2012_NCAA_Division_I_FCS_football_season

2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season

American college football season

The 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The season began on August 30, 2012, and concluded with the 2013 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game on January 5, 2013, at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State beat Sam Houston State for the second year in a row, 39-13, to repeat as champions.

Quick Facts Regular season, Number of teams ...

2012 NCAA Division I FCS season

Regular season
Number of teams	122
Duration	August – November
Payton Award	Taylor Heinicke, Old Dominion^[1]
Buchanan Award	Caleb Schreibeis, Montana State^[1]
Playoff
Duration	November 24 – December 15
Championship date	January 5, 2013
Championship site	FC Dallas Stadium, Frisco, TX
Champion	North Dakota State
NCAA Division I FCS football seasons
«2011 2013»

FCS team wins over FBS teams

August 30: Eastern Washington 20, Idaho 3
August 30: McNeese State 27, Middle Tennessee 21
September 1: Tennessee–Martin 20, Memphis 17
September 1: Youngstown State 31, Pittsburgh 17
September 8: Illinois State 31, Eastern Michigan 14
September 8: North Dakota State 22, Colorado State 7
September 8: Northern Arizona 17, UNLV 14
September 8: Sacramento State 30, Colorado 28
September 15: Cal Poly 24, Wyoming 22
September 29: Stony Brook 23, Army 3

Conference changes and new programs

Main article: 2010–13 NCAA conference realignment

The Great West Conference dropped football after the 2011 season.

No teams played as independents in 2012, for the first time in the history of Division I-AA/FCS.

More information School, 2011 Conference ...

School	2011 Conference	2012 Conference
Cal Poly	Great West	Big Sky
Georgia State	FCS Independent	CAA
Massachusetts	CAA (FCS)	MAC (FBS)
North Dakota	Great West	Big Sky
South Alabama	FCS Independent	Sun Belt (FBS)
South Dakota	Great West	MVFC
Southern Utah	Great West	Big Sky
Texas State	FCS Independent	WAC (FBS)
UC Davis	Great West	Big Sky
UTSA	FCS Independent	WAC (FBS)

Conference standings

More information Conf, Overall ...

2012 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 4 Eastern Washington +^	7	–	1	11	–	3
No. 5 Montana State +^	7	–	1	11	–	2
No. 12 Cal Poly +^	7	–	1	9	–	3
No. 20 Northern Arizona	6	–	2	8	–	3
Sacramento State	4	–	4	6	–	5
Northern Colorado	4	–	4	5	–	6
Southern Utah	4	–	4	5	–	6
North Dakota	3	–	5	5	–	6
Montana	3	–	5	5	–	6
UC Davis	3	–	5	4	–	7
Portland State	2	–	6	3	–	8
Weber State	2	–	6	2	–	9
Idaho State	0	–	8	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2012 Big South Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 10 Stony Brook +^	5	–	1	10	–	3
Coastal Carolina +^	5	–	1	8	–	4
Liberty +	5	–	1	6	–	5
Charleston Southern	3	–	3	5	–	6
Gardner–Webb	2	–	4	3	–	8
VMI	1	–	5	2	–	9
Presbyterian	0	–	6	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2012 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 6 Old Dominion ^	7	–	1	11	–	2
No. 18 Richmond +	6	–	2	8	–	3
No. 13 New Hampshire +^	6	–	2	8	–	4
No. 15 Villanova +^	6	–	2	8	–	4
No. 17 Towson +	6	–	2	7	–	4
No. 19 James Madison	5	–	3	7	–	4
Maine	4	–	4	5	–	6
Delaware	2	–	6	5	–	6
William & Mary	1	–	7	2	–	9
Rhode Island	0	–	8	0	–	11
Georgia State	0	–	0	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Georgia State's conference record was 0–0, and it did not occupy a spot in the overall standings. Old Dominion was ineligible for the conference championship because of its announced departure for Conference USA in 2013. Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2012 Ivy League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Penn $	6	–	1	6	–	4
Harvard	5	–	2	8	–	2
Brown	4	–	3	7	–	3
Dartmouth	4	–	3	6	–	4
Princeton	4	–	3	5	–	5
Cornell	2	–	5	4	–	6
Columbia	2	–	5	3	–	7
Yale	1	–	6	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion

2012 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 22 Bethune–Cookman $^	8	–	0	9	–	3
Howard	6	–	2	7	–	4
North Carolina A&T	5	–	3	7	–	4
North Carolina Central	5	–	3	6	–	5
Delaware State	5	–	3	6	–	5
South Carolina State	4	–	4	5	–	6
Florida A&M	4	–	4	4	–	7
Hampton	3	–	5	3	–	7
Norfolk State	2	–	6	4	–	7
Morgan State	2	–	6	3	–	8
Savannah State	0	–	8	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2012 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State $^	7	–	1	14	–	1
No. 14 South Dakota State ^	6	–	2	9	–	4
No. 8 Illinois State ^	5	–	3	9	–	4
Indiana State	5	–	3	7	–	4
Southern Illinois	5	–	3	6	–	5
Youngstown State	4	–	4	7	–	4
Northern Iowa	4	–	4	5	–	6
Missouri State	3	–	5	3	–	8
Western Illinois	1	–	7	3	–	8
South Dakota	0	–	8	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2012 Northeast Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 21 Wagner +^	7	–	1	9	–	4
Albany +	7	–	1	9	–	2
Monmouth	4	–	3	5	–	5
Saint Francis (PA)	4	–	4	5	–	6
Bryant	4	–	4	4	–	7
Robert Morris	3	–	5	4	–	7
Duquesne	3	–	5	5	–	6
Central Connecticut	2	–	5	2	–	8
Sacred Heart	1	–	7	2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2012 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Eastern Illinois $^	6	–	1	7	–	5
No. 22 Eastern Kentucky	6	–	2	8	–	3
UT Martin	6	–	2	8	–	3
Jacksonville State	5	–	3	6	–	5
Tennessee State	4	–	3	8	–	3
Murray State	4	–	4	5	–	6
Southeast Missouri State	2	–	6	3	–	8
Tennessee Tech	1	–	7	3	–	8
Austin Peay	1	–	7	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2012 Patriot League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 24 Colgate $^	6	–	0	8	–	4
No. 13 Lehigh	5	–	1	10	–	1
Georgetown	2	–	4	5	–	6
Lafayette	2	–	4	5	–	6
Holy Cross	2	–	4	2	–	9
Bucknell	1	–	5	3	–	8
Fordham	0	–	0	6	–	5

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Fordham was ineligible for conference title because they offered football scholarships while other Patriot League members did not. Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2012 Pioneer Football League standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Butler +	7	–	1	8	–	3
Drake +	7	–	1	8	–	3
San Diego +	7	–	1	8	–	3
Jacksonville	5	–	3	7	–	4
Dayton	5	–	3	6	–	5
Marist	3	–	5	4	–	7
Morehead State	3	–	5	4	–	7
Davidson	2	–	6	2	–	9
Valparaiso	1	–	7	1	–	10
Campbell	0	–	8	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions

2012 Southern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 6 Georgia Southern +^	6	–	2	10	–	4
No. 9 Wofford +^	6	–	2	9	–	4
No. 7 Appalachian State +^	6	–	2	8	–	4
The Citadel	5	–	3	7	–	4
Samford	5	–	3	7	–	4
Chattanooga	5	–	3	6	–	5
Furman	2	–	6	3	–	8
Elon	1	–	7	3	–	8
Western Carolina	0	–	8	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network Poll

2012 Southland Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 10 Central Arkansas +^	6	–	1	9	–	3
No. 2 Sam Houston State +^	6	–	1	11	–	4
Southeastern Louisiana	5	–	2	5	–	6
McNeese State	4	–	3	7	–	4
Stephen F. Austin	4	–	3	5	–	6
Northwestern State	2	–	5	4	–	7
Lamar	1	–	6	4	–	8
Nicholls State	0	–	7	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2012 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Jackson State xy	7	–	2	7	–	5
Alabama State	7	–	2	7	–	4
Alabama A&M	6	–	3	7	–	4
Mississippi Valley State	5	–	4	5	–	6
Alcorn State	4	–	5	4	–	7
West Division
Arkansas–Pine Bluff xy$	8	–	1	10	–	2
Prairie View A&M	3	–	6	3	–	8
Southern	3	–	6	4	–	7
Texas Southern *	2	–	7	2	–	9
Grambling State	0	–	9	1	–	10
Championship: Arkansas–Pine Bluff 24, Jackson State 21 ^OT
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant * – ineligible for postseason

Conference summaries

Championship games

More information Conference, Champion ...

Conference	Champion	Runner-up	Score	Offensive Player of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year	Coach of the Year
SWAC	Arkansas–Pine Bluff	Jackson State	24–21^[2]	Rico Richardson (WR, Jackson State)^[3]	Brandon Thurmond (DT, Arkansas–Pine Bluff)^[3]

Other conference winners

Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.

More information Conference, Champion ...

Conference	Champion	Record	Offensive Player of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year	Coach of the Year
Big Sky	Eastern Washington Montana State Cal Poly	9–2 (7–1) 10–1 (7–1) 9–2 (7–1)	DeNarius McGhee (Montana State)	Jody Owens (Montana State)	Beau Baldwin (Eastern Washington) Tim Walsh (Cal Poly)
Big South	Coastal Carolina Liberty Stony Brook	8–3 (5–1) 6–5 (5–1) 9–2 (5–1)	Miguel Maysonet (Stony Brook)	Quinn Backus (Coastal Carolina)	Joe Moglia (Coastal Carolina)
CAA	New Hampshire Richmond Villanova Towson^{[a 1]}	8–3 (6–2) 8–3 (6–2) 8–3 (6–2) 7–4 (6–2)	Taylor Heinicke (Old Dominion)	Stephon Robertson (James Madison)	Andy Talley (Villanova)
Ivy	Penn	6–4 (6–1)
MEAC	Bethune-Cookman	9–2 (8–0)
MVFC	North Dakota State	10–1 (7–1)	Matt Brown (Illinois State)	Marcus Williams (North Dakota State)	Craig Bohl (North Dakota State)
NEC	Wagner Albany	9–2 (7–1)
OVC	Eastern Illinois	7–4 (6–1)
Patriot	Colgate	8–3 (6–0)
Pioneer	Butler Drake	8–3 (7–1)
Southern	Georgia Southern Appalachian State Wofford	8–3 (6–2)	Eric Breitenstein (Wofford)	Jeremy Kimbrough (Appalachian State) Davis Tull (Chattanooga)
Southland	Central Arkansas Sam Houston State	9–2 (6–1) 8–3 (6–1)	Wynrick Smothers (Central Arkansas)	Darnell Taylor (Sam Houston State)	Clint Conque (Central Arkansas)

[a 1]
Old Dominion had the best conference record at 7–1, but was not eligible for the title because it announced its 2013 departure for Conference USA in May 2012. Under CAA bylaws, a school that announces its departure immediately becomes ineligible for conference championships.

Playoff qualifiers

Automatic berths for conference champions

Big Sky Conference – Eastern Washington
Big South Conference – Coastal Carolina
Colonial Athletic Association – Villanova
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Bethune-Cookman
Missouri Valley Football Conference – North Dakota State
Northeast Conference – Wagner
Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Illinois
Patriot League – Colgate
Southern Conference – Georgia Southern
Southland Conference – Central Arkansas

At large qualifiers

Big Sky Conference - Montana State and Cal Poly
Big South Conference - Stony Brook
Colonial Athletic Association - New Hampshire and Old Dominion
Missouri Valley Football Conference - Illinois State and South Dakota State
Southern Conference - Wofford and Appalachian State
Southland Conference - Sam Houston State

Abstains

Ivy League – Penn
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Arkansas–Pine Bluff

Postseason

NCAA Division I playoff bracket

First Round November 24 Campus sites		Second Round December 1 Campus sites			Quarterfinals December 7 and December 8 Campus sites			Semifinals December 14 and December 15 Campus sites			National Championship Game January 5 FC Dallas Stadium, Frisco, Texas ESPN2 Dial Global Sports^[4]

			South Dakota State	3
Eastern Illinois	10	1	North Dakota State*	28
South Dakota State*	58				1	North Dakota State*	14
						Wofford	7
		New Hampshire		7
		Wofford*		23
								1	North Dakota State*	23
								5	Georgia Southern	20
			Coastal Carolina	35
Coastal Carolina	24	4	Old Dominion*	63
Bethune-Cookman*	14				4	Old Dominion*	35
					5	Georgia Southern	49
			Central Arkansas	16
		5	Georgia Southern*	24
											1	North Dakota State*	39
												Sam Houston State	13
			Wagner	19
Colgate	20	2	Eastern Washington*	29
Wagner*	31				2	Eastern Washington*	51
						Illinois State	35
		Illinois State		^†38
		Appalachian State*		37
								2	Eastern Washington*	42
									Sam Houston State	45
			Stony Brook	10
Villanova	10	3	Montana State*	16
Stony Brook*	20				3	Montana State*	16
						Sam Houston State	34
		Cal Poly		16
		Sam Houston State*		18

* Home team † Overtime

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2012. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2012, see 2011 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.

More information School, Outgoing coach ...

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement
Southern	Stump Mitchell	September 17	Fired^[5]	Dawson Odums (interim)
Davidson	Tripp Merritt	November 5	Fired^[6]	Brett Hayford (interim)
Florida A&M	Joe Taylor	November 7	Retired^[7]	Earl Holmes (interim)

End of season