By Kevin Burton
Are you ready for some football?
Yes, football. Yes, now.
With no leadership coming from the NCAA, college football conferences reacted individually in September to the covid chaos. Some chose to play, some to delay a month or so. Some chose to play in conference only. Some chose to move everything to the spring.
Well it’s not quite spring but it is football time for schools that chose the spring option.
All this information comes from Sam Cooper of Yahoo Sports.
These are games in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), which used to be called Division 1-AA.
The first game was played Feb. 13: McNeese State 40, Tarleton State 37 in double overtime.
The season gets into full swing this weekend with 15 games. There are two games Friday including South Dakota State at Northern Iowa. Nine games are scheduled for Saturday, four more Sunday.
To see the games, you’ll need ESPN+, ESPN3 or ESPNU. If you want to keep up with the action, try www.fcschedules.com.
Here is the breakdown of who is playing, provided by Yahoo Sports.
Big Sky: Eight teams will play six conference games, Feb. 27 to April 10. Montana, Montana State, Northern Colorado and Portland State will play smaller, non-conference schedules.
Big South: Five teams will play a four-game league schedule and up to four non-conference games. The conference schedule runs from March 13 to April 10. The five teams participating are Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, Kennesaw State, Monmouth and Robert Morris.
Colonial Athletic Association: Eleven of the conference’s 12 teams will play a six-game conference schedule with up to two non-conference games. The conference schedule runs from March 6 to April 17.
Independents: Dixie State and Tarleton State will play as independents in 2021 before joining the Western Athletic Conference in 2022. Both Tarleton State (Feb. 20) and Dixie State (March 6) will play at New Mexico State, an FBS independent, NMSU will also host D-II New Mexico Highlands on Feb. 27.
MEAC: The conference suspended its spring schedule last week. Six of the conference’s nine members opted not to play. Delaware State, Howard and South Carolina State will attempt to play non-conference games.
Missouri Valley: The MVFC’s 11 members will each play an eight-game conference schedule Feb. 19 to April 10.
Northeast: Six NEC teams will play a four-game conference schedule during the month of March (7-28) with games played on Sundays. The conference will hold its championship game sometime in April. Ohio Valley: Eight teams will play a round-robin seven-game conference schedule from Feb. 21 to April 11. . Games will be played on Sundays, except for Saturday play on Easter weekend.
Patriot League: The six participating programs will play a four-game schedule beginnings March 13, concluding with a title game on April 17.
Pioneer: The PFL will play a six-game conference schedule. The conference’s seven members will be joined by Presbyterian as part of a scheduling agreement for spring 2021. Conference play will take place March 13 to April 17 with non-conference games played beforehand.
SoCon: The league’s nine teams will play eight-game conference schedules from Feb. 20 to April 17.
Southland: Seven members will play a six-game round-robin conference schedule from Feb. 20 to April 10.
SWAC: The SWAC announced a six-game conference schedule for its 10 members in August, but there is some uncertainty now after defending conference champion Alcorn State opted out of the season last week. The season is scheduled to begin Feb. 27 and conclude April 17.
The postseason will include 16 teams rather than the usual 24. There will be 10 automatic bids going to conference champions, with a selection committee choosing the remaining six.
The playoff field will be announced April 18 with the first round beginning the following Saturday, April 24. The quarterfinals will follow on May 1 with the semifinals on May 8. The FCS title game is scheduled for either Saturday, May 15 or Sunday, May 16 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
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