Schools With No Playoff Appearances

[DFW HOYA]

As of 2018, 23 schools from conferences participating in the playoffs have never qualified for the post-season. Who is the next to join the list?

Big Sky (3): Sacramento State, UC Davis, Northern Colorado
Big South (3): Campbell, Presbyterian, Gardner-Webb
CAA: None
MVFC: None
NEC (1): Bryant
OVC (1): Austin Peay St.
Patriot (2): Bucknell, Georgetown
Pioneer (7): Drake, Jacksonville, Valpo, Marist, Morehead St., Stetson, Davidson
Southern (2): Mercer, VMI
Southland (4): Abilene Christian, Incarnate Word, Lamar, Houston Baptist

[VandalBasher]

It has been a few years for Idaho.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

Bryant would be my guess.

[cx500d]

UNA is the next to join the list of schools that haven’t been to the playoffs

[Laker]

North Alabama won three straight D2 titles. They will be independent this year, then go Big South next year. I wonder how long it will take them to make the playoffs.

[Reign of Terrier]

If I were to guess a conference, it would be one from the big sky or Southland. Austin Peay was good last year.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but at least 3/4 of the Southland teams that haven't made it are in programs of less than a decade old.

Gardner Webb will one day get it as will Mercer. VMI will likely not. They have problems.

[Catatonic]

If I were to guess a conference, it would be one from the big sky or Southland. Austin Peay was good last year.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but at least 3/4 of the Southland teams that haven't made it are in programs of less than a decade old.

Gardner Webb will one day get it as will Mercer. VMI will likely not. They have problems.

you are correct.

Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word were eligible for the playoffs for the first time in 2017 after completing the transition from D2. Houston a Baptist started its FCS football program in 2013.

ACU and UIW= 1 year of eligibility
HBU= 5 years of eligibility

[RootinFerDukes]

In the CAA, URI has the longest drought as a program. The league was known as the Yankee conference the last time they made it. It was known as the Atlantic 10 after that, then CAA. It’s been awhile.

[FUBeAR]

In the CAA, URI has the longest drought as a program. The league was known as the Yankees conference the last time they made it. It was known as the Atlantic 10 after that, then CAA. It’s been awhile.
I was there for the Rams most recent Playoff appearance. It was a 59-15 loss on a cold (26 degrees) windy day in Paladin Stadium in 1985. https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/08/sports/playoffs-rhode-island-routed.html

URI threw the ball like 147 times & about 41 of those went to the guys wearing purple jerseys. Probably the 1st time I saw anything akin to the “Air Raid” (it was 12/7...so an Air Raid made sense, I guess) Offenses we see today...may be part of the reason I hate those Offenses so much...The game lasted about 6 hours as most of the other 106 passes were incomplete. I was cold & wind chapped...and had other things to go do. It WAS the 80’s. xthumbsupx

BTW - Mercer’s current HC threw the ball 12 times that day for the Paladins...for 4 TD’s. Seems to me to be a bit more efficient way to throw the ball.

[Laker]

In the CAA, URI has the longest drought as a program. The league was known as the Yankees conference the last time they made it. It was known as the Atlantic 10 after that, then CAA. It’s been awhile.

I miss the old Yankee Conference. Of course I miss Vermont football too.

[MR. CHICKEN]

........NEXT....TA GET IN...............BRYANT......AUSTIN PEAY........DRAKE................................. ............AWK!

[Catatonic]

North Alabama won three straight D2 titles. They will be independent this year, then go Big South next year. I wonder how long it will take them to make the playoffs.

they won’t be eligible until their fifth year.

[Outsider1]

If I were to guess a conference, it would be one from the big sky or Southland. Austin Peay was good last year.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but at least 3/4 of the Southland teams that haven't made it are in programs of less than a decade old.

Gardner Webb will one day get it as will Mercer. VMI will likely not. They have problems.

Correction, Abilene Christian's football program is way older than a decade and was actually a founding member of the Southland conference. We started football in 1951 in the College Division (small school), then NAIA. In 1963 we became an original founding team of the Southland conference along with: Trinity, Arkansas State, Lamar and UT Arlington. We never stopped having a football program. We left the Southland in 1973 before returning in 2013.

[walliver]

Mercer will be the first to come off the list.
VMI will be on the list a long time, even if they move to the Pioneer. The Citadel will make the Big Dance in basketball before VMI tastes the FCS playoffs.
Gardner Webb has a chance if Kennesaw and Monmouth leave the Big South.
PC will never make it from the Big South, and I doubt the Pioneer will be much easier.

[OL FU]

I was there for the Rams most recent Playoff appearance. It was a 59-15 loss on a cold (26 degrees) windy day in Paladin Stadium in 1985. https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/08/sports/playoffs-rhode-island-routed.html

URI threw the ball like 147 times & about 41 of those went to the guys wearing purple jerseys. Probably the 1st time I saw anything akin to the “Air Raid” (it was 12/7...so an Air Raid made sense, I guess) Offenses we see today...may be part of the reason I hate those Offenses so much...The game lasted about 6 hours as most of the other 106 passes were incomplete. I was cold & wind chapped...and had other things to go do. It WAS the 80’s. xthumbsupx

BTW - Mercer’s current HC threw the ball 12 times that day for the Paladins...for 4 TD’s. Seems to me to be a bit more efficient way to throw the ball.


I was there too. My recollection is that the game took about 6 hours. 4.5 hours of which the ball was floating in the air in reach of a Paladin defensive back.

[ysubigred]

they won’t be eligible until their fifth year.

When they are they'll dominate their conference like NDSU does the MVFC. I'm surprised UNA took so long to get here. Back in the YSU glory days we'd schedule UNA and they played us as tough as any team we faced to include the playoffs and NC games.

[BEAR]

Yeah looking at UNA's history they should be in the hunt fairly soon after eligibility.

If I recall HBU did something they got into trouble for and may not be eligible this year? Have to look that up to make sure of that.

Also having 24 teams in the playoffs yearly it won't be long before that list of nonplayers drops significantly IMO.

[FormerPokeCenter]

you are correct.

Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word were eligible for the playoffs for the first time in 2017 after completing the transition from D2. Houston a Baptist started its FCS football program in 2013.

ACU and UIW= 1 year of eligibility
HBU= 5 years of eligibility

Lamar's making a fairly recent return to football....and they were only playoff eligible for like three, maye four years in the early 80's before they disbanded football.

[ASU33]

As of 2018, 23 schools from conferences participating in the playoffs have never qualified for the post-season. Who is the next to join the list?

Big Sky (3): Sacramento State, UC Davis, Northern Colorado
Big South (3): Campbell, Presbyterian, Gardner-Webb
CAA: None
MVFC: None
NEC (1): Bryant
OVC (1): Austin Peay St.
Patriot (2): Bucknell, Georgetown
Pioneer (7): Drake, Jacksonville, Valpo, Marist, Morehead St., Stetson, Davidson
Southern (2): Mercer, VMI
Southland (4): Abilene Christian, Incarnate Word, Lamar, Houston Baptist

I think this changes this year!

[Ivytalk]

Ivy (8) Oh, wait...:p

[Twentysix]

As of 2018, 23 schools from conferences participating in the playoffs have never qualified for the post-season. Who is the next to join the list?

Big Sky (3): Sacramento State, UC Davis, Northern Colorado
Big South (3): Campbell, Presbyterian, Gardner-Webb
CAA: None <--------------
MVFC: None <--------------
NEC (1): Bryant
OVC (1): Austin Peay St.
Patriot (2): Bucknell, Georgetown
Pioneer (7): Drake, Jacksonville, Valpo, Marist, Morehead St., Stetson, Davidson
Southern (2): Mercer, VMI
Southland (4): Abilene Christian, Incarnate Word, Lamar, Houston Baptist

Who would have thought...

[FormerPokeCenter]

It's worth nothing that the SoCon would have ZERO teams not in the playoffs had Georgia Southern and App State not moved up, creating the openings for VMI and Mercer...

The same with the Southland....Had La. Tech (with several playoff appearances), Troy, Texas State, and ULM not moved up, there wouldn't be the logjam we currently have, either, though Lamar is the outlier there...they weren't very good before the dropped football and I'm not sure they're in a position to right that ship now.

What they have done, however, is dilute the talent pool that McNeese, the Houston schools, SHSU and SFA would have pulled from....

[FUBeAR]

It's worth nothing that the SoCon would have ZERO teams not in the playoffs had Georgia Southern and App State not moved up, creating the openings for VMI and Mercer...Yeah!...Tell ‘em!!

NDSU Played 64 straight seasons of Football before they ever made the FCS Playoffs. Mercer has only played 5.

As my New Orleans friends like to say, “wait a while.”

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

Yeah!...Tell ‘em!!

NDSU Played 64 straight seasons of Football before they ever made the FCS Playoffs. Mercer has only played 5.

As my New Orleans friends like to say, “wait a while.”



Probably because for most of that 64 years they were D2.

[Catatonic]

Correction, Abilene Christian's football program is way older than a decade and was actually a founding member of the Southland conference. We started football in 1951 in the College Division (small school), then NAIA. In 1963 we became an original founding team of the Southland conference along with: Trinity, Arkansas State, Lamar and UT Arlington. We never stopped having a football program. We left the Southland in 1973 before returning in 2013.


I think he is only counting years schools were eligible for the D1AA/FCS playoffs.

[Catatonic]

It's worth nothing that the SoCon would have ZERO teams not in the playoffs had Georgia Southern and App State not moved up, creating the openings for VMI and Mercer...

The same with the Southland....Had La. Tech (with several playoff appearances), Troy, Texas State, and ULM not moved up, there wouldn't be the logjam we currently have, either, though Lamar is the outlier there...they weren't very good before the dropped football and I'm not sure they're in a position to right that ship now.

What they have done, however, is dilute the talent pool that McNeese, the Houston schools, SHSU and SFA would have pulled from....

texas state was a crap FCS team before they became a crap FBS team. ACU beat TX St back in 2007 when we were still D2.

[AmsterBison]

FCS Teams that have never won a playoff game:

Big Sky (6): Northern Colorado, Portland State, Sacramento State, Southern Utah, UC Davis
SWAC (10): Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Grambling State, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State, Prairie View A&M, Southern. Texas Southern
Southland (4): Abilene Christian, Houston Baptist, Incarnate Word, Lamar
Patriot (4): Bucknell, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lafayette College
Ohio Valley (4): Austin Peay, SE Missouri State, Tennessee Tech, Tennessee-Martin
MEAC (8): Bethune-Cookman, Delaware State, Hampton, Howard, Morgan State, Norfolk State, North Carolina Central, Savannah State
SoCon (2): Mercer, VMI
NEC (6): Bryant University, Central Connecticut State, Duquesne, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (PA)
Big South (4): Campbell, Gardner-Webb, Monmouth, Presbyterian
Pioneer (9): Butler, Davidson, Dayton, Drake, Jacksonville, Marist, Morehead State, Stetson, Valparaiso
CAA (2): Elon, Albany
MVFC (0): <n/a>
Independents (1): North Alabama*, North Dakota

* Hasn't been eligible yet

[Twentysix]

FCS Teams that have never won a playoff game:

Big Sky (6): Northern Colorado, Portland State, Sacramento State, Southern Utah, UC Davis
SWAC (10): Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Grambling State, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State, Prairie View A&M, Southern. Texas Southern
Southland (4): Abilene Christian, Houston Baptist, Incarnate Word, Lamar
Patriot (4): Bucknell, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lafayette College
Ohio Valley (4): Austin Peay, SE Missouri State, Tennessee Tech, Tennessee-Martin
MEAC (8): Bethune-Cookman, Delaware State, Hampton, Howard, Morgan State, Norfolk State, North Carolina Central, Savannah State
SoCon (2): Mercer, VMI
NEC (6): Bryant University, Central Connecticut State, Duquesne, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (PA)
Big South (4): Campbell, Gardner-Webb, Monmouth, Presbyterian
Pioneer (9): Butler, Davidson, Dayton, Drake, Jacksonville, Marist, Morehead State, Stetson, Valparaiso
CAA (2): Elon, Albany
MVFC (0): .
Independents (1): North Alabama*, North Dakota

* Hasn't been eligible yet

No surprises here either. Bow down to your mvfc masters. Lol

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[Reign of Terrier]

It can't be reiterated enough that the OVC has won about 7 playoff games in the last 20 years, with 5 of them coming from Jacksonville State in a 2-year span and one of them coming against another OVC team

[Twentysix]

It can't be reiterated enough that the OVC has won about 7 playoff games in the last 20 years, with 5 of them coming from Jacksonville State in a 2-year span and one of them coming against another OVC teamNo the ovc and jsu are the pinnacle of the all time FCS. Just ask any hbcu school fan on this board.

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[Model Citizen]

As of 2018, 23 schools from conferences participating in the playoffs have never qualified for the post-season. Who is the next to join the list?


Pioneer (7): Drake, Jacksonville, Valpo, Marist, Morehead St., Stetson, Davidson



I see that the list considers playoffs at any classification level, but no traditional bowls are included in the definition of "post-season."

Drake and Davidson might deserve asterisks here, as they were both in College Division regional bowls. These were the precursors of the current D-II playoffs.

[Model Citizen]

Interesting to see how many games these teams have won all-time, without the benefit of extra games in the playoffs. Just a few have exceeded 600 wins...and yes, I'll include the Ivies here.

1. Yale
2. Harvard
3. Penn
4. Princeton
5. Dartmouth
6. Dayton
7. Cornell
8. Drake
9. Brown
10.Bucknell

[Outsider1]

I think he is only counting years schools were eligible for the D1AA/FCS playoffs.

Could be, but that isn't necessarily what was stated. It doesn't really matter anyway since we are still not anywhere near playoff ready. When you say football program you are adressing the historical history of that program. Otherwise you need to talk about teams or eras.

[kperk014]

UNA is the next to join the list of schools that haven’t been to the playoffs

It's hard to go to the playoffs when you won't be eligible for a ridiculous four years.

[MTfan4life]

North Alabama won three straight D2 titles. They will be independent this year, then go Big South next year. I wonder how long it will take them to make the playoffs.

Very similar commentary was made about Northern Colorado, another multiple time 90's D2 national champion, when they joined way back in 2003.

[Daytripper]

As of 2018, 23 schools from conferences participating in the playoffs have never qualified for the post-season. Who is the next to join the list?

Big Sky (3): Sacramento State, UC Davis, Northern Colorado
Big South (3): Campbell, Presbyterian, Gardner-Webb
CAA: None
MVFC: None
NEC (1): Bryant
OVC (1): Austin Peay St.
Patriot (2): Bucknell, Georgetown
Pioneer (7): Drake, Jacksonville, Valpo, Marist, Morehead St., Stetson, Davidson
Southern (2): Mercer, VMI
Southland (4): Abilene Christian, Incarnate Word, Lamar, Houston Baptist

I think ACU will get there in the next 2-3 years. UIW, Lamar and HBU are, and will remain, dumpster fires.

[Catbooster]

Maybe UC Davis (and/or Sac State?) will get off this list this year.