2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season

The United States Football League (USFL) is a professional American football minor league that began play on April 16, 2022. As of 2023, the league operates eight teams in four cities, seven of which are east of the Mississippi River; all eight teams bear the brands of teams from a previous incarnation of the United States Football League that operated from 1983 to 1985.

NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment offered in Division III.

The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Its fourteen member institutions, located in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, include twelve public and two private schools. The MIAA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in Missouri.

Beginning in the 2021–22 academic year, extensive changes occurred in NCAA conference membership, primarily at the Division I level.

The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. Originally established as the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) in 1978, it was renamed as the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2001, and then rebranded as the ASUN Conference in 2016. The conference headquarters are located in Atlanta.7

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Bowl Subdivision independent schools are four-year institutions whose football programs are not part of an NCAA-affiliated conference. This means that FBS independents are not required to schedule each other for competition like conference schools do.

Conference USA is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.

The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as the American, is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I, with its football teams competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Member universities represent a range of private and public universities of various enrollment sizes located primarily in urban metropolitan areas in the Northeastern, Midwestern, and Southern regions of the United States.

The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition. Its 10 members, in the states of Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia, include two private Christian universities and eight public universities. Additionally, the Big 12 has 12 affiliate members — eight for the sport of wrestling, one for women's equestrianism, one for women's gymnastics and two for women's rowing. The Big 12 Conference is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Brett Yormark became the new commissioner on August 1, 2022.

The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ten member schools across the states of California, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

The BYU Cougars football team is the college football program representing Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. The Cougars began collegiate football competition in 1922, and have won 23 conference championships and one national championship in 1984.

The Charlotte 49ers football program represents the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in college football. The UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees officially voted to add a football program on November 13, 2008, after a unanimous recommendation by the Football Feasibility Committee. It was made possible by Student Government initiatives starting in 2006 by then-student body president Benjamin Comstock and student body vice president Jordan Van Dyne, namely the first step of organizing a transparent student vote on football that disclosed possible hikes in tuition fees as a result of football. The online poll was approved by the Student Senate and administered in collaboration with the University's IT Department. Despite the possibility of potential rises in student fees, the vote clearly displayed a student interest in a football team. The program began play during the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season.

The Cincinnati Bearcats football program represents the University of Cincinnati in college football. They compete at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level as members of the Big 12 Conference. They have played their home games in historic and renovated Nippert Stadium since 1924. The Bearcats have an all-time record of over .500, having reached their 600th program victory in 2017. The program has had a resurgence in recent years. After joining the Big East for the 2005 season, the Bearcats have gone 155–75, along with 14 bowl game appearances, 7 conference titles, 4 BCS/NY6 Bowl berths and 38 NFL Draft selections, as of the 2022 season.

The 2023 Navy Midshipmen football team will represent the United States Naval Academy in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen play their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, and compete in the American Athletic Conference. They are led by first-year head coach Brian Newberry.

The 2023 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team will represent the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Fighting Irish are expected to be led by Marcus Freeman in his second year as Notre Dame's head coach. They play their home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

The 2023 FIU Panthers football team will represent Florida International University (FIU) as a member of Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers will be led by second-year head coach Mike MacIntyre and play home games at the Riccardo Silva Stadium in Westchester, Florida.

The 2023 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team will represent Louisiana Tech University in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulldogs will play their home games at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, Louisiana, and will compete members of Conference USA. They will be led by second-year head coach Sonny Cumbie.

The 2023 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team will represent the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by second-year coach Timmy Chang, the Rainbow Warriors will play their home games at the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex as members of the Mountain West Conference.

The 2023 Ohio Bobcats football team will represent Ohio University as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They will be led by third-year head coach Tim Albin and play their home games at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio.

The 2023 San Jose State Spartans football team will represent San Jose State University in the Mountain West Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Spartans are expected to be led by Brent Brennan in his seventh year as head coach. They play their home games at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, California.

The 2023 USC Trojans football team will represent the University of Southern California as a member of the Pac-12 Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Trojans are expected to be led by Lincoln Riley in his second year as head coach. They play their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.

The 2023 New Mexico State Aggies football team will represent New Mexico State University in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Aggies will play their home games at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and will compete as a first year member of Conference USA. They will be led by second-year head coach Jerry Kill.

The 2023 Jacksonville State Gamescocks football team will represent Jacksonville State University as a member of Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gamecocks will be led by second-year head coach Rich Rodriguez and play home games at the Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama.

Bank of America Stadium is a 74,867-seat football stadium located on 33 acres (13 ha) in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is the home facility and headquarters of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League and Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in 1996 as Ericsson Stadium, with Swedish telecom company LM Ericsson initially holding the naming rights. In 2004, Charlotte-based financial services company Bank of America purchased the naming rights under a 20-25-year agreement at $140 million. Former Panthers president Danny Morrison called it a "classic American stadium" due to its bowl design and other features.

Charlotte is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous city in the U.S., the seventh most populous city in the South, and the second most populous city in the Southeast behind Jacksonville, Florida. The city is the cultural, economic, and transportation center of the Charlotte metropolitan area, whose 2020 population of 2,660,329 ranked 22nd in the U.S. Metrolina is part of a sixteen-county market region or combined statistical area with a 2020 census-estimated population of 2,846,550.

AT&T Stadium is a retractable-roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. It is also the home of the Cotton Bowl Classic and the Big 12 Championship Game. The stadium is one of eleven US venues set to host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The facility, owned by the city of Arlington, can also be used for a variety of other activities, such as concerts, basketball games, soccer, college and high-school football contests, rodeos, motocross, Spartan Races, and professional wrestling. It replaced the partially covered Texas Stadium, which served as the Cowboys' home from 1971 through the 2008 season.

Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. The city had a population of 394,266 in 2020, making it the second-largest city in the county, after Fort Worth, and the third-largest city in the metropolitan area, after Dallas and Fort Worth. Arlington is the 50th-most populous city in the United States, the seventh-most populous city in the state of Texas, and the largest city in the state that is not a county seat.

Ford Field is a domed American football stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It primarily serves as the home of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), as well as the Mid-American Conference championship game and the annual Quick Lane Bowl college football bowl game, state championship football games for the MHSAA, the MHSAA State Wrestling Championships, and the MCBA Marching Band State Finals, among other events. The regular seating capacity is approximately 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for basketball.

Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the United States. The metropolitan area, known as Metro Detroit, is home to 4.3 million people, making it the second-largest in the Midwest after the Chicago metropolitan area, and the 14th-largest in the United States. Regarded as a major cultural center, Detroit is known for its contributions to music, art, architecture and design, in addition to its historical automotive background. Time named Detroit as one of the fifty World's Greatest Places of 2022 to explore.

Allegiant Stadium is a domed stadium located in Paradise, Nevada. It is the home stadium for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL), the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Rebels college football team, the Las Vegas Bowl, and the Vegas Kickoff Classic.

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, although a portion of the city extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 498,715 living within the city limits, it is the eighth most populous city in the Southeast and 38th most populous city in the United States according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the core of the much larger Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to more than 6.1 million people, making it the eighth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Situated among the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains at an elevation of just over 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level, it features unique topography that includes rolling hills, lush greenery, and the most dense urban tree coverage of any major city in the United States.

The 2023 American Athletic Conference football season will be the 32nd NCAA Division I FBS Football season of the American Athletic Conference. The season will be the 11th since the former Big East Conference dissolved and became the American Athletic Conference and the ninth season of the College Football Playoff in place. The American is considered a member of the Group of Five (G5) together with Conference USA, the MAC, Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference. The Conference saw significant realignment prior to the season, with three schools departing the conference and six schools joining. The full schedule for the season was released on February 21, 2023.

The 2023 Big 12 Conference football season will be the 28th season of the Big 12 Conference football taking place during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season.

The 2023 Big Ten conference football season is the 128th season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and part of the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This is the Big Ten's tenth season with 14 teams. Next season the league will expand to 16 with the additions of UCLA and USC.

Bowl eligibility in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level is the standard through which teams become available for selection to participate in postseason bowl games. When a team achieves this state, it is described as "bowl-eligible".

The 2023 American Athletic Conference football season will be the 32nd NCAA Division I FBS Football season of the American Athletic Conference. The season will be the 11th since the former Big East Conference dissolved and became the American Athletic Conference and the ninth season of the College Football Playoff in place. The American is considered a member of the Group of Five (G5) together with Conference USA, the MAC, Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference. The Conference saw significant realignment prior to the season, with three schools departing the conference and six schools joining. The full schedule for the season was released on February 21, 2023.

The 2023 Big Ten conference football season is the 128th season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and part of the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This is the Big Ten's tenth season with 14 teams. Next season the league will expand to 16 with the additions of UCLA and USC.

The 2023 Big 12 Conference football season will be the 28th season of the Big 12 Conference football taking place during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season.

The 2023 Mid-American Conference football season will be the 78th season for the Mid-American Conference (MAC), as part of the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Non-conference play will begin with one game on August 26. Conference play will begin on September 23 and will conclude with the conference championship game on Saturday, December 2 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.

The 2023 Pac-12 Conference football season will be the 45th season of Pac-12 football taking place during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season will begin on August 26, 2023, and will end with the 2023 Pac-12 Championship Game on December 1, 2022, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.

The 2023 Sun Belt Conference football season will be the 23rd season of college football play for the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The season is scheduled to begin on August 31, 2023, and conclude with its conference championship game on December 2, 2023. It is part of the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The conference will consist of 14 member schools split into two divisions. The conference released its full season schedule on February 24, 2023.

The 2023 Jacksonville State Gamescocks football team will represent Jacksonville State University as a member of Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gamecocks will be led by second-year head coach Rich Rodriguez and play home games at the Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama.

The Heisman Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work. It is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust in early December before the postseason bowl games.

The Jon Cornish Trophy, also known as the Cornish Award, is an award given annually to the top Canadian player in NCAA football. The award is named after Canadian Football Hall of Famer (CFHOF) Jon Cornish and has been presented since 2017, with the trophy debuting two years later on display at the CFHOF.

Since 1990 the Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. It is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions from 1950 to 1955. The player is selected by the award's National Selection Committee, which consists of notable sportswriters, television commentators, analysts, radio sports personalities and former All-America and NFL All-Pro football players.

The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was created by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. in 1994. The award is named for Fred Biletnikoff, who played college football at Florida State University and professionally with the Oakland Raiders. Any NCAA Division I FBS player who catches the football through the forward pass is eligible to be selected as the award winner, although every winner thus far has been a wide receiver. A national selection committee consisting of over 630 journalists, commentators, broadcasters, and former players selects the award winner. No member of the board of trustees of the foundation has a vote. The foundation's charitable mission is provision of scholarships to North Florida high school seniors who have overcome significant challenges to achieve at the highest levels, with 300 scholarships having been awarded through 2022 with total benefits of 4.6 million dollars. Founding Trustee and Past Chairman Walter Manley II & Chairman Mark Ryan announced in December, 2022, the goal of 10 million dollars in aggregate to be awarded by 2030.

The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small portion of westernmost Brazil in South America, along with certain Caribbean and Atlantic islands.

ESPN College Football is the branding used for broadcasts of NCAA Division I FBS college football across ESPN properties, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN+, ABC, ESPN Classic, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, ESPNews and ESPN Radio. ESPN College Football debuted in 1982.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Opened in August 2017 as a replacement for the Georgia Dome, it serves as the home stadium of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) and Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). The stadium is owned by the state government of Georgia through the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, and operated by AMB Group, the parent organization of the Falcons and Atlanta United. In June 2016, the total cost of its construction was estimated at US$1.6 billion.

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, although a portion of the city extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 498,715 living within the city limits, it is the eighth most populous city in the Southeast and 38th most populous city in the United States according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the core of the much larger Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to more than 6.1 million people, making it the eighth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Situated among the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains at an elevation of just over 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level, it features unique topography that includes rolling hills, lush greenery, and the most dense urban tree coverage of any major city in the United States.

Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 248,325.

Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the University of Miami's NCAA Division I college football team.

Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is located 16 miles (26 km) north of Downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from I-95 and Northeast 2nd Avenue to its east to Northwest 47th and Northwest 57th Avenues to its west, and from the Broward County line to its north to 151st Street to its south. The city's name originated from Florida State Road 860, a major roadway through the area also known as Miami Gardens Drive.

AT&T Stadium is a retractable-roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. It is also the home of the Cotton Bowl Classic and the Big 12 Championship Game. The stadium is one of eleven US venues set to host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The facility, owned by the city of Arlington, can also be used for a variety of other activities, such as concerts, basketball games, soccer, college and high-school football contests, rodeos, motocross, Spartan Races, and professional wrestling. It replaced the partially covered Texas Stadium, which served as the Cowboys' home from 1971 through the 2008 season.

Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. The city had a population of 394,266 in 2020, making it the second-largest city in the county, after Fort Worth, and the third-largest city in the metropolitan area, after Dallas and Fort Worth. Arlington is the 50th-most populous city in the United States, the seventh-most populous city in the state of Texas, and the largest city in the state that is not a county seat.

The Caesars Superdome, commonly known simply as the Superdome, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL).

NRG Stadium, formerly Reliant Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to have a retractable roof.

Houston is the most populous city in Texas and in the Southern United States. It is the fourth most populous city in the United States after New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, and the sixth most populous city in North America. With a population of 2,304,580 in 2020, Houston is located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat and largest city of Harris County and the principal city of the Greater Houston metropolitan area, which is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the second-most populous in Texas after Dallas–Fort Worth. Houston is the southeast anchor of the greater megaregion known as the Texas Triangle.