College Football Schedule 2024-25

Conference Schedules icon
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
MATCHUP TIME All times are in ET. Tap on each match's time to view it in your local timezone. TV VENUE
team logo BALLST 07:00 PM CBS Sports Network UB Stadium, Buffalo
team logo WESTMI 07:00 PM ESPN2 Doyt L. Perry Stadium, Bowling Green
team logo CMU 07:00 PM ESPN University Glass Bowl, Toledo
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
MATCHUP TIME All times are in ET. Tap on each match's time to view it in your local timezone. TV VENUE
team logo AKRON 07:00 PM CBS Sports Network Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium, DeKalb
team logo EASTMI 07:00 PM ESPN2 Peden Stadium, Athens
team logo KENTST 07:00 PM ESPN University Fred C. Yager Stadium, Oxford
Thursday, November 14, 2024
MATCHUP TIME All times are in ET. Tap on each match's time to view it in your local timezone. TV VENUE
team logo ECU 07:30 PM ESPN Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium, Tulsa
team logo GRAM
@ team logo ALAA&M
08:00 PM ESPN University Louis Crews Stadium, Huntsville
Friday, November 15, 2024
MATCHUP TIME All times are in ET. Tap on each match's time to view it in your local timezone. TV VENUE
team logo WYO 08:00 PM CBS Sports Network Canvas Stadium, Fort Collins
team logo UNT 08:00 PM ESPN2 Alamodome, San Antonio
team logo HOW
@ team logo NCCENT
08:00 PM ESPN University O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium, Durham
team logo UCLA 09:00 PM FOX Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium, Seattle
team logo HOU 10:15 PM Fox Sports 1 Arizona Stadium, Tucson
Saturday, November 16, 2024
MATCHUP TIME All times are in ET. Tap on each match's time to view it in your local timezone. TV VENUE
team logo UTAH 12:00 PM FOX Folsom Field, Boulder
team logo TEX 12:00 PM ABC Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville
team logo LATECH 12:00 PM CBS Sports Network Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium, Bowling Green
team logo OHIOST 12:00 PM Big Ten Network Wrigley Field, Chicago
team logo TULN 12:00 PM ESPN2 Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis
team logo CLEM 12:00 PM ESPN Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh
team logo LIB 12:00 PM ESPN+ McGuirk Alumni Stadium, Amherst
team logo SHEART
@ team logo MERRIM
12:00 PM ESPN+ Duane Stadium, North Andover
team logo DELST
@ team logo NOR
12:00 PM ESPN+ William (Dick) Price Stadium, Norfolk
team logo PRINCE
@ team logo YALE
12:00 PM ESPN+ Yale Bowl/Class of 1954 Field, New Haven
team logo RMOR
@ team logo CENTCT
12:00 PM Arute Field, New Britain
team logo PRESBY
@ team logo MARIST
12:00 PM ESPN+ Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field, Poughkeepsie
team logo VALPO
@ team logo DAYTON
12:00 PM Facebook Live Welcome Stadium, Dayton
team logo FURMAN
@ team logo EASTTN
12:00 PM ESPN+ Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium, Johnson City
team logo WAGNER
@ team logo DUQ
12:00 PM Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field, Pittsburgh
team logo STF-PA
@ team logo LIU
12:00 PM Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium, Brookville
team logo UNI
@ team logo YSU
12:00 PM ESPN+ Stambaugh Stadium, Youngstown
team logo RICH
@ team logo HAMP
12:00 PM Flo Football Armstrong Stadium, Hampton
team logo VILL
@ team logo MONM
12:00 PM Flo Football Kessler Stadium, West Long Branch
team logo NCA&T
@ team logo TOWSON
12:00 PM Flo Football Minnegan Field at Johnny Unitas Stadium, Towson
team logo COLUM
@ team logo BROWN
12:00 PM ESPN+ Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium, Providence
team logo COLG
@ team logo LEHIGH
12:00 PM ESPN+ Goodman Stadium, Bethlehem
team logo BUCK
@ team logo HOLYCR
12:00 PM ESPN+ Fitton Field, Worcester
team logo STONEH
@ team logo LAF
12:30 PM ESPN+ Fisher Stadium, Easton
team logo UL-MON 12:45 PM SEC Network Pat Dye Field at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn
team logo MOR
@ team logo DRAKE
01:00 PM ESPN+ Drake Stadium, Des Moines
team logo SOUDAK
@ team logo NORDAK
01:00 PM ESPN+ Alerus Center, Grand Forks
team logo CHSOU
@ team logo EASTIL
01:00 PM ESPN+ O'Brien Field, Charleston
team logo COASTC 01:00 PM ESPN+ Joan C. Edwards Stadium, Huntington
team logo HARV
@ team logo PENN
01:00 PM ESPN+ Franklin Field, Philadelphia
team logo MSVL
@ team logo FLAA&M
01:00 PM Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium, Tallahassee
team logo STTHMN
@ team logo BUTLER
01:00 PM Flo Football Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl, Indianapolis
team logo VMI
@ team logo WCU
01:00 PM ESPN+ Bob Waters Field at E.J. Whitmire Stadium, Cullowhee
team logo ILLST
@ team logo INST
01:00 PM ESPN+ Memorial Stadium, Terre Haute
team logo GTOWN
@ team logo FORD
01:00 PM ESPN+ Jack Coffey Field, Bronx
team logo ALBANY
@ team logo URI
01:00 PM Flo Football Meade Stadium, Kingston
team logo BRYANT
@ team logo W&M
01:00 PM Flo Football Walter J. Zable Stadium at Cary Field, Williamsburg
team logo CAMP
@ team logo DEL
01:00 PM Flo Football Delaware Stadium, Newark
team logo STNYBR
@ team logo UNH
01:00 PM Flo Football Wildcat Stadium, Durham
team logo DART
@ team logo COR
01:00 PM ESPN+ Schoellkopf Field, Ithaca
team logo MUR 01:30 PM ESPN+ Kroger Field, Lexington
team logo SAM
@ team logo CHAT
01:30 PM ESPN+ Finley Stadium at Davenport Field, Chattanooga
team logo CIT
@ team logo WOF
01:30 PM ESPN+ Gibbs Stadium, Spartanburg
team logo TENNST
@ team logo G-WEBB
01:30 PM ESPN+ Ernest W. Spangler Stadium, Boiling Springs
team logo NOARI
@ team logo NORCOL
02:00 PM ESPN+ Nottingham Field, Greeley
team logo MERC 02:00 PM ESPN+ Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa
team logo FIU 02:00 PM ESPN+ AmFirst Stadium, Jacksonville
team logo WESTIL
@ team logo SEMO
02:00 PM ESPN+ Houck Field, Cape Girardeau
team logo HOUCHR
@ team logo ETA&M
02:00 PM ESPN+ Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium, Commerce
team logo MCNE
@ team logo NWST
02:00 PM ESPN+ Turpin Stadium, Natchitoches
team logo TNTECH
@ team logo TN-MAR
02:00 PM ESPN+ Hardy M. Graham Stadium, Martin
team logo EASTKY
@ team logo APSU
02:00 PM ESPN+ Fortera Stadium, Clarksville
team logo FLAATL 02:00 PM ESPN+ Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
team logo MAINE
@ team logo ELON
02:00 PM Flo Football Rhodes Stadium, Elon College
team logo MSU 02:30 PM Fox Sports 1 Memorial Stadium, Champaign
team logo SYR 03:00 PM The CW California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley
team logo HAWAII 03:00 PM Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium, Logan
team logo PORST
@ team logo MONT
03:00 PM ESPN+ Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Missoula
team logo ALC
@ team logo PVA&M
03:00 PM ESPN+ Panther Stadium at Blackshear Field, Prairie View
team logo B-C
@ team logo TXSO
03:00 PM Shell Energy Stadium, Houston
team logo SIU
@ team logo SDAKST
03:00 PM ESPN+ Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, Brookings
team logo ARK-PB
@ team logo SOU
03:00 PM A.W. Mumford Stadium, Baton Rouge
team logo JKST
@ team logo ALST
03:00 PM ESPN+ ASU Stadium, Montgomery
team logo INCWOR
@ team logo SFA
03:00 PM ESPN+ Homer Bryce Stadium, Nacogdoches
team logo SAMHOU 03:00 PM ESPN+ Fifth Third Bank Stadium, Kennesaw
team logo LOU 03:30 PM ACC Network Stanford Stadium, Stanford
team logo ORST 03:30 PM CBS Sports Network Falcon Stadium, USAFA
team logo BC 03:30 PM ESPN Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas
team logo MOSTU
@ team logo NDAKST
03:30 PM ESPN+ Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome, Fargo
team logo USF 03:30 PM ESPN+ Jerry Richardson Stadium, Charlotte
team logo LSU 03:30 PM ABC Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville
team logo UVA 03:30 PM NBC , Peacock Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame
team logo PSU 03:30 PM CBS Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette
team logo NEB 04:00 PM FOX United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
team logo STET
@ team logo SD
04:00 PM ESPN+ Torero Stadium, San Diego
team logo IDAST
@ team logo EASTWA
04:00 PM ESPN+ Roos Field, Cheney
team logo WESTGA
@ team logo UTAHTE
04:00 PM ESPN+ Greater Zion Stadium, St. George
team logo NICH
@ team logo LAMAR
04:00 PM ESPN+ Provost Umphrey Stadium, Beaumont
team logo TROY 04:00 PM ESPN+ Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Statesboro
team logo JMU 04:00 PM ESPN University Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium, Norfolk
team logo BAYLOR 04:00 PM ESPN2 Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown
team logo SCST
@ team logo MORGST
04:00 PM ESPN+ Hughes Stadium, Baltimore
team logo MIZZOU 04:15 PM SEC Network Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia
team logo SAC
@ team logo CALPLY
05:00 PM ESPN+ Mustang Memorial Field, San Luis Obispo
team logo SOUT
@ team logo CENARK
05:00 PM ESPN+ First Security Field at Estes Stadium, Conway
team logo ARKST 05:00 PM ESPN+ Center Parc Stadium, Atlanta
team logo RUT 06:00 PM Fox Sports 1 SECU Stadium, College Park
team logo BOISE 07:00 PM CBS Sports Network CEFCU Stadium, San Jose
team logo USA 07:00 PM ESPN+ Cajun Field, Lafayette
team logo SOUMIS 07:00 PM ESPN+ UFCU Stadium, San Marcos
team logo ASU 07:00 PM ESPN Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan
team logo ABICHR
@ team logo TARLST
07:00 PM ESPN+ Memorial Stadium, Stephenville
team logo ORE 07:30 PM NBC Camp Randall Stadium, Madison
team logo TENN 07:30 PM ABC Sanford Stadium, Athens
team logo NMST 07:45 PM SEC Network Kyle Field, College Station
team logo MONTST
@ team logo UCDAV
08:00 PM ESPN+ UC Davis Health Stadium, Davis
team logo WEB
@ team logo IDAHO
08:00 PM ESPN+ P1FCU Kibbie Dome, Moscow
team logo UAB 08:00 PM ESPN2 Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Memphis
team logo CIN 08:00 PM FOX Jack Trice Stadium, Ames
team logo WAKE 08:00 PM ACC Network Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill
team logo WSU 09:30 PM Fox Sports 1 University Stadium, Albuquerque
team logo KU 10:15 PM ESPN LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo
team logo SDSU 10:30 PM CBS Sports Network Allegiant Stadium, Paradise

All times are in ET. Tap on each match's time to view it in your local timezone.

College Football Schedule

Rose Bowl

The United States probably has the biggest following with respect to any college sport in the world. In fact, there are plenty of people in America who are not as gung ho about the professional sports leagues such as the NFL, NBA, MLB, etc. as they are about the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) sports. There could be several reasons for this but the one thing that stands out is the passion individuals have for their school and the respective college team.

The college football season typically starts from the end of August to the early part of January. Teams generally play anywhere between 8 to 12 games a year. They play an equal number of home and away games throughout the season but the scheduling process is quite complex to understand.

Understanding how the NCAA runs college football games can be quite confusing. The NCAA for instance does not control all aspects of college football games. It only has control over the rules and compliances on the field, apart from that everything else including the money and the tournaments is managed by the respective conferences of college football.

NCAA Football Conferences

The NCAA football constitutes first and foremost of four divisions which are Division 1 FBS, Division 1 FCS, Division 2, and Division 3. Most of the college football teams belong to either one of these divisions. Although not everything is set in stone, it is generally considered that playing college football for a Division 1 school will get you the maximum chance of going professional in the future.

We will check out only the Division 1 FBS in this article as it is the most important one and really the only one that matters. FBS stands for Football Bowl Subdivision and within this division, we have a total of 10 different conferences. The four teams of Notre Dame, Brigham Young University, Army, and Navy do not belong to any of the conferences despite being in the FBS.

Out of these ten, there are five conferences known as the Power Five Conferences, which are the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference, and Southeastern Conference (SEC).

The remaining five conferences which are at times referred to as the Non-Power Five (Group of 5) Conferences are the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Conference USA Conference, Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MWC), and the Sun Belt Conference (SBC).

NCAA Football Schedule Process

This is where things start getting tricky because every conference in college football has its individual freedom. That means all conferences have the autonomy to create their own schedules, but it is not as simple as just assigning two teams to play each other within their own conference.

Every conference has its own set of rules and guidelines which they use to schedule games. In addition to that, some conferences have more pull than others thereby directly impacting which teams get to play the best games. To create one national schedule from this is one tough ask.

It may come as a surprise that in today's day and age when the simplest of simple things are done with the help of an algorithm run by software, that college football schedules are drawn up by speaking to one another and agreeing to terms. The conference officials and the athletic directors all must come together and work out a possible schedule that works for everyone and which also allots an equal number of home and away games to each team.

There are three main factors which go into consideration during the scheduling of college football games. They are conference scheduling, non-conference scheduling, and TV broadcasting.

Conference scheduling

Since each conference has its own method of scheduling games, the process remains unique to all conferences. Generally, all the schools will play the other schools within their conference at least once a year. The Power Five conferences also play a few cross-divisional games in addition to their conference games.

Non-conference scheduling

These are the games that each team needs to play outside of their own conference against other teams. As each team must figure out with whom they will play and when and where, this can get a bit complicated, especially for the smaller school.

Power Five teams will normally play one or two non-conference games with other Power Five conferences as well as one or two games with teams from Group of Five conferences. Since the reward is greater for Group of Five teams when they go up against the Power Five competition, teams from the former conferences will generally try to play more games with the latter. In doing so, Group of Five teams will get a significantly more amount of revenue.

TV Broadcasting

The third factor that goes into scheduling college football games is that of TV broadcasting. This is because all top networks want to show the best possible games at the best time slots on their respective networks. Therefore, many times the TV networks will also have a say in the scheduling matters and may request any changes or modifications as they see fit.

Power 5 and Group of 5 Conferences

Typically, the best of the best teams are all in the Power 5 conferences. They are the ones who receive the maximum media attention, the maximum revenue, and boast of the maximum fan following as well. The teams in these conferences have a long-standing history of winning and producing the best talent that will carry forward to the professional league.

Each conference in the Power Five has its own rules for scheduling and not all conferences play the same number of games within their own conference. For example, teams in the Big Ten conference will play nine conference games and three non-conference games, but the same is not the case with the SEC as they play only eight conference games and four non-conference games.

However, a lot of mixing up and shaking up of the conferences and their rules keep taking place and therefore not everything can be attributed to a permanent way of functioning. For instance, some teams are looking to jump from one conference to another while some conferences that are playing eight inter-conference games want to move to nine.

Therefore, for the various conferences to make their schedules, a lot of attention must be given to all the guidelines and a committee needs to monitor all the intricacies such as the competitive balance between the teams, broadcast terms and conditions, an equal number of home and away games, and more.

As for the Group of Five conferences, most of them will play eight inter-conference games and four non-conference games. The same level of thought process must go into making the schedule for these conferences as well. But one disadvantage for the Group of 5 teams is that they must strive harder to get a matchup with some of the Power 5 teams.

Conference Scheduling

Since all conferences have their unique ways of creating a schedule, not all teams will play each other from their respective conference on an annual basis. Such a case arises because there are a greater number of teams in conferences than the number of games a team can play. Therefore, each conference needs to resort to a rotation-based design to ensure that teams will play each other once every few years.

For example, if we look at the Big 12 conference, it has a total of ten teams. This conference plays 9 conference and 1 non-conference game throughout the season. Thus, as per the rotation policy, each team will play all other teams in the conference at least once in two years.

Taking the example of the SEC, which is probably the most popular conference today, it has fourteen teams within the conference and it is also subdivided into two divisions, namely: the East and the West. Each team will play a total of eight conference games out of which six are from their own division and the other two are from the other division. This conference also has 1 permanent rival for each team and it rotates the other seven conference games every year.

Non-Conference Scheduling

Scheduling the non-conference games does not require any rotational policy as teams are free to select their opponents mutually. However, teams will want to play games against top-quality opposition to ensure they remain at a high level when they play their conference games. Also, the Group of 5 conference teams can take this opportunity to not only see where they are in terms of performance with the top tier teams, but they can also generate much more income from these games as more media and revenue are associated with the Power 5 teams.

When it comes to non-conference scheduling, there are many teams that have created matchups with one another years in advance. This is done as careful planning is required to generate proper revenue for home games and to maintain steady competition. Teams will alternate between easy and difficult games every other year as a way of balancing out their schedules.

FBS Power 5 Conferences

ACC Scheduling

From 2023, the ACC will play their games with the newly introduced 3-5-5 format. That means that each team will play three of their rivals on a permanent basis which leaves ten teams. These ten teams will be separated into two groups of five and they will be flipped every other year. Therefore, within the conference the ACC will play eight teams and then they will play a further four teams outside of their conference as well.

As of 2023, the ACC consists of 14 schools in the conference which are as follows:

  1. Boston College Eagles
  2. Clemson Tigers
  3. Duke Blue Devils
  4. Florida State Seminoles
  5. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
  6. Louisville Cardinals
  7. Miami Hurricanes
  8. North Carolina Tar Heels
  9. North Carolina State Wolfpack
  10. Pittsburgh Panthers
  11. Syracuse Orange
  12. Virginia Cavaliers
  13. Virginia Tech Hokies
  14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

The permanent matchups for the ACC teams are as below:

UniversityRival 1Rival 2Rival 3
Boston CollegeMiamiPittsburghSyracuse
ClemsonFlorida StateGeorgia TechNC State
DukeNorth CarolinaNC StateWake Forest
Florida StateClemsonMiamiSyracuse
Georgia TechClemsonLouisvilleWake Forest
LouisvilleGeorgia TechMiamiVirginia
MiamiBoston CollegeFlorida StateLouisville
North CarolinaDukeNC StateVirginia
NC StateClemsonDukeNorth Carolina
PittsburghBoston CollegeSyracuseVirginia Tech
SyracuseBoston CollegeFlorida StatePittsburgh
VirginiaLouisvilleNorth CarolinaVirginia Tech
Virginia TechPittsburghVirginiaWake Forest
Wake ForestDukeGeorgia TechVirginia Tech

Big 10 Scheduling

The Big 10 which is divided into the East and West division follows a nine game conference schedule. Seven teams are placed in both divisions based upon their locality. The Big 10 schedules six divisional games and three cross divisional games. The Indiana and Perdue game is an annual cross division game which is a permanent fixture. Apart from this, each team will face three non-conference teams as well.

As of 2023, the Big Ten’s two divisions and their respective teams are as follows:

EastWest
Ohio State BuckeyesMinnesota Golden Gophers
Rutgers Scarlet KnightsIowa Hawkeyes
Maryland TerrapinsWisconsin Badgers
Michigan WolverinesIllinois Fighting Illini
Michigan St. SpartansPurdue Boilermakers
Penn St. Nittany LionsNorthwestern Wildcats
Indiana HoosiersNebraska Cornhuskers

Big 12 Scheduling

The Big 12’s current scheduling system is a 14 team round robin event. Upon its conclusion, the top two teams in the conference will fight it out in the Championship game to declare the eventual winner of the conference.

The current teams playing in the Big 12 conference are:

  1. BYU Cougars
  2. Cincinnati Bearcats
  3. Houston Cougars
  4. Iowa State Cyclones
  5. Kansas Jayhawks
  6. Kansas State Wildcats
  7. Oklahoma Sooners
  8. Oklahoma State Cowboys
  9. Texas Longhorns
  10. UCF Knights
  11. Baylor Bears
  12. TCU Horned Frogs
  13. Texas Tech Red Raiders
  14. West Virginia Mountaineers

PAC-12 Scheduling

The PAC-12 which once followed divisions of two has done away with them and now hold a round robin system similar to that of the Big 12. Once the season comes to an end the top two teams in the conference will play the Championship game.

The PAC-12 football conference is made up of the following teams:

  1. USC Trojans
  2. Arizona Wildcats
  3. Arizona State Sun Devils
  4. California Golden Bears
  5. Colorado Buffaloes
  6. Oregon Ducks
  7. Oregon State Beavers
  8. Stanford Cardinal
  9. UCLA Bruins
  10. Utah Utes
  11. Washington Huskies
  12. Washington State Cougars

SEC Scheduling

Considered by many to be the best conference in college football at least since the past few years, the SEC operates in a division format with two divisions of seven teams each. However, with more teams joining next year, it is expected that the current system will undergo a change to better accommodate the expansion of the conference. At present though, each team within the conference plays eight conference games.

From the division itself, each team plays all the other six teams every year. Then, each team has a permanent cross division rival for the seventh game and the eighth game is a cross divisional rotation.

The SECs permanent cross-divisional matchups are:

  1. Alabama vs. Tennessee
  2. Arkansas vs. Missouri
  3. Auburn vs. Georgia
  4. LSU vs. Florida
  5. Mississippi State vs. Kentucky
  6. Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt
  7. Texas A&M vs. South Carolina.

The teams participating in the SEC conference as of 2023 are:

EastWest
Vanderbilt CommodoresAlabama Crimson Tide
Georgia BulldogsArkansas Razorbacks
Kentucky WildcatsAuburn Tigers
Missouri TigersOle Miss Rebels
Tennessee VolunteersMississippi State Bulldogs
Florida GatorsTexasA&M Aggies
South Carolina GamecocksLSU Tigers

FBS Group of Five Conferences

AAC Scheduling

The AAC scheduling system has just recently undergone a change which is expected to be continued till 2026. Featuring a conference of 14 teams, each team is set to play 8 conference games. As per this schedule, each team within the conference will face every other team twice in a period of four years getting one home game and one away game respectively. The ACC has also included six annual matchups which are as follows:

  1. North Texas vs. SMU
  2. UAB vs. Memphis
  3. Rice vs. UTSA
  4. Charlotte vs. East Carolina
  5. Florida Atlantic vs. South Florida
  6. Navy vs. Temple

The 14 members of the AAC are as follows:

  1. Memphis Tigers
  2. Charlotte 49ers
  3. Florida Atlantic Owls
  4. Navy Midshipmen
  5. Rice Owls
  6. SMU Mustangs
  7. South Florida Bulls
  8. Temple Owls
  9. Tulane Green Wave
  10. Tulsa Golden Hurricane
  11. UAB Blazers
  12. UTSA Roadrunners
  13. East Carolina Pirates
  14. North Texas Mean Green

C-USA Scheduling

This conference has been quite unstable since its formation. Several teams have left to join different conferences while new teams are making their way to the C-USA. This conference is set to expand further by next year making it one of the most unpredictable conferences in college football. As a result, the current schedule is in place only for the 2023 season and is expected to undergo some type of modification before the 2024 season. As for now, all nine teams from the conference will play each other in a round robin format.

The nine teams which make up the C-USA conference are:

  1. Liberty Flames
  2. Jacksonville State Gamecocks
  3. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
  4. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
  5. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
  6. Sam Houston Bearkats
  7. FIU Panthers
  8. New Mexico State Aggies
  9. UTEP Miners

MAC Scheduling

The MAC conference is quite simple as it is divided into divisions featuring six teams each. Teams in this conference are set to play eight conference games which includes five divisional games and three cross divisional games.

The divisions of the MAC are as below:

EastWest
Ohio BobcatsCentral Michigan Chippewas
Akron ZipsEastern Michigan Eagles
Bowling Green FalconsNorthern Illinois Huskies
Miami (OH) RedHawksToledo Rockets
Buffalo BullsWestern Michigan Broncos
Kent State Golden FlashesBall State Cardinals

MWC Scheduling

The MWC has made a change from 2023 onwards. Earlier this conference had a divisional system but now that has been scrapped. The twelve-team conference will play a 2-6 format wherein the 2 games will be against fixed opponents every year. The remaining six games will be rotation based and will be flipped every other year.

The teams making up the Mountain West Conference are:

  1. Air Force Falcons
  2. Fresno State Bulldogs
  3. Wyoming Cowboys
  4. San Diego State Aztecs
  5. New Mexico Lobos
  6. UNLV Rebels
  7. Utah State Aggies
  8. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
  9. San Jose State Spartans
  10. Colorado State Rams
  11. Boise State Broncos
  12. Nevada Wolf Pack

The two permanent fixtures per team are as below:

UniversityRival 1Rival 2
Air ForceColorado StateWyoming
Boise StateNew MexicoUtah State
Colorado StateAir ForceWyoming
Fresno StateNevadaSan Jose State
HawaiiSan Diego StateUNLV
NevadaFresno StateUNLV
New MexicoBoise StateSan Jose State
San Diego StateHawaiiUtah State
San Jose StateFresno StateNew Mexico
UNLVHawaiiNevada
Utah StateBoise StateSan Diego State
WyomingAir ForceColorado State

SBC Scheduling

The SBC conference is another one divided into two divisions of seven teams each. According to their scheduling, each team will play two cross divisional games, one at home and one away. Furthermore, each team will play against all six divisional opponents every year for a total of eight conference games.

The divisions of the SBC conference are as below:

EastWest
Old Dominion MonarchsLouisiana-Monroe Warhawks
Georgia Southern EaglesSouth Alabama Jaguars
Georgia State PanthersSouthern Miss Golden Eagles
James Madison DukesTexas State Bobcats
Marshall Thundering HerdTroy Trojans
Appalachian State MountaineersArkansas State Red Wolves
Coastal Carolina ChanticleersLouisiana Ragin' Cajuns

Independents (FBS) Scheduling

The Independent programs in college football are very few today with only four of them left. Most of the independent schools from earlier have joined other conferences as they can then earn revenue from television broadcasting. In addition to that, joining a conference makes their scheduling worries easier. However, the independent schools do get more flexibility to schedule their matchups as they are not conference bound. This gives them added advantage in having interesting games throughout the year.

The four independent football schools that are remaining are:

  1. Army West Point Black Knights
  2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
  3. Connecticut Huskies
  4. Massachusetts Minutemen

The Army has fixed annual games against the Navy and Air Force. They also have a rivalry game with Notre Dame but it is not on an annual basis and is scheduled quite randomly. As for Notre Dame, they have many long-standing rivalry matchups throughout the year and they also have a deal with the ACC which gives them five games every year.

UConn was earlier part of the AAC but their other sports faced some issues due to which they had to leave the conference in 2020. Nowadays, as their football program is not so strong, many FBS schools play against them in order to fill out their schedules.

FCS Conferences

The conferences in the FCS division of college football are undergoing regular changes with new conferences coming up and teams leaving and joining every passing year. As a result of which the scheduling format for these conferences keep on changing and information pertaining to the same is scantily available.

Big Sky Scheduling

The Big Sky Conference consists of twelve teams currently. Their schedule from 2022 to 2024 is set at eight league games which comprises two fixed annual opponents and six rotating ones. This new format was put into action to make sure that teams would get to play other teams in the conference more frequently than earlier. Teams have also been afforded the flexibility to choose at least one of their permanent opponents.

The Big Sky’s twelve-member conference is as follows:

  1. Idaho Vandals
  2. Montana Grizzlies
  3. Sacramento State Hornets
  4. Weber State Wildcats
  5. Cal Poly Mustangs
  6. Montana State Bobcats
  7. UC Davis Aggies
  8. Eastern Washington Eagles
  9. Idaho State Bengals
  10. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
  11. Northern Colorado Bears
  12. Portland State Vikings

Big South Scheduling

The Big South Conference is one of the newest conferences in college football. Initially starting out with nine teams, it has quickly been reduced to only four at present. This conference has decided to merge with the Ohio Valley Conference in 2026 as both conferences do not have sufficient teams. Due to so many ongoing changes, the exact scheduling format for the Big South Conference is not available.

The four teams in the Big South Conference are as below:

  1. Bryant Bulldogs
  2. Charleston Southern Buccaneers
  3. Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
  4. Robert Morris Colonials

Coastal Athletic Association Conference Scheduling

The CAA conference which consists of fifteen teams has each team playing eight games in the conference. Moreover, each team has been allotted two permanent rivals annually while the remaining six games are on rotation basis. This means each team will play every other team at home and away at least once in eight years.

The fifteen members of the CAA conference are:

  1. William & Mary Tribe
  2. Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
  3. Monmouth Hawks
  4. Rhode Island Rams
  5. Villanova Wildcats
  6. Hampton Pirates
  7. New Hampshire Wildcats
  8. Albany Great Danes
  9. Elon Phoenix
  10. Maine Black Bears
  11. North Carolina A&T Aggies
  12. Richmond Spiders
  13. Campbell Fighting Camels
  14. Towson Tigers
  15. Stony Brook Seawolves

Independents (FCS) Conference Scheduling

In the FCS division of college football, the Kennesaw State Owls are the only team which are playing as an independent conference. The Owls are slowly beginning their transition from the FCS to the FBS as they are moving to Conference USA football conference in 2024.

Ivy League Conference Scheduling

There are a total of eight Ivy League Schools featuring in the college football program. The Ivy League Conference usually starts a little later than the other conferences, mostly near mid-September. These schools play ten games each which include a complete round-robin system where each team plays all the other seven teams. The remaining three games are scheduled against non-conference teams.

Ivy League Conference teams include:

  1. Dartmouth Big Green
  2. Harvard Crimson
  3. Columbia Lions
  4. Princeton Tigers
  5. Cornell Big Red
  6. Penn Quakers
  7. Yale Bulldogs
  8. Brown Bears

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Scheduling

The MEAC is a conference consisting of six football teams. As per their schedule for the 2023 season, teams will play non-conference games at the start and the end of the season with conference games being sandwiched in between.

The six participating teams in MEAC are”

  1. North Carolina Central Eagles
  2. Howard Bison
  3. Morgan State Bears
  4. Norfolk State Spartans
  5. Delaware State Hornets
  6. South Carolina State Bulldogs

Missouri Valley Conference Scheduling

The Missouri Valley Conference is one of those which has somewhat of a complex history. It has undergone a couple of name changes over the years as well. This conference uses a simple round robin system to decide the eventual conference champion. The first three weeks are usually reserved for non-conference matchups while the remaining nine weeks are for conference games. Teams are also allowed to make changes to their schedule provided both teams have a written agreement in place.

  1. Teams participating in this conference currently are:
  2. Illinois State Redbirds
  3. North Dakota Fighting Hawks
  4. North Dakota State Bison
  5. South Dakota State Jackrabbits
  6. Southern Illinois Salukis
  7. Murray State Racers
  8. South Dakota Coyotes
  9. Youngstown State Penguins
  10. Indiana State Sycamores
  11. Missouri State Bears
  12. UNI Panthers
  13. Western Illinois Leathernecks

Northeast Conference Scheduling

The Northeast Conference features eight teams which will all play each other. Each team will get four home games and three away games in the conference. Each team will also play three away non-conference games for the 2023 season.

The eight teams making up the Northeast Conference are:

  1. Stonehill Skyhawks
  2. Duquesne Dukes
  3. LIU Sharks
  4. Merrimack Warriors
  5. Sacred Heart Pioneers
  6. Saint Francis U Red Flash
  7. Wagner Seahawks
  8. Central Connecticut State Blue Devils

Ohio Valley Conference Scheduling

The Ohio Valley Conference has joined forces with the Big South Conference as both conferences had lost several teams. Now the two conferences together have a total of ten teams and will play a schedule consisting of six conference games. As prior commitments with teams are still prevalent, more conference games cannot be played currently.

The Ohio Valley Conference teams are:

  1. Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
  2. Eastern Illinois Panthers
  3. Tennessee State Tigers
  4. UT Martin Skyhawks
  5. Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
  6. Lindenwood Lions

Patriot League Conference Scheduling

The Patriot League Conference features seven teams which are as follows:

  1. Georgetown Hoyas
  2. Fordham Rams
  3. Bucknell Bison
  4. Holy Cross Crusaders
  5. Lafayette Leopards
  6. Lehigh Mountain Hawks
  7. Colgate Raiders

Pioneer League Conference Scheduling

This conference is truly a one-of-a-kind conference given the fact that it has teams from both coasts and many more through the heart of the country. The eleven team conference boasts teams such as:

  1. Stetson Hatters
  2. Butler Bulldogs
  3. Dayton Flyers
  4. Morehead State Eagles
  5. Presbyterian Blue Hose
  6. St. Thomas (MN) Tommies
  7. Marist Red Foxes
  8. Davidson Wildcats
  9. Drake Bulldogs
  10. San Diego Toreros
  11. Valparaiso Beacons

Southern Conference Scheduling

The Southern Conference is a nine-team conference which is comprised of the following teams:

  1. Western Carolina Catamounts
  2. Mercer Bears
  3. Chattanooga Mocs
  4. ETSU Buccaneers
  5. Furman Paladins
  6. VMI Keydets
  7. Citadel Bulldogs
  8. Wofford Terriers
  9. Samford Bulldogs

Southland Conference Scheduling

With eight teams featuring in the Southland Conference, each team will play against the other teams in a round-robin format in 2023. This is the first time since 2013 that the round-robin format has been implemented. Apart from these seven games, teams will also play non-conference games.

The Southland Conference is made up of the following eight teams:

  1. Houston Christian Huskies
  2. UIW Cardinals
  3. Lamar Cardinals
  4. McNeese Cowboys
  5. Nicholls Colonels
  6. Northwestern State Demons
  7. Southeastern Louisiana Lions
  8. Texas A&M-Commerce Lions

Southwestern Athletic Conference Scheduling

The SWAC has been divided into two divisions and since 2021, it has implemented the following schedule to its football program. Each team will play five divisional and three non-divisional games. Three teams from the other division will be rotated every two years. The team with the best record in the conference will get the chance to host the Championship game.

The two divisions of the SWAC are as follows:

EASTWEST
Florida A&M RattlersPrairie View A&M Panthers
Mississippi Valley State Delta DevilsAlcorn State Braves
Alabama A&M BulldogsArkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions
Alabama State HornetsGrambling State Tigers
Bethune-Cookman WildcatsSouthern University Jaguars
Jackson State TigersTexas Southern Tigers

United Athletic Conference Scheduling

The United Athletic Conference is a newly formed conference with the merger of two previously independent conferences, namely, the ASUN Conference and the Western Athletic Conference. Having nine teams currently as part of its membership, the UAC will be limited to six conference games for the 2023 season before it switches to a full round-robin system in 2024.

The UAC teams at present include:

  1. Tarleton State Texans
  2. Abilene Christian Wildcats
  3. Central Arkansas Bears
  4. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
  5. Austin Peay Governors
  6. Eastern Kentucky Colonels
  7. Southern Utah Thunderbirds
  8. Utah Tech Trailblazers
  9. North Alabama Lions

Conclusion

In short, college football scheduling is not the same for each team as it has more flexibility. This is the case because the NCAA does not have a say in scheduling matters which is being handled by the respective conferences. Furthermore, each conference has its own set of rules that it follows to prepare its unique schedule taking into consideration various factors such as home and away games, conference, and non-conference games, and of course the broadcasting terms and conditions.

Sometimes, another issue which crops up during scheduling is the lack of availability of a stadium due to various factors beyond the team’s control. Considering all these factors, the committee members of each conference come out with a schedule which is then overseen by the NCAA.