NCAA Votes to Allow Immediate Postseason Eligibility for FCS-to-FBS Transition Teams
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Teams transitioning from the FCS to the FBS will now be immediately eligible for postseason play, a departure from the previous two-year transition period.
The NCAA Division I Cabinet ruled on Wednesday to eliminate the waiting period for teams transitioning from the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) to the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) to qualify for bowl games or the College Football Playoff, according to multiple reports. This change comes just days before FBS membership increases to 138 on July 1 with the addition of North Dakota State and Sacramento State, both of which will now be eligible to participate in postseason play should they qualify.
The Bison, a powerhouse at the FCS level with 10 championships in the last 15 years, are expected to compete for a bowl game right away in the Mountain West. North Dakota State could contend for the conference championship in Year 1 and may even have an outside shot at a spot in the 12-team CFP under these revised rules.
“We’ve been an FBS program in FCS clothes for years,” NDSU athletic director Matt Larsen told Athlon Sports earlier this offseason. “The type of kids we recruit are next-level kids. The way we operate our program, we do it at the next level. And so that doesn’t guarantee you wins, right? But I do think we have all the pieces in place to go in and be competitive in Year 1.”
On the other hand, it might take the Hornets some time to find their footing at the FBS level. Sacramento State is joining the MAC with a new head coach and major roster overhaul without the same FCS success as the Bison. The Hornets paid a hefty price to transition, but the administration is confident it was a worthwhile investment at a time of great upheaval in college athletics.
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“Who knows what the future of conference realignment looks like?” Sacramento State athletic director Mark Orr said. “But Sacramento State will be an FBS institution, and I think there’s a significant amount of value to do that over the long term.”
The cost to transition from the FCS to the FBS used to be just $5,000. But a few years ago, it increased to $5 million. Delaware and Missouri State became the first programs to pay the considerably higher cost when they transitioned last summer.
“This moving from FCS to FBS is not for the faint of heart,” Missouri State athletic director Patrick Ransdell said at the time.
But the investment the Blue Hens and Bears made produced results almost immediately. Both teams were competitive in their first year in Conference USA. Delaware went 6-6 in the regular season. Missouri State finished 7-5.
“I was a little surprised in how close we were in competition level,” Blue Hens coach Ryan Carty said. “That was the thing that I was worried the most about was: Are we going to be able to hold up for a season playing FBS teams? And we did.”
Due to a lack of bowl-eligible teams, the Blue Hens and Bears both received bowl invites, which was previously the only way for a team in transition to play in the postseason. James Madison, the gold standard programs making the FCS-to-FBS transition, was barred from postseason competition in its first season in the Sun Belt despite an 8-3 record.
North Dakota State, Sacramento State and any future FBS newcomers will now be eligible to compete in the postseason right away.
Larsen, the NDSU athletic director, took issue with the transition period penalty when the Bison announced their move to the FBS earlier this year.
“If you’re asking a program to have to recruit for two years without the ability to play in the postseason, boy, that’s really hard to build a roster and maintain a roster,” he said. “And if the goal of that two-year period is to have you, by Year 3, be a fully fledged FBS program in really good shape and standing, it’s almost a little counterintuitive.
“I also argue, at the same time, regardless of what you’re spending, if you can build a good enough football program and be ranked high enough to qualify for the CFP, at some level, it shouldn’t matter.”
Now, it doesn’t.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jun 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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