For the first time in Conference history, six Missouri Valley Football Conference teams have earned bids into the 24-team FCS playoff field.  North Dakota State is the lone MVFC team to receive a seed as the Bison earned the No. 2 overall seed and will receive a first-round bye.

Playoff Notebook (First Round) -- PDF

Only one other conference in NCAA history has received six bids in a single playoff (CAA in 2018).  The MVFC had received as many as five bids four times previously (2014, 2015, 2017, and this past spring).  The Big Sky Conference also earned a league-record five bids for the first time.

Missouri State, UNI, South Dakota, South Dakota State and Southern Illinois join NDSU in the field.  UNI becomes the fifth 6-win team to earn an at-large bid, joining Western Illinois (2015), Illinois State (2016), UNI (2018) and Incarnate Word (2018).

NCAA FCS Playoff Bracket (PDF)
 
INDIANAPOLIS — The field of 24 teams competing for the 2021 NCAA Division I Football Championship was announced today by the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee.

Sam Houston (10-0), the defending champions and winners of the ASUN/WAC Conference, earned the top seed in their 13th appearance in the championship. The Bearkats have won 21 straight contests.

North Dakota State (10-1) is the number two seed earning the automatic qualifying berth from the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Bison are making their 12th overall appearance with the highest all-time FCS Championship winning percentage (.925).

James Madison (10-1) is the number three seed after securing an at-large bid. The Dukes will make their eighth consecutive appearance in the championship and 18th overall.

Sacramento State (9-2) rounded out the top four seeds after going undefeated in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornets will make just their second trip to the FCS Championship.

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS (11)
 

CONF.	TEAM	REC.				LAST
			YEARS	WINS	LOSSES
ASUN /WAC	Sam Houston	10-0	12	23	11	2020
Big Sky	Sacramento St.	9-2	1	0	1	2019
Big South	Kennesaw St.	10-1	3	4	3	2019
Colonial	Villanova	9-2	13	12	12	2019
MVFC	North Dakota St.	10-1	11	37	3	2020
Northeast	Sacred Heart	8-3	3	0	3	2020
Ohio Valley	UT Martin	9-2	1	0	1	2006
Patriot	Holy Cross	9-2	4	0	4	2020
Pioneer	Davidson	8-2	1	0	1	2020
Southern	ETSU	10-1	2	1	2	2018
Southland	UIW	9-2	1	0	1	2018

AT-LARGE SELECTIONS (13)
 

TEAM	CONF.	REC.				LAST
			YEARS	WINS	LOSSES
SFA	ASUN/WAC	8-3	6	4	6	2014
Eastern Wash.	Big Sky	9-2	14	19	13	2020
Montana	Big Sky	9-2	24	33	22	2019
Montana St.	Big Sky	9-2	10	9	9	2019
UC Davis	Big Sky	8-3	1	1	1	2018
James Madison	CAA	10-1	17	22	15	2020
Missouri St.	MVFC	8-3	3	1	3	2020
South Dakota	MVFC	7-4	1	1	1	2017
South Dakota St.	MVFC	8-3	10	11	10	2020
Southern Ill.	MVFC	7-4	9	9	8	2020
UNI	MVFC	6-5	21	26	21	2019
Southeastern La.	Southland	8-3	3	2	3	2019
Florida A&M	SWAC	9-2	7	5	6	2001

Villanova (9-2) secured the number five seed after earning the Colonial Athletic Association automatic qualifier. The Wildcats will make their 14th appearance in the FCS Championship.

Montana (9-2) will be the sixth seed as an at-large selection out of the Big Sky Conference. The Grizzlies finished the season winning their final five games and will be making their 25th appearance in the FCS Championship.

East Tennessee State (10-1) clinched the seven seed. The Buccaneers won the Southern Conference title and will be making their third FCS Championship appearance and first since 2018.

Montana St. (9-2) rounds out the top eight seeds receiving first round byes. The Bobcats are an at-large selection after earning nine Division I wins in the regular season.

During the previous 44 years of the championship, 22 schools have won a national title, nine of which earned a place in this year’s bracket.

The 2021 championship field consists of 11 automatic qualifiers and 13 at-large qualifiers. Team pairings are determined primarily according to geographical proximity.

Teams from the same conference will not be paired for first round games. (except for teams from the same conference that did not play against each other during the regular season; such teams may play each other in the first round).

Longest Consecutive Tournament Appearances in the Championship (Including 2021)
North Dakota St. – 12
South Dakota St. – 11
James Madison – 8

Consecutive Tournament Appearances in the Championship Ending
Weber St.– 5
Monmouth – 2
North Dakota – 2

Most Tournament Appearances in the Championship (Including 2021)
Montana - 25
UNI – 22
James Madison – 18
Eastern Wash. – 15
Villanova – 14
Sam Houston – 13
North Dakota St. – 12
Montana St. – 11
South Dakota St. – 11

Schools Making the Championship for the First Time
None

Longest Stretch between Championship Appearances
Florida A&M – 2001
UT Martin – 2006
SFA – 2014

Schools by Conference
Missouri Valley Football Conference – 6
Big Sky Conference – 5
ASUN/WAC – 2
Colonial Athletic Association – 2 
Southland – 2

DATES/SITES/PAIRINGS-FIRST-ROUND GAMES (times Eastern)

November 27 at San Antonio, Texas, 3 p.m. (ESPN+)
SFA (8-3) at UIW (9-2)

November 27 at Springfield, Missouri, 4 p.m. (ESPN+)
UT Martin (9-2) at Missouri St. (8-3)

November 27 at Worcester, Massachusetts, Noon (ET) (ESPN+)
Sacred Heart (8-3) at Holy Cross (9-2)

November 27 at Brookings, South Dakota, 3 p.m. (ET) (ESPN+)
UC Davis (8-3) at South Dakota St. (8-3)

November 27 at Hammond, Louisiana, 7 p.m. (ET) (ESPN+)
Florida A&M (9-2) at Southeastern La. (8-3)

November 27 at Cheyney, Washington, 4 p.m. (ET) (ESPN+)
UNI (6-5) at Eastern Wash. (9-2)

November 27 at Kennesaw, Georgia, 2 p.m. (ET) (ESPN+)
Davidson (8-2) at Kennesaw St. (10-1)

November 27 at Vermillion, South Dakota, 6 p.m. (ET) (ESPN+)
Southern Ill. (7-4) at South Dakota (7-4)

Television schedules and game times for all rounds of the 2021 championship will be updated at NCAA.com. All rounds of the FCS playoffs can be seen on ESPN’s family of networks with first-round games taking place Saturday, November 27 and concluding with the national championship game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, Saturday, January 8 at Noon (ET) on ESPN2.