College Football Divisions, Explained

Most of the time, when fans talk about NCAA football or college football betting odds, they’re talking about a very particular section of the college football world that gets most of the headlines. That’s Division I FBS football.

In fact, it’s possible to be even more specific than that. When it comes to high-level coverage and the pursuit of the national championship, most fans and bettors are referring to four specific conferences inside of Division I FBS Football. This is generally known as the P4, or Power 4. 

But college football is a much deeper sport than just a few dozen prominent teams. There are hundreds of programs spread across several divisions, many of which have rich traditions worthy of respect.

Here, I’ll try to offer a brief explanation of the total landscape of college football.

College Football Divisions

• NCAA Division I
• NCAA Division II
• NCAA Division III
• NJCAA
• NAIA

College Football Divisions Outline

There are five different divisions of college football: 1, 2, 3, NAIA, and Junior College. 

NCAA Division I is, by far, the most popular. It’s also the most complicated, though, so let’s come back to it in just a second.

Division II and Division III are both less competitive sections of the National Collegiate Athletics Association. 

Division III football generally doesn’t generate revenue and is seen more as an extracurricular athletics activity than a commercial product. Athletes generally do not receive scholarships. 

Division II seeks a more traditional balance for its student-athletes between the high-level competition of Division I and the lower stakes of Division III. 

Junior colleges play sports under the framework of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), which has utilized three internal divisions of its own since 1991. 

Junior colleges often take young transfers from NCAA programs; they can also be a recruiting ground for NCAA programs looking for once-promising athletes who have quietly improved their skills far away from the bright lights of NCAA Division I. 

NAIA, or the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, is a parallel organization to the NCAA. It’s a collection of more than 200 small schools that play varsity sports under their own umbrella and rule set. 

The NAIA includes Clarke University, Evergreen State College, and Olivet Nazarene, among many others.

NCAA Division I is split into two subdivisions: the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). (Those names might need to be reconsidered now that the FBS is playing a 12-team playoff.)

In FBS, the most powerful programs in college football history compile teams with 85 annual scholarships. This includes recognizable brands like Alabama, Ohio State, Texas, and Clemson. It’s also where the vast majority of college football betting takes place.

In FCS, Division I programs with fewer resources and smaller fan bases play with 63 total scholarships. Unlike FBS, partial scholarship money is allowed. FCS also differs from FBS in that their champion is formally recognized by the NCAA, since its playoff is explicitly run by the NCAA and not outside groups like ESPN or the CFP committee.

Popular FCS programs include Montana, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, and Holy Cross, to name a few. 

Because both FCS and FBS exist inside the framework of Division I, it’s common for FBS teams to play an FCS opponent each season. FCS vs. FBS upsets are rare because of the resource disparity, so when they do happen, it’s usually a pretty big deal.

Inside of FBS, there are nine conferences. Four – the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC – are considered “power” conferences. Their public perception is much greater than the other five FBS conferences, and so teams from the power conferences are generally given preferential treatment in polls and postseason berths over FBS teams from outside the power conferences.