2012 NCAA Division I FCS 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.

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»

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.

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		Big Sky
Texas State	FCS Independent	WAC (FBS)
UC Davis	Great West	Big Sky
UTSA	FCS Independent	WAC (FBS)

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 standings

2012 Big Sky Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 10 Stony Brook +^   5 – 1     10 – 3   Coastal Carolina +^   5 – 1     8 – 5   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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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 Conf. Overall 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

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.

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)

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.

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

School	Outgoing coach	Date announced	Reason	Replacement
Georgia State	Bill Curry	August 15	Retired[8]	Trent Miles[9]
Campbell	Dale Steele	November 5	Fired[10]	Mike Minter[11]
Northwestern State	Bradley Dale Peveto	November 19	Fired[12]	Jay Thomas[13]
Western Illinois	Mark Hendrickson	November 19	Fired[14]	Bob Nielson[15]
Morehead State	Matt Ballard	November 20	Fired[16]	Rob Tenyer[17]
Indiana State	Trent Miles	November 30	Hired by Georgia State[9]	Mike Sanford[18]
Jacksonville State	Jack Crowe	November 30	Fired[19]	Bill Clark[20]
UC Davis	Bob Biggs	December 1	Retired[21]	Ron Gould[22]
Appalachian State	Jerry Moore	December 2	Retired[23]	Scott Satterfield[24]
Cornell	Kent Austin	December 17	Hired by Hamilton Tiger-Cats[25]	David Archer[26]
San Diego	Ron Caragher	December 17	Hired by San Jose State[27]	Dale Lindsey
Davidson	Brett Hayford	December 21	Permanent replacement	Paul Nichols[28]
Charleston Southern	Jay Mills	January 3	Retired[29]	Jamey Chadwell[30]
Delaware	K. C. Keeler	January 7	Fired[31]	Dave Brock[32]
Gardner–Webb	Ron Dickerson, Jr.	January 17	Resigned[33]	Carroll McCray[34]
Savannah State	Steve Davenport	April 17	Fired[35]	Earnest Wilson III[36]

• In addition to the above changes, Southern named its interim head coach Dawson Odums as permanent head coach on December 14.^[37]

See also

• College football portal

• 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings