2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season

American college football season August 2023 December 2025 2008 NCAA logo.svg 125 August 28 – November 22 November 29 – December 19 December 19, 2008 Finley StadiumChattanooga, Tennessee Richmond Armanti EdwardsArmanti Edwards wins 2008 Walter Payton Award The Sports Network 2008-12-20 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/misc/2008payton_edwards.htm dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110404055942/http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2%2Fmisc%2F2008payton_edwards.htm 2011-04-04 Greg PeachGreg Peach captures 2008 Buck Buchanan Award The Sports Network 2008-12-20 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/misc/2008buchanan_peach.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20110404060307/http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2%2Fmisc%2F2008buchanan_peach.htm 2011-04-04 dead The 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season, the 2008 season of college football for teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), began on August 28, 2008, and concluded on December 19, 2008, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the 2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, where the Richmond Spiders defeated the Montana Grizzlies to win the NCAA Division I Football Championship.Richmond cruises to first football title Associated Press ESPN 2008-12-19 2008-12-20 http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=283540257 https://web.archive.org/web/20120926022604/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=283540257 dead September 26, 2012 This was the first season in which a standard provision of NCAA rules allowed FCS teams to schedule 12 regular-season games (not counting conference championship games). In years when the period starting with the Thursday before Labor Day and ending with the final Saturday in November contains 14 Saturdays, FCS programs may play 12 games instead of the regular 11. Conference changes and new programs The Gateway Football Conference adopted its present-day name, Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). Following the 2007 season, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference dropped its football sponsorship. School 2007 Conference 2008 Conference Bryant Northeast-10 (D-II) FCS Independent Campbell New Program Pioneer Duquesne MAAC NEC Iona FCS Independent La Salle Dropped Program Marist FCS Independent North Carolina Central D-II Independent North Dakota North Central (D-II) Great West (FCS) North Dakota State Great West MVFC Presbyterian FCS Independent Big South Samford Ohio Valley SoCon South Dakota North Central (D-II) Great West (FCS) South Dakota State Great West MVFC Stony Brook FCS Independent Big South Western Kentucky FBS Independent FCS team wins over FBS teams August 30 – Cal Poly 29, San Diego State 27 September 6 – New Hampshire 28, Army 10 Notable upsets August 30 – 2008 Arkansas–Monticello Boll Weevils Arkansas–Monticello 21, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 0 (Division II over Division I FCS) August 31 – 2008 Fayetteville State Broncos Fayetteville State 33, 2008 North Carolina Central Eagles North Carolina Central 22 (Division II over Division I FCS) September 4 – 2008 St. Francis Fighting Saints St. Francis (IL) 21, 2008 Valparaiso Crusaders Valparaiso 0 (NAIA over Division I FCS non-scholarship) September 4 – 2008 Washburn Ichabods Washburn 35, Missouri State 27 (Division II over Division I FCS) September 5 – 2008 Stonehill Skyhawks Stonehill 14, Wagner 13 (Division II over Division I FCS) September 6 – 2008 Methodist Monarchs Methodist 32, Campbell 21 (Division III over Division I FCS non-scholarship) September 6 – 2008 UNC Pembroke Braves UNC Pembroke 21, Davidson 9 (Division II over Division I FCS non-scholarship) September 6 – 2008 Henderson State Reddies Henderson State 34, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 0 (Division II over Division I FCS) September 13 – 2008 Franklin Grizzlies Franklin (IN) 31, 2008 Butler Bulldogs Butler 28 (Division III over Division I FCS non-scholarship) September 20 – 2008 UNC Pembroke Braves UNC Pembroke 22, Jacksonville 21 (Division II over Division I FCS non-scholarship) September 20 – 2008 Marian Knights Marian (IN) 13, 2008 Valparaiso Crusaders Valparaiso 10 (NAIA over Division I FCS non-scholarship) October 4 – 2008 Tuskegee Golden Tigers Tuskegee 34, Alabama A&M 24 (Division II over Division I FCS) October 11 – 2008 Wesley Wolverines Wesley (DE) 23, 2008 Iona Gaels Iona 12 (Division III over Division I FCS non-scholarship) Conference standings Conference champions Automatic berths Conference Champion Record* Big Sky Conference Montana 11–0, 8–0 Colonial Athletic Association James Madison 10–1, 8–0 Missouri Valley Football Conference Southern Illinois 9–2, 7–1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference South Carolina State 10–2, 8–0 Ohio Valley Conference Eastern Kentucky 8–3, 7–1 Patriot League Colgate 9–2, 5–0 Southern Conference Appalachian State 10–2, 8–0 Southland Conference Texas State 8–4, 5–2 Invitation Conference Champion Record* Great West Conference Cal Poly 8–2, 3–0 Big South Conference Liberty 10–2, 5–0 Northeast Conference Albany 8–3, 7–0 Pioneer Football League Jacksonville 9–3, 7–1 Abstains Conference Champion Record* Ivy League Brown 7–3, 6–1 Southwestern Athletic Conference Grambling State 11–2, 7–0 *Overall record, Conference record Postseason NCAA Division I playoff bracket First Round2008 Playoff Bracket NCAA 2008-12-24 https://www.ncaa.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ncaa/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2008-FCSFBBracket https://web.archive.org/web/20081127023722/http://www.ncaa.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ncaa/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2008-FCSFBBracket 27 November 2008 deadNovember 29Campus sites QuarterfinalsDecember 6Campus sites SemifinalsDecember 12 and December 13Campus sites National Championship Game December 19Finley StadiumChattanooga, Tennessee Wofford 35 1 James Madison* 38 Colgate 28 Villanova* 55 Texas State 13 4 Montana* 31 Weber State 49 Cal Poly* 35 South Carolina State 21 2 Appalachian State* 37 Eastern Kentucky 10 Richmond* 38 Maine 15 3 Northern Iowa* 40 New Hampshire 29 Southern Illinois* 20 1 James Madison* 31 Villanova 27 4 Montana* 24 Weber State 13 2 Appalachian State* 13 Richmond 33 3 Northern Iowa* 36 New Hampshire 34 1 James Madison* 27 4 Montana 35 Richmond 21 3 Northern Iowa* 20 4 Montana 7 7 Richmond 24 * Host institution SWAC Championship Game Date Location Venue West Div. Champion East Div. Champion Result December 13 Birmingham, Alabama Legion Field Grambling State Jackson State Grambling State, 41–9Grambling St. 41, Jackson St. 9 Associated Press ESPN 2008-12-13 2008-12-20 http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=283482755 https://web.archive.org/web/20120926022608/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=283482755 dead September 26, 2012 Gridiron Classic The Gridiron Classic is an annual game between the champions of the Northeast Conference and the Pioneer Football League that has been held since December 2006. Date Location Venue NEC Champion PFL Champion Result December 6 Albany, New York University Field Albany Jacksonville Albany, 28–0Albany, N.Y. 28, Jacksonville 0 Associated Press ESPN 2008-12-06 2008-12-20 http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=283410399 https://archive.today/20120717002349/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=283410399 dead July 17, 2012 Final poll standings Standings are from The Sports Network final 2008 poll. RankFinal Sports Network's 2008 FCS College Football Poll The Sports Network 2009-03-01 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/misc/2008_poll.htm dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110525234929/http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2%2Fmisc%2F2008_poll.htm 2011-05-25 Team Record1 Richmond Spiders 13–32 Montana Grizzlies 14–23 James Madison Dukes 12–24 Northern Iowa Panthers 12–35 Appalachian State Mountaineers 11–36 Villanova Wildcats 10–37 Weber State Wildcats 10–48 New Hampshire Wildcats 10–39 Wofford Terriers 9–310 Cal Poly Mustangs 8–311 Southern Illinois Salukis 9–312 Central Arkansas Bears 10–213 South Carolina State Bulldogs 10–314 Liberty Flames 10–215 Harvard Crimson 9–116 Colgate Raiders 9–317 Elon Phoenix 8–418 Maine Black Bears 8–519 Eastern Kentucky Colonels 8–420 William & Mary Tribe 7–421 McNeese State Cowboys 7–422 Texas State Bobcats 8–523 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 8–324 Grambling State Tigers 11–225 Prairie View A&M Panthers 9–1 Rule changes for 2008 The NCAA football rules committee made several rule changes for 2008, and included the following:https://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=1182 2008-02-13 NCAA NCAA Football Rules Committee Proposes Rules to Enhance Student-Athlete Safety and Encourage Consistent Pace of Play 20 December 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081223155834/http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=1182 23 December 2008 dead http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?cid=774255 More new timing rules among NCAA proposal Olin Buchanan Rivals 2008-02-13 2008-02-13 https://web.archive.org/web/20080215041700/http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=774255 15 February 2008 live The 25-second play clock was replaced by a 40-second version similar to one that was used in the NFL until 2005. The penalty for kicking the ball out of bounds on the kickoff is increased, placing the ball at the 40-yard line, similar to the NFL. All face-mask penalties result in a 15-yard penalty. Incidental contact with the face mask is no longer penalized. All horse-collar tackles are now subject to a 15-yard penalty. If a coach challenges a play and they win the challenge, they are given a second challenge to use later in the game, and each coach has a maximum of two challenges per game even if both are decided in their favor. Attendances The top 30 NCAA Division I FCS football teams by average home attendance: { class"wikitable sortable" !#!!College football team!!Average attendance2008 NATIONAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL ATTENDANCE http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/Attendance/2008.pdf 3 Oct 2025 ncaa.org - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Appalachian State Mountaineers 25,161 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Montana Grizzlies 23,923 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens 21,609 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Jackson State Tigers 21,263 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Georgia Southern Eagles 18,168 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count North Dakota State Bison 18,032 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Harvard Crimson 17,360 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Southern Jaguars 16,323 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Tennessee State Tigers 15,444 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count James Madison Dukes 15,362 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Alabama State Hornets 15,218 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Youngstown State Penguins 14,497 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Florida A&M Rattlers 14,383 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count McNeese State Cowboys 13,829 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Montana State Bobcats 13,406 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count South Carolina State Bulldogs 13,383 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Liberty Flames 13,147 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Massachusetts Minutemen 12,383 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count The Citadel Bulldogs 12,261 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Northern Iowa Panthers 12,178 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Penn Quakers 11,284 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Jacksonville State Gamecocks 11,281 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Texas State Bobcats 11,225 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Grambling State Tigers 11,219 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Yale Bulldogs 11,071 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count North Carolina A&T Aggies 10,764 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Norfolk State Spartans 10,645 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Illinois State Redbirds 10,591 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Sam Houston State Bearkats 10,076 - style"text-align:center;" _row_count Furman Paladins 10,073 - } References