2025 FCS playoffs automatic bid tracker and scenarios

The 2025 FCS playoffs are approaching, with 11 automatic bids up for grabs.

Eleven teams automatically qualify for this year’s playoffs via conference affiliation. An additional 13 teams earn at-large bids selected by the FCS Playoff Committee. The complete 24-team bracket will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 23. The FCS playoffs conclude with the national championship in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, Jan. 5, 2025.

🏈 MORE FCS FOOTBALL 🏈 

We will fill in the winner of each conference’s automatic bid below as they are decided:

CONFERENCE
Auto-Bid TEAM

ASUN-WAC (UAC)
 

Big Sky
 

CAA
 

Ivy
Yale

MVFC
North Dakota State

NEC
Central Connecticut State

OVC-Big South
 

Patriot
Lehigh

Pioneer
Drake

SoCon
Mercer

Southland
Stephen F. Austin

STANDINGS: See the latest FCS standings from every conference 

Conference winners who abstain from the FCS playoffs are as follows:

• MEAC
  • Champion: South Carolina State
• SWAC
  • SWAC East: Champion TBD
  • SWAC West: Prairie View A&M

How every team clinched an automatic bid

Stay tuned as we’ll recap how every automatic bid was clinched as they happen.

Ivy League

Yale beat rival and previously undefeated Harvard, 45-28, in Week 13 to secure the bid.

Missouri Valley Football Conference

North Dakota State clinched the MVFC auto bid in Week 11 by beating North Dakota, 15-10.

NEC

Central Connecticut State clinched the automatic bid by beating Mercyhurst 35-28 in Week 13.

Patriot

In Week 13, Lehigh beat rival Lafayette 42-32 to earn the Patriot League’s AQ spot.

Pioneer

Drake clinched the automatic bid by topping Morehead State 17-10 in Week 13.

SoCon

Mercer clinched the SoCon auto bid in Week 11 by beating Western Carolina, 49-47

Southland

Stephen F. Austin clinched the Southland auto bid in Week 12 with a win over Lamar. The win clinched them a share of the conference title, and since Lamar is a common opponent between the Lumberjacks and Southeastern Louisiana, SFA gets the automatic qualifying bid.

SWAC West

Prairie View A&M clinched the SWAC West title in Week 12 with a win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Clinching scenarios

Here are the scenarios for every team that can clinch a conference title in Week 13.

ASUN-WAC (UAC)

Abilene Christian can clinch the ASUN-WAC auto-bid in Week 13 if the following happens:

• Abilene Christian beats Central Arkansas
• OR Abilene Christian loses to Central Arkansas
  • AND Tarleton State loses to Austin Peay
  • AND Southern Utah loses to North Alabama

Tarleton State can clinch the ASUN-WAC auto-bid in Week 13 if the following happens:

• Tarleton State beats Austin Peay
  • AND Abilene Christian loses to Central Arkansas

Southern Utah can clinch the ASUN-WAC auto-bid in Week 13 if the following happens:

• Southern Utah beats North Alabama
  • AND Abilene Christian loses to Central Arkansas
  • AND Austin Peay beats Tarleton State
    • This would create a three-way tie atop the UAC standings between Southern Utah, Abilene Christian and Tarleton State. With all three teams beating each other, it would come down to a tiebreaker scenario.
    • The tiebreaker would be: Compare tied teams’ win-loss percentage vs. the top ranked team (or teams as a group in the event that they are tied), descending to the next highest placed teams) until an advantage is gained. If an advantage is gained in a tiebreaker of three or more teams, that team or teams is pulled out, and the remaining tied teams go back to head-to-head.

Big Sky

The winner of Week 13’s Montana State at Montana game will determine this year’s Big Sky champion.

CAA

Rhode Island can clinch the CAA auto-bid in Week 13 if the following happens:

• Rhode Island beats Hampton
• OR Rhode Island loses to Hampton
  • AND Monmouth beats UAlbany
    • This would create a three-way tie between Rhode Island, Monmouth and Villanova. While all three would be declared co-champs, a tiebreaker would need to be used to determine an AQ bid.
    • Since Villanova lost head-to-head to Monmouth, the tiebreaker would be between Rhode Island and Monmouth.
    • A tiebreaker would come down to point differential in conference games as both Rhode Island and Monmouth would have losses to common opponents (Hampton and New Hampshire, respectively). Entering Week 13, Rhode Island is +144 and Monmouth is +126. That’s an 18-point difference favoring Rhode Island.
    • If still tied after point differential, the next tiebreaker would be the best combined conference ranking among the teams in points scored and points allowed.

Villanova can clinch the CAA auto-bid in Week 13 if the following happens:

• Monmouth loses to UAlbany
  • AND Rhode Island loses to Hampton
    • This would create a tie between Rhode Island and Villanova atop the standings. While both teams would be named co-champs, Villanova would earn the auto-bid thinks to a win over a common opponent, Hampton.

Monmouth can clinch the CAA auto-bid in Week 13 if the following happens:

• Monmouth beats UAlbany
  • AND Rhode Island loses to Hampton
    • This would create a three-way tie between Rhode Island, Monmouth and Villanova. While all three would be declared co-champs, a tiebreaker would need to be used to determine an AQ bid.
    • Since Villanova lost head-to-head to Monmouth, the tiebreaker would be between Rhode Island and Monmouth.
    • A tiebreaker would come down to point differential in conference games as both Rhode Island and Monmouth would have losses to common opponents (Hampton and New Hampshire, respectively). Entering Week 13, Rhode Island is +144 and Monmouth is +126. That’s an 18-point difference favoring Rhode Island.
    • If still tied after point differential, the next tiebreaker would be the best combined conference ranking among the teams in points scored and points allowed.

OVC-Big South

The winner of Week 13’s UT Martin at Tennessee Tech game will determine this year’s OVC-Big South champion.

SWAC East

Jackson State can clinch the SWAC East title in Week 13 if the following happens:

• Jackson State beats Alcorn State
• OR Alabama State loses to Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Alabama State can clinch the SWAC East title in Week 13 if the following happens:

• Alabama State beats Arkansas-Pine Bluff
  • AND Jackson State beats Alcorn State

 

Stan Becton joined NCAA.com in 2021 and has since served as a college football, FCS football, track and field, cross country and HBCU beat reporter. He has covered numerous NCAA championship events, including the FCS Championship, DI Track & Field Championships and Men’s Frozen Four. Additionally, he has covered the College Football Playoff and HBCU sporting events like the Celebration Bowl, MEAC/SWAC Challenge and Legacy Classic. Stan graduated from Carnegie Mellon University, earning a degree in Professional Writing and playing football as a five-year letterman. You can follow him on Twitter @stan_becton.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions.