2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season
The 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level. The season began on August 29, 2015, and concluded with the 2016 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game played on January 9, 2016, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
Conference changes and new programs
One team left the FCS to transition to FBS while two schools added football at the FCS level, all moves officially taking effect on July 1, 2015.| School | 2014 conference | 2015 conference |
| Charlotte | Independent | C–USA |
| East Tennessee State | No program | Independent |
| Kennesaw State | No program | Big South |
Updated stadiums
No FCS schools opened new stadiums for the 2015 season, however two new programs debuted in the season:- East Tennessee State plays at Kermit Tipton Stadium located on the campus of Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee.
- Kennesaw State plays on campus at Fifth Third Bank Stadium, which has a capacity of 8,318. There are plans to expand the capacity to over 10,000.
FCS team wins over FBS teams
- September 4:
- * #20 Fordham 37, Army 35
- September 5:
- * North Dakota 24, Wyoming 13
- * Portland State 24, Washington St 17
- * #16 South Dakota State 41, Kansas 38
- September 19:
- * Furman 16, UCF 15
- September 26:
- * #9 James Madison 48, SMU 45
- October 3:
- * #18 Liberty 41, Georgia State 33
- October 10:
- * #25 Portland State 66, North Texas 7
- **This game saw the largest victory margin ever by an FCS team over an FBS team, surpassing Lehigh's 58–0 win over Harvard in 1981, the year before Harvard and the rest of the Ivy League moved from FBS to FCS. Portland State also became the first FCS team to defeat two FBS teams in the same season since North Dakota State in 2007. North Texas' head coach, Dan McCarney, was fired later in the day.
- November 21:
- * #25 The Citadel 23, South Carolina 22
Conference standings
Conference summaries
Championship games
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 | Southern Utah | 8–3 | Cooper Kupp | James Cowser | Bruce Barnum |
| Big South | Charleston Southern | 9–2 | De'Angelo Henderson | Chima Uzowihe | Jamey Chadwell |
| CAA | James Madison Richmond William & Mary | 9–2 8–3 8–3 | Vad Lee | DeAndre Houston-Carson Victor Ochi | Danny Rocco |
| Ivy | Dartmouth Harvard Penn | 9–1 9–1 7–3 | Scott Hosch | Tyler Drake | Ray Priore |
| MEAC | Bethune-Cookman North Carolina A&T North Carolina Central | 9–2 9–2 8–3 | Tarik Cohen | Javon Hargrave | Terry Sims |
| MVFC | Illinois State North Dakota State | 9–2 9–2 | Marshaun Coprich | Deiondre' Hall | Bob Nielson |
| NEC | Duquesne | 8–3 | Ricardo McCray | Christian Kuntz | Chris Villarrial |
| OVC | Jacksonville State | 10–1 | Eli Jenkins | Dino Fanti Noah Spence | John Grass |
| Patriot | Colgate | 7–4 | Chase Edmonds | Clayton Ewell | Dan Hunt |
| Pioneer | Dayton San Diego | 10–1 9–2 | Austin Gahafer | Donald Payne | Rick Chamberlin |
| Southern | Chattanooga The Citadel | 8–3 8–3 | Jacob Huesman | Mitchell Jeter | Mike Houston |
| Southland | McNeese State | 10–0 | Kade Harrington | Wallace Scott | Matt Viator |
Playoff qualifiers
Automatic berths for conference champions
At large qualifiers
Abstentions
- Ivy League – Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn
- Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina A&T
- Southwestern Athletic Conference – Alcorn State
Postseason
NCAA FCS Playoff bracket
† Overtime
Winner
Bowl Games
Coaching changes
Preseason and in-season
This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2015. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2015, see 2014 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.| School | Outgoing coach | Date | Reason | Replacement |
| Jackson State | Harold Jackson | October 7 | Fired | Derrick McCall Tony Hughes |