1 School•Division I•Est. 1978
NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) independents are football programs that compete outside of an affiliated conference, managing their own scheduling without the built-in structure of conference play. The category has existed since the formation of Division I-AA football in 1978, and schools typically find themselves as independents when transitioning between conferences or subdivisions, or when their primary conference does not sponsor football. As of the 2025–26 season, two programs compete as FCS independents: Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University. Both schools moved to independent status after leaving the Northeast Conference for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which does not sponsor football. Sacred Heart is scheduled to join CAA Football for the 2026 season, which will reduce the independent ranks to just one program. Chicago State will begin its first-ever season of varsity football as an FCS independent in 2026 before joining the Northeast Conference for football in 2027, making it the only FCS program based in Chicago. Unlike FBS independents such as Notre Dame, FCS independents generally use the status as a temporary bridge between conference affiliations rather than a long-term competitive strategy, as conference membership provides automatic playoff qualification and scheduling stability that is difficult to replicate independently at the FCS level.
NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) independents are football programs that compete outside of an affiliated conference, managing their own scheduling without the built-in structure of conference play. The category has existed since the formation of Division I-AA football in 1978, and schools typically find themselves as independents when transitioning between conferences or subdivisions, or when their primary conference does not sponsor football. As of the 2025–26 season, two programs compete as FCS independents: Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University. Both schools moved to independent status after leaving the Northeast Conference for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which does not sponsor football. Sacred Heart is scheduled to join CAA Football for the 2026 season, which will reduce the independent ranks to just one program. Chicago State will begin its first-ever season of varsity football as an FCS independent in 2026 before joining the Northeast Conference for football in 2027, making it the only FCS program based in Chicago. Unlike FBS independents such as Notre Dame, FCS independents generally use the status as a temporary bridge between conference affiliations rather than a long-term competitive strategy, as conference membership provides automatic playoff qualification and scheduling stability that is difficult to replicate independently at the FCS level.