NCAA Division I-FBS independent schools
NCAA Bowl Sub-Division independent schools are four-year institutions whose football programs are not part of an NCAA-affiliated conference. This means that I-A independents do not schedule each other for competition like conference schools do. There are considerably fewer independent schools than in years past; many independent schools later join (or attempt to join) established conferences, usually in order to gain a share of television revenue and access to bowl games that agree to take teams from certain conferences.
Notre Dame is the only independent to be able to get into a BCS bowl. Notre Dame must have at least 9 wins and must be in the top 15 of the BCS poll.
NCAA Division I-A independent schools for 2007
- United States Military Academy (Army) (left Conference USA after the 2004 season; member of Patriot League for all other sports sponsored by that league)
- United States Naval Academy (Navy) (member of Patriot League for all other sports sponsored by that league)
- University of Notre Dame (member of Big East Conference for all other sports sponsored by that league)
- Western Kentucky University (member of Sun Belt Conference for all other sports until 2009 in which they will join the Sun Belt Conference in football)
Of these schools, only Notre Dame is a Bowl Championship Series school, which can be chosen for an at-large bid to a BCS Bowl game. It can also take one of the Big East's bowl spots depending on how its record compares to teams in that conference.
Independents' Stadiums
| School | Football Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Army | Michie Stadium | 39,929 |
| Navy | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | 34,000 |
| Notre Dame | Notre Dame Stadium | 80,975 |
| Western Kentucky | Houchens Industries-L. T. Smith Stadium | 17,500 |
See also
- NCAA Division I-AA independent schools
- NCAA Division I independents (women's hockey)
- NCAA Division II independent schools
- NCAA Division III independent schools
- NAIA independent schools
| NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Conferences: |
| Atlantic Coast Conference* – Big 12 Conference* – Big East Conference* – Big Ten Conference* – Conference USA – Mid-American Conference – Mountain West Conference – Pacific-10 Conference* – Southeastern Conference* – Sun Belt Conference – Western Athletic Conference – Independents |
| *Conference champion receives an automatic BCS bid |
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