2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season

2016 NCAA Division I FCS season
Duration	August 26 – December 3, 2016
Playoff
Duration	November 26, 2016 – January 7, 2017
Championship site	Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
Champion	James Madison
Payton Award	Jeremiah Briscoe, Sam Houston State
Buchanan Award	Karter Schult, Northern Iowa
Division I FCS football season
«2015 2017»

2016 Big Sky football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#4 Eastern Washington +^		8	–	0		12	–	2
#12 North Dakota +^		8	–	0		9	–	3
#25 Weber State ^		6	–	2		7	–	5
#24 Cal Poly ^		5	–	3		7	–	5
Southern Utah		5	–	3		6	–	5
Northern Colorado		4	–	4		6	–	5
Northern Arizona		4	–	4		5	–	6
Montana		3	–	5		6	–	5
Montana State		2	–	6		4	–	7
Portland State		2	–	6		3	–	8
UC Davis		2	–	6		3	–	8
Sacramento State		2	–	6		2	–	9
Idaho State		1	–	7		2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

2016 Big South football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#15 Charleston Southern +^		4	–	1		7	–	4
Liberty +		4	–	1		6	–	5
Kennesaw State		3	–	2		8	–	3
Gardner–Webb		3	–	2		5	–	6
Presbyterian		1	–	4		2	–	9
Monmouth		0	–	5		4	–	7

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

2016 CAA football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#1 James Madison $^		8	–	0		14	–	1
#11 Villanova ^		6	–	2		9	–	4
#17 New Hampshire ^		6	–	2		8	–	5
#8 Richmond ^		5	–	3		10	–	4
Maine		5	–	3		6	–	5
Albany		4	–	4		7	–	4
Stony Brook		4	–	4		5	–	6
William & Mary		3	–	5		5	–	6
Towson		3	–	5		4	–	7
Delaware		2	–	6		4	–	7
Elon		1	–	7		2	–	9
Rhode Island		1	–	7		2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

2016 Ivy League football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Princeton +		6	–	1		8	–	2
Penn +		6	–	1		7	–	3
Harvard		5	–	2		7	–	3
Brown		3	–	4		4	–	6
Yale		3	–	4		3	–	7
Cornell		2	–	5		4	–	6
Columbia		2	–	5		3	–	7
Dartmouth		1	–	6		4	–	6

+ – Conference co-champions The Ivy League does not participate in the FCS Playoffs Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

2016 MEAC football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#22 North Carolina Central $		8	–	0		9	–	3
#20 North Carolina A&T ^		7	–	1		9	–	3
Hampton		5	–	3		5	–	6
South Carolina State		5	–	3		5	–	6
Bethune-Cookman		4	–	4		4	–	6
Florida A&M*		4	–	4		4	–	7
Norfolk State		3	–	5		4	–	7
Savannah State*		3	–	5		3	–	7
Morgan State*		3	–	5		3	–	8
Howard*		2	–	6		2	–	9
Delaware State		0	–	8		0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant *Florida A&M, Howard, Morgan State and Savannah State ineligible for postseason due to APR violations Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

2016 MVFC football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#3 North Dakota State +^		7	–	1		12	–	2
#6 South Dakota State +^		7	–	1		9	–	4
#2 Youngstown State ^		6	–	2		12	–	4
Illinois State ^		4	–	4		6	–	6
Northern Iowa		4	–	4		5	–	6
Western Illinois		3	–	5		6	–	5
South Dakota		3	–	5		4	–	7
Missouri State		2	–	6		4	–	7
Indiana State		2	–	6		4	–	7
Southern Illinois		2	–	6		4	–	7

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

2016 NEC football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Duquesne +		5	–	1		8	–	3
Saint Francis (PA) +^		5	–	1		7	–	5
Wagner		4	–	2		6	–	5
Bryant		4	–	2		5	–	6
Sacred Heart		1	–	5		6	–	5
Central Connecticut		1	–	5		2	–	9
Robert Morris		1	–	5		2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

2016 OVC football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#6 Jacksonville State $^		7	–	0		10	–	2
UT Martin		6	–	2		7	–	5
Tennessee Tech		5	–	3		5	–	6
Tennessee State		4	–	3		7	–	4
Eastern Illinois		4	–	4		6	–	5
Murray State		4	–	4		4	–	7
SE Missouri State		3	–	5		3	–	8
Eastern Kentucky		2	–	6		3	–	8
Austin Peay		0	–	8		0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

2016 Patriot League football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#21 Lehigh $^		6	–	0		9	–	2
Fordham		5	–	1		8	–	3
Colgate		4	–	2		5	–	5
Bucknell		3	–	3		4	–	7
Holy Cross		2	–	4		4	–	7
Lafayette		1	–	5		2	–	9
Georgetown		0	–	6		3	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

The 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, is organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The FCS Championship Game was played on January 7, 2017 in Frisco, Texas. The James Madison Dukes defeated the Youngstown State Penguins 28-14 to capture the second National Championship in team history.

The following rule changes were voted on by the NCAA Football Rules Committee for the 2016 season:

The committee, once again, took no action on changing the ineligible receiver downfield rule from three yards to one yard; however it will once again be a "point of emphasis" and will adjust officiating mechanics to better officiate those plays.

In addition to the above changes, the NCAA approved an experimental rule on kickoffs and touchbacks to be used this season by the Ivy League in conference games only. In those games, kickoffs were taken from the 40-yard line instead of the 35, and touchbacks were brought back to the 20-yard line instead of the 25. The Ivies proposed the experiment in the interest of player safety, believing that increasing the frequency of touchbacks would reduce injury risk from kick returns. The Ivies will report the results of the experiment to the NCAA in February 2017.

Two teams played their final season in their then-current venues:

(FCS rankings from the STATS poll)

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

NC Central and Grambling, as the winners of the MEAC and SWAC, will face off in the 2016 Celebration Bowl on December 17 for the unofficial HBCU national championship.

* Home team
Winner
All times in Eastern Standard Time (UTC−05:00)

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2016. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2016, see 2015 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.

...
Wikipedia