While Chicago State left the WAC in 2022, the conference welcomed two schools at that time. Southern Utah is a full member with football, while UT Arlington (which ''had'' been in the WAC for one year in the 2010s) returned as a non-football member. UTRGV initially announced it would start an FCS football program no later than 2024, but has put that off to 2025.\\\

The UAC boasts another oddly-colored football field in that of Central Arkansas, with purple and gray sections alternating every 5 yards. Also, ASUN member Kennesaw State, which isn't part of the new football league due to its impending move to Conference USA, is for now the largest school by undergraduate enrollment outside of FBS.[[note]]At least two schools in lower divisions, plus another D-I school apart from Arizona State and Liberty, have larger total enrollments than KSU's 43K, and one has a much larger undergrad enrollment than KSU's 37K, but they don't count for various reasons. D-II Southern New Hampshire has over 135,000 total students, but only about 4,000 are actual on-campus students; its online operation is a little larger than Liberty's. D-III NYU has over 50,000 students but its enrollment is split nearly evenly between undergraduates and postgraduates, the latter of which will normally have exhausted any athletic eligibility they may have had. Neither has a football team. Grand Canyon, a non-football WAC member, has a bit more than 25K on-campus students but has an online operation that puts its total enrollment a bit over 100K. After KSU leaves for FBS, the largest non-FBS school by (on-campus) undergraduate enrollment will be another non-football school, UC San Diego (a bit over 33K). The Big Sky will then have the two largest non-FBS football schools.[[/note]]

The only school playing as an FCS independent in 2023 is Kennesaw State, which remains in the ASUN but isn't part of the United Athletic Conference since it started an FBS transition in advance of its 2024 move to C-USA.

They were also known for their willingness to travel to distant away games, much moreso than the other "powerhouse" schools of the northeast in that era. They traveled as far south as Georgia, west as San Francisco, and even played in Canada (1912 against a team of Canadian all-stars, trouncing them 49-7). They played another "Indian School" (Haskell from Lawrence, KS) in 1904 in St. Louis following that year's Summer Olympics during the St. Louis World's Fair. Their 1906 trip to Vanderbilt, where they lost 4-0, is often seen as putting southern football on the map. Meanwhile, their upset of heavily favored Harvard in 1911 is considered among the biggest upsets in the sport's history.

'''Stadium:''' New Stagg Field (capacity 1,650)\\

Unfortunately, University president Robert Maynard Hutchins made the highly controversial decision to de-emphasize athletics in 1939 (believing it served as a distraction to academics) and dropped the football team entirely, clearing the way for their now-vacant stadium to be used as the site for the world's first ever artificial nuclear reactor. Chicago was the most successful defunct program in NCAA football history... for about 22 years. In 1963, the university brought football back first as a club sport, then as a D-III program. They've never come close to their heights of the early 20th century, but did have a run of success in the University Athletic Association conference in the '90s-'00s including five conference titles.

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1892-95), Big Ten (1896-1939), D-III Ind. (1969-72), Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference[[note]]Predecessor to [=UChicago's=] current football home of the Midwest Conference; merged with a parallel women's sports league in 1994 to create today's MWC.[[/note]] (1976–87), University Athletic Association (1988–2016), Southern Athletic Association (2015–16), Midwest Conference (2017–)\\

Below are descriptions of each of the remaining conferences. Some non-Power Five programs, plus all of the FBS independents, also have descriptions (those schools without a description are italicized at the start of each folder). Win-loss records are (mostly) accurate as of the end of the 2022 season.[[note]]Disclaimer: Listing win-loss numbers and even national championships is ''complicated'', to say the least. College programs (and even colleges themselves) frequently dissolve and reform, change divisions and conferences, play in games not recognized by the NCAA, have wins officially rescinded due to rule violations, and do other things that make it hard to judge schools' true performance. Since the NCAA doesn't even officially ''recognize'' a national champion at the FBS level, teams are often inconsistent with what titles they acknowledge, sometimes leaving them unclaimed even if picked by numerous selectors and other times jumping on a title given by a random panel that no other school takes seriously. We try to provide context and qualifications when possible, but this isn't The Other Wiki.[[/note]]

'''Overall Win Record:''' 727-545-51 (.569)*\\

'''Overall Win Record:''' 948-338-42 (.730)*\\

'''Overall Win Record:''' 521-609-38 (.462)*\\

'''Overall Win Record:''' 580-641-50 (.476)*\\

'''Overall Win Record:''' 777–379–34 (.667)*[[note]]214-42 (.836) since joining D-I in 2004[[/note]]\\

'''Overall Win Record:''' 938-335-42 (.729)\\
'''Bowl Record:''' 19-20 (.487)[[note]]After playing in the Rose Bowl at the end of the 1924 season, the school elected not to play in bowls, a policy that stayed in place until 1969.[[/note]]\\

The '''University of Massachusetts Amherst''' is its state's flagship public school, located in the western half of the state (just north of [[UsefulNotes/{{Basketball}} Springfield]]) and notable for its massive library. Its football team became independent by default, being effectively kicked out of MAC football after 2015. The Minutemen had been a quite successful FCS program, even winning a national title in 1998, but had little success after moving to FBS and MAC football in 2012; they are the only FBS program to never play in an FBS bowl game.[[note]]Three teams will make their bowl debuts in 2023—Jacksonville State, James Madison, and Texas State. The first two of these wouldn't have been eligible to play in bowls until 2024 as transitional FBS members, but they'll get to go bowling because there weren't enough teams to fill all the 2023 bowl slots. Technically, Sam Houston also hasn't played in a bowl game, but being brand new to the FBS, it isn't even eligible to qualify for a bowl game until 2024, so it wouldn't be fair to include SH unless it misses out in 2024.[[/note]] After four seasons, they left to an uncertain future, with no FBS conference in their region willing to take them in. They've become a fixture in ESPN's "Bottom 10" as "[=UMess=]" and went completely winless in a COVID-shortened 2020 season.

'''Notable Historic Players:''' Knute Rockne, Curly Lambeau, George Gipp, Jack Chevigny, The Four Horsemen (Harry Stuhldreher, Jim Crowley, Don Miller, Elmer Layden), Buck Shaw, Frank Leahy, "Jumping" Joe Savoldi, Bill Shakespeare, Wayne Millner, Lou Rymkus, Angelo Bertelli, Frank Danciewicz, Johnny Lujack, George Connor, Leon Hart, Frank Tripucka, Johnny Lattner, Ralph Guglielmi, Paul Hornung, George Izo, Nick Buoniconti, Daryle Lamonica, John Huarte, Alan Page, Rocky Bleier, Bob Kuechenberg, Joe Theismann, Walt Patulski, Dave Casper, Steve Niehaus, [[Film/{{Rudy}} Rudy Ruettiger]], Joe Montana, Rusty Lisch, Greg Bell, Allen Pinkett, John Carney, Steve Beuerlein, Tim Brown, Ricky Watters, Allen Rossum, Rick Mirer, Derek Brown, Jeff Alm, Bryant Young, Ron Powlus, Jeff Faine, Jerome Bettis, Justin Tuck, Brady Quinn, J.J. Jansen, Jimmy Clausen, Michael Floyd, Manti Te'o, Harrison Smith, Zack Martin, Sam Hartman\\

The '''United States Military Academy''' in West Point is the oldest of the three major [[MilitaryAcademy academies]] that train officers for the [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks US military]][[note]]There are a total of five federal service academies. The other two, Coast Guard in New London and Merchant Marine in Kings Point, are much smaller and their athletic programs compete in the D-III level New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) alongside schools like MIT and Emerson.[[/note]] and set precedents for many military and civilian American universities that followed. Since the federal government funds all necessary academic operations, TV exposure and money are less of an issue for Army than for most other D-I schools. Also, being able to play a national schedule enables West Point to expose itself to potential cadets throughout the country, making the team a useful recruiting tool for the highly selective academy. The Black Knights ''used'' to be a powerhouse in college football in an era where a military career was likely to be more stable and respectable than playing a game for the rest of one's life. Much like the Army the school represents, the program peaked in prestige in the mid-1940s under legendary coach Red Blaik (1941-58), winning three straight national titles, posting multiple undefeated seasons, and producing three Heisman winners in the dominant FB/HB tandem of Doc Blanchard (1945) and Glenn Davis (1946) and future general Pete Dawkins (1958). However, as pro football salaries rocketed into the stratosphere in the '70s, West Point had a difficult time convincing great athletes to come play for them, as potential cadets faced the choice of spending the prime of their athletic potential in service to their country rather than making money and being famous. (Basically, the NFL stopped drafting Army players when the Army stopped drafting high school players.) The school bottomed out with winless seasons in 1973 and 2003 and have lost far more games than they've won since the 1960s, though current coach Jeff Monken (who inherited a program in 2014 that had one winning season in the last 17 years) has finally returned the Black Knights to consistent winning and bowl appearances; the school currently has the best bowl win percentage in FBS among teams that have played at least 10 bowls.[[note]]As of the 2023 season, the best record overall among teams that have played 5 or more bowls is Appalachian State's 7–1 (.875).[[/note]]\\\

The '''United States Military Academy''' in West Point is the oldest of the three major [[MilitaryAcademy academies]] that train officers for the [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks US military]][[note]]There are a total of five federal service academies. The other two, Coast Guard in New London and Merchant Marine in Kings Point, are much smaller and their athletic programs compete in the D-III level New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) alongside schools like MIT and Emerson.[[/note]] and set precedents for many military and civilian American universities that followed. Since the federal government funds all necessary academic operations, TV exposure and money are less of an issue for Army than for most other D-I schools. Also, being able to play a national schedule enables West Point to expose itself to potential cadets throughout the country, making the team a useful recruiting tool for the highly selective academy. The Black Knights ''used'' to be a powerhouse in college football in an era where a military career was likely to be more stable and respectable than playing a game for the rest of one's life. Much like the Army the school represents, the program peaked in prestige in the mid-1940s under legendary coach Red Blaik (1941-58), winning three straight national titles, posting multiple undefeated seasons, and producing three Heisman winners in the dominant FB/HB tandem of Doc Blanchard (1945) and Glenn Davis (1946) and future general Pete Dawkins (1958). However, as pro football salaries rocketed into the stratosphere in the '70s, West Point had a difficult time convincing great athletes to come play for them, as potential cadets faced the choice of spending the prime of their athletic potential in service to their country rather than making money and being famous. (Basically, the NFL stopped drafting Army players when the Army stopped drafting high school players.) The school bottomed out with winless seasons in 1973 and 2003 and have lost far more games than they've won since the 1960s, though current coach Jeff Monken (who inherited a program in 2014 that had one winning season in the last 17 years) has finally returned the Black Knights to consistent winning and bowl appearances; the school currently has the best bowl win percentage in FBS among teams that have played more than six bowls.[[note]]New Mexico State is 4–1–1 (.750) after its first bowl loss in 2023.[[/note]]\\\

They found some initial success, but they didn't reach true dominance until the arrival of innovative head coach Glen "Pop" Warner in 1899. Led by six future hall of famers including all-world athlete Jim Thorpe[[note]]The sheer breadth of his accomplishments cannot be summarized in anything less than a paragraph, but at minimum Olympic Gold Medalist and charter member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame are worth noting.[[/note]], Carlisle was labeled "the most dynamic" football team of the early 20th century, inventing and popularizing a number of "trick" plays that have since become mainstream (the fake handoff, the "hidden ball" play on kick returns, etc.) while relying more on speed and quickness than most other elite programs who prized power and physicality.

Unfortunately, the Native Americans at the school faced unpleasant and outright racist conditions. Their native languages, customs, and dress were banned while they were forced into "militaristic regimentation" and there were accounts of native women being forced to marry white men. A 1914 congressional investigation addressed the conditions and found that athletics played an outsized role at the school, leading to the dismissal of Pop Warner. When the US entered UsefulNotes/WorldWarI in 1917, the Carlisle Barracks were reestablished by the Federal War Department and the school permanently closed.

The '''United States Military Academy''' in West Point is the oldest of the three major [[MilitaryAcademy academies]] that train officers for the [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks US military]][[note]]There are a total of five federal service academies. The other two, Coast Guard in New London and Merchant Marine in Kings Point, are much smaller and their athletic programs compete in the D-III level New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) alongside schools like MIT and Emerson.[[/note]] and set precedents for many military and civilian American universities that followed. Since the federal government funds all necessary academic operations, TV exposure and money are less of an issue for Army than for most other D-I schools. Also, being able to play a national schedule enables West Point to expose itself to potential cadets throughout the country, making the team a useful recruiting tool for the highly selective academy. The Black Knights ''used'' to be a powerhouse in college football in an era where a military career was likely to be more stable and respectable than playing a game for the rest of one's life. Much like the Army the school represents, the program peaked in prestige in the mid-1940s under legendary coach Red Blaik (1941-58), winning three straight national titles, posting multiple undefeated seasons, and producing three Heisman winners in the dominant FB/HB tandem of Doc Blanchard (1945) and Glenn Davis (1946) and future general Pete Dawkins (1958). However, as pro football salaries rocketed into the stratosphere in the '70s, West Point had a difficult time convincing great athletes to come play for them, as potential cadets faced the choice of spending the prime of their athletic potential in service to their country rather than making money and being famous. (Basically, the NFL stopped drafting Army players when the Army stopped drafting high school players.) The school bottomed out with winless seasons in 1973 and 2003 and have lost far more games than they've won since the 1960s, though current coach Jeff Monken (who inherited a program in 2014 that had one winning season in the last 17 years) has finally returned the Black Knights to consistent winning and bowl appearances; the school currently has the best bowl win percentage in FBS among teams that have played more than five bowls.\\\

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1887-)[[note]]Temporarily joined ACC for 2020.[[/note]]\\

The '''University of Notre Dame du Lac''' is the most famous Catholic university in the country, in no small part because it hosts the most famous remaining football independent and arguably the best-known program in the nation, notably being featured in high-profile sports {{biopic}}s like ''Film/KnuteRockneAllAmerican'' and ''Film/{{Rudy}}''. Notre Dame itself features some of the most distinctive iconography in sports, from the oldest marching band in the nation to the giant mural of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesburgh_Library Jesus signaling a touchdown]] that overlooks the stadium from across campus to the fanbase that makes every game day [[{{Oireland}} look like St. Patrick's Day]]. It is a common joke (with a ring of truth to it) that certain American Catholics hold greater reverence for the Fighting Irish's polished golden helmets than any other aspect of their faith. The program's national following was built over decades of football success, including having produced seven Heisman winners and more [[FlawlessVictory undefeated seasons]] (11),[[note]]Technically, a few other schools could claim to have equaled or surpassed this tally, but only by counting 19th century seasons where they played only a handful of games.[[/note]] College Hall of Fame players (48), consensus All-Americans (105), and NFL draft picks (522) than any other college program as of 2022. The Irish are also second to their longtime rival USC in producing Pro Hall of Famers (12[[note]]The Pro Hall counts Notre Dame with 13 alumni, but one of them was longtime San Francisco 49ers owner Ed [=DeBartolo=] Jr., a Notre Dame alum who didn't play football and was inducted as an owner.[[/note]] to the Trojans' 14).\\\

'''Current Head Coach:''' Matt Entz\\

'''Conference Affiliations:''' Ind. (1892-95), Big 10 (1896-1939), D-III Ind. (1969-72), Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference (1976–87), University Athletic Association (1988–2016), Southern Athletic Association (2015–16), Midwest Conference (2017–)\\

The '''University of Chicago''' is easily the most successful football program to no longer play at the Division 1 level. A founding member of the Big 10 Conference in 1896 under legendary head coach Amos Alonzo Stagg (who coached there for 41 years), they were considered the first "western" school to be capable of competing with the elites of the Ivy League around the turn of the 20th century. They had the first All-American to come from a non-Ivy League school (Clarence Herschberger), won national titles in 1905 and 1913, and had the first ever Heisman Trophy winner (Jay Berwanger) in 1935.

They found some initial success, but they didn't reach true dominance until the arrival of innovative head coach Glen "Pop" Warner in 1899. Led by six future hall of famers including all-world athlete Jim Thorpe[[note]]The sheer breadth of his accomplishments cannot be summarized in anything less than a paragraph, but at minimum Olympic Gold Medalist and charter member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame are worth noting[[/note]], Carlisle was labeled "the most dynamic" football team of the early 20th century, inventing and popularizing a number of "trick" plays that have since become mainstream (the fake handoff, the "hidden ball" play on kick returns, etc.) while relying more on speed and quickness than most other elite programs who prized power and physicality.

They were also known for their willingness to travel to distant away games, much moreso than the other "powerhouse" schools of the northeast in that era. They traveled as far south as Georgia, west as San Francisco, and even played in Canada (1912 against a team of Canadian all-stars, trouncing them 49-7). They played another "Indian School" (Haskill from Lawrence, KS) in 1904 in St. Louis following that year's Summer Olympics during the St. Louis World's Fair. Their 1906 trip to Vanderbilt, where they lost 4-0, is often seen as putting southern football on the map. Meanwhile, their upset of heavily favored Harvard in 1911 is considered among the biggest upsets in the sport's history.

'''Overall Win Record:''' 766–375–34 (.666)*[[note]]214-42 (.836) since joining D-I in 2004[[/note]]\\

'''Playoff Record:''' 35-13 (.729) in D-II; 40–4 (.909) in FCS\\

'''Notable Historic Coaches:''' "Wild Bill" Hickock[[note]]Yes, he of DeadMansHand fame[[/note]], Glen "Pop" Warner, George Washington Woodruff, Bemus Pearce\\

The head coach for their fourth season in 1896 was none other than [[TheWildWest Wild West]] legend "Wild Bill" Hickock, but they didn't reach true dominance until the arrival of innovative head coach Glen "Pop" Warner in 1899. Led by six future hall of famers including all-world athlete Jim Thorpe[[note]]The sheer breadth of his accomplishments cannot be summarized in anything less than a paragraph, but at minimum Olympic Gold Medalist and charter member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame are worth noting[[/note]], Carlisle was labeled "the most dynamic" football team of the early 20th century, inventing and popularizing a number of "trick" plays that have since become mainstream (the fake handoff, the "hidden ball" play on kick returns, etc.) while relying more on speed and quickness than most other elite programs who prized power and physicality.

The head coach for their fourth season in 1896 was none other than [[TheWildWest Wild West]] legend "Wild Bill" Hickock, but they didn't reach true dominence until the arrival of innovative head coach Glen "Pop" Warner in 1899. Led by six future hall of famers including all-world athlete Jim Thorpe[[note]]The sheer breadth of his accomplishments cannot be summarized in anything less than a paragraph, but at minimum Olympic Gold Medalist and charter member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame are worth noting[[/note]], Carlisle was labeled "the most dynamic" football team of the early 20th century, inventing and popularizing a number of "trick" plays that have since become mainstream (the fake handoff, the "hidden ball" play on kick returns, etc.) while relying more on speed and quickness than most other elite programs who prized power and physicality.

The '''United States Indian Industrial School''', often shortened to it's hometown of "Carlisle Indian School", was one of many Native American "boarding schools" established in the country around that time for the purpose of assimilating natives into American society. Based out of the then-decommissioned Carlisle Barracks, the Carlisle Indians football program established in 1893 and quickly became one of the top football programs in the country, regularly competing with (and often defeating) the elites of the Ivy Leagues as well as the US Military Acadamy (now the Army Black Knights, who Carlisle famously routed in 1912 with UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower on the field).