An NCAA oversight committee has “approved a recommendation for an annual 12-game campaign” for FCS programs beginning in 2026, according to Scott Dochterman of THE ATHLETIC. The recommendation includes a “standard 13-week schedule, which opens on the final Thursday in August each year.” FCS schedules currently fluctuate between 11 and 12 games depending on how many weekends exist between Labor Day and the FCS selection show. However, the committee “cited the consistency of programs playing the same number of regular-season contests as FBS participants as a reason for the 12-game approval.” The motion is “likely to pass” when it comes before the full NCAA D-I Council next month (THE ATHLETIC, 5/8).
CHARGING AHEAD: In Hartford, Kels Dayton noted the Univ. of New Haven has accepted an invitation from the FCS Northeast Conference to “officially join the league on July 1.” New Haven will “begin its transition from Division II to Division I and the NEC during the 2025-26 school year,” with full DI status coming in 2028-29 ”after an NCAA-mandated reclassification period.“ The move to DI comes after the school ”completed a new athletic facility in 2023, featuring a new weight room and new football locker rooms." The timing of New Haven football’s addition to the NEC schedule “is still to be determined” (HARTFORD COURANT, 5/6).
