2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season

• The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) and Western Athletic Conference, which had created the WAC-ASUN Challenge in 2021, merged their football leagues effective in 2023. The partnership was formally rebranded as the United Athletic Conference (UAC), a football-only league separate from the two conferences. The NCAA denied the UAC's request to be classified as a single-sport FCS football conference, but continued to recognize the organization as an extension of the WAC-ASUN Challenge. • The Big South Conference and Ohio Valley Conference also merged their football leagues effective in 2023, but without attempting to create a new independent league, instead adopting the name Big South–OVC Football Association. Like the ASUN and WAC, both conferences were in danger of falling below the minimum six members required to remain an automatic qualifier (AQ) for the FCS postseason. • The Colonial Athletic Association, along with its (technically-separate) FCS football league, adopted the name Coastal Athletic Association, a change that did not affect the CAA branding. ==Notable headlines==

• October 4 – The NCAA announced several major changes to Division I football recruiting and governance rules: • The window for athletes to enter the transfer portal was reduced. For FCS players, the portal now opens on the Monday after the selection of the playoff field, and stays open for 30 days. For players participating in the FCS playoffs or the Celebration Bowl, there will be an additional 5-day window after the players' final game. • The limit on "initial counters"—i.e., players who are receiving athletically-related financial aid for the first time—was permanently eliminated. The previous FCS limit of 30 had been suspended due to COVID-19 impacts. • The application fee for transitioning from FCS to FBS increased from $5,000 to $5 million, effective immediately. • October 12 – Northwestern State junior safety Ronnie Caldwell died after being shot multiple times near the school's Natchitoches, Louisiana campus. Two weeks after the shooting, Northwestern State canceled the remainder of its season, and head coach Brad Laird resigned. ==FCS team wins over FBS teams==

September 9: Southern Illinois 14, Northern Illinois 11 September 9: Fordham 40, Buffalo 37 September 9: Idaho 33, Nevada 6 September 16: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23 ==Conference standings==

Automatic berths for conference champions At large qualifiers Abstentions • Ivy League – Harvard, Yale • Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Howard • Southwestern Athletic Conference – Florida A&M ==Postseason==

The FCS again featured a 24-team postseason bracket: 10 teams decided via automatic bids issued to conference champions, and 14 at-large bids (see above). The top eight teams were seeded and received a bye to the second round. Bowl game NCAA Division I playoff bracket Source: ==Rankings==

The top 25 from the Stats Perform and USA Today Coaches Polls. Pre-season polls