October 4 – The NCAA announced several major changes to Division I football
recruiting and governance rules:[2]
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.[3] Two weeks after the shooting, Northwestern State canceled the remainder of its season, and head coach
Brad Laird resigned.[4]
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.[5] In April 2023, the partnership was formally rebranded as the United Athletic Conference (UAC), a football-only league separate from the two conferences.[6] The NCAA denied the UAC's request to be classified as a single-sport FCS football conference,[7] 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.[8]
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.[9]
* – Texas A&M–Commerce ineligible for FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II. ** – Northwestern State canceled its season on October 26.
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.[10]
This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2023, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled games but before its playoff games. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2023, see
2022 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.
^Washburn, Rob (July 20, 2023).
"CAA Changes Official Conference Name To Coastal Athletic Association". CAAsports.com. Coastal Athletic Association. Retrieved July 20, 2023. The name change will carry over to the league's football conference, which will be officially recognized as the Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference but continue to be referred to as the CAA Football Conference.
October 4 – The NCAA announced several major changes to Division I football
recruiting and governance rules:[2]
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.[3] Two weeks after the shooting, Northwestern State canceled the remainder of its season, and head coach
Brad Laird resigned.[4]
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.[5] In April 2023, the partnership was formally rebranded as the United Athletic Conference (UAC), a football-only league separate from the two conferences.[6] The NCAA denied the UAC's request to be classified as a single-sport FCS football conference,[7] 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.[8]
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.[9]
* – Texas A&M–Commerce ineligible for FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II. ** – Northwestern State canceled its season on October 26.
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.[10]
This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2023, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled games but before its playoff games. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2023, see
2022 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.
^Washburn, Rob (July 20, 2023).
"CAA Changes Official Conference Name To Coastal Athletic Association". CAAsports.com. Coastal Athletic Association. Retrieved July 20, 2023. The name change will carry over to the league's football conference, which will be officially recognized as the Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference but continue to be referred to as the CAA Football Conference.