College
Can Texas Break the Dakota-Montana Stranglehold on the FCS?
The Dakotas and Montana have dominated the FCS for more than a decade. Can Texas programs break the stranglehold through resources, retention and postseason success?
(Photo: SFA Athletics)
Thirteen of the last 15 FCS national football championships were claimed by a program from the Dakotas or Montana. Montana State won the most recent FCS national championship. North Dakota State has won 10 since the start of 2011, while South Dakota State claimed back-to-back crowns in 2022-23.
The only two teams outside of that region to boast an FCS national championship since 2011 were Sam Houston in the spring season of 2021 and James Madison in 2016. Both of those programs now live in the FBS ranks. Of the 13 programs to win an FCS national championship this century, seven have moved up to the FBS with North Dakota State joining the Mountain West ahead of the 2026 season.
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