North Dakota State defensive end Stanley Jones hoists the trophy after beating Eastern Washington in the FCS championship game in Frisco, Texas on Jan. 5, 2019. The NCAA has proposed a framework to conduct a season in the FCS, with teams limited to eight regular-season games in the spring and a playoff bracket reduced from 24 to 16 teams. Jeffrey McWhorter/Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Division I Council has proposed a framework to conduct a season in the Football Championship Subdivision, with teams allowed to play up to 11 games from this fall into next spring and a playoff bracket reduced from 24 to 16 teams.
The regular season would span 13 weeks through April 17, followed by playoffs through May 15. The recommendations, voted on Wednesday, will be forwarded to the Division I Board of Directors for approval.
None of the 13 FCS conferences – including the Colonial Athletic Association, which includes the University of Maine among its 12 schools – are playing league games this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic and nearly 800 games involving FCS teams were canceled. The Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, Southern and Southland are allowing teams to play nonconference games if they choose.
NCAA spokeswoman Michelle Hosick said teams can play a maximum of 11 games over the fall and spring, with no more than eight in the spring. For example, she said, if a team plays six games in the fall it can play up to five in the spring within the 13-week regular season.
Teams playing more than three games in the fall and, thus, fewer than eight in the spring can still be considered for the playoffs, which is one of the marquee features of the FCS.
There are 15 FCS teams that have at least one game scheduled this fall. Some of those teams have indicated they don’t plan to play in the spring.
The council also forwarded proposals on practice structure and said its overarching goal is to have the FCS football season return to its usual fall calendar for the 2021-22 academic year.
GAME CANCELED: This weekend’s game between No. 12 North Carolina and Charlotte has been canceled after the 49ers announced contact tracing had depleted their offensive line with several players placed into quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Charlotte announced the cancellation Thursday morning, two days before the Conference USA program that moved to the Bowl Subdivision ranks in 2015 was due to visit Chapel Hill for the first meeting between instate schools.
It marks the 14th game this season that has been canceled or postponed amid the pandemic. The latest move comes roughly a week before the Southeastern Conference is scheduled to open play and a day after the Big Ten announced it would try to go forward with football in October. The Pac-12 remains on hold for now.
In its release, Charlotte said there had been three positive cases among football players discovered through regular league-required testing during the past two weeks. Those individuals had been placed in isolation with medical care, while others impacted through contact tracing were told to quarantine for 14 days.
Charlotte didn’t specify exactly how many players were affected and said its home opener with Georgia State on Sept. 26 is still on.
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