Delaware and Missouri State bring FBS to 136 teams in 2025.

The August 28 season opener in Newark between Delaware and Delaware State will be far more than the 12^th meeting between schools that are 45 miles apart. The Hornets will be playing their first game under DeSean Jackson, who as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles electrified fans up I-95 at Lincoln Financial Field the first six years of an NFL career in which he piled up 13,000 all-purpose yards. It will also be a landmark evening for the Blue Hens and their fans as UD kicks off the season as a member of the FBS.

About 960 miles west, the Missouri State faithful will have to wait until September 13 before they get to see their Bears at home for the first time as an FBS member. MSU opens its inaugural season in college football’s highest level at USC on August 30, followed by a trip to Marshall the following week. Nonetheless, the game against SMU at Plaster Stadium is sure to have the campus buzzing big time. (By the way, what a schedule to open with!)

The addition of Delaware and Missouri State, both of which have been playing football for well over a century, increases FBS membership to 136 teams. Both joined Conference USA, which has added five schools from the FCS the past three years.

The Blue Hens have been playing football since 1889. College Football Hall of Famer, Tubby Raymond, had a sensational run as coach for 36 seasons (1966-2001), winning 301 games and three national titles as the program made its way up the ladder and played at the I-AA/FCS level for 35 seasons beginning in 1980.

A program that has won 739 games and produced such talent as quarterbacks Scott Brunner, Rich Gannon and Joe Flacco captured its most recent national title in 2003 under K.C. Keeler, who succeeded Raymond and won 86 games in 11 seasons. Keeler is now the head man at Temple after nine seasons at Sam Houston State.

A member of that 2003 national title team, Ryan Carty, took over at UD in 2022 and is 26-11. Among road games for Carty’s Blue Hens is a trip to Colorado on September 6 and a date at Wake Forest on November 22.

Missouri State, which took to the gridiron in 1909, made four FCS playoff appearances, including 2021 under Bobby Petrino when the Bears last won the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears won eight games that championship season and won eight games last year. The two eight-win showings are as good as it has been in Springfield since 1990 when MSU won nine games under Jesse Branch.

Ryan Beard enters his third season at the helm with a 12-11 mark. He transitioned into the head job after three years as the defensive coordinator under Petrino, his father-in-law. Beard, who was 34 when he took over the program, was also an assistant on Petrino’s staff for two seasons (2017-18) at Louisville. Petrino’s son, Nick, is the Bears’ offensive coordinator.

While there is much excitement building at Delaware and Missouri State, as there should be, here is a look at how programs elevating to the FBS the past decade have fared.

2024 Kennesaw State

It was a bizarre initial FBS season for the Owls, and not because they were 0-6 and outscored 194-78 before shocking 5-0 Liberty. Rather, coach Brian Bohanon, a former Georgia receiver, Georgia Tech assistant and only coach Kennesaw State had known since the program’s launch in 2015 as a member of the FCS – four playoff appearances — and Big South Conference, was dismissed with three games remaining in a 2-10 campaign. There was much confusion concerning Bohanon’s departure. Jerry Mack, who won three MEAC titles in four seasons at North Carolina Central, takes over. Bohanon returned to Georgia Tech as an offensive assistant under Brent Key.

2023 Jacksonville State

As noted above, Conference USA has been a nice fit for teams transitioning to the FBS in recent years and the Gamecocks have been no exception. Rich Rodriguez spent three years at Jacksonville State and led the program’s transition before going 18-9 with a pair of bowls and a conference title (2024) in JSU’s first two years at the highest level. He returned to West Virginia in December to commence a second stint at the helm of the Mountaineers. The Gamecocks were an FCS power, winning the Atlantic Sun in 2022 and nine Ohio Valley Conference titles in an 18-year period, including five straight from 2014 to 2018.

2023 Sam Houston State

The Bearkats arrived in the FBS/CUSA the same year as Jacksonville State. Though they went only 3-9 in in 2023, they were very competitive as losses to BYU (14-0) and Air Force (13-3), plus four one-score setbacks in conference play would attest. Things changed last season as the conference’s best defense (20.5 points, 16 INTs) paved the way for a 10-3 season, including a bowl win. K.C. Keeler, who took over in 2014 and led the Bearkats to three FCS semifinal appearances and a national title during the pandemic-delayed 2020 season that was played in spring 2021, left prior to the bowl to take over at Temple. Phil Longo, who played under Keeler at Rowan (NJ) University and was the latter’s OC during an initial stint (2014-16) at Sam Houston, takes over on the sideline.

2022 James Madison

The Dukes are 28-9 in three years of FBS affiliation, including 9-4 last season, Bob Chesney’s first as coach in Harrisonburg. Things slipped a bit last year, at least by the lofty standards of the former FCS powerhouse. JMU went 4-4 in Sun Belt play after compiling a 13-3 mark the first two seasons. Since the Dukes were on a two-year probation as a program transitioning to the FBS, they were ineligible for postseason play in 2022 and 2023 under Curt Cignetti, which meant no conference championship game appearances. However, in 2023, when they were as high as No. 18 in the AP poll, the Dukes were invited to a bowl (loss to Air Force in Armed Forces Bowl) because there were not enough teams to fill all slots.

2018 Liberty

The Flames’ worst season as an FBS team was their first, not that breaking even (6-6) as an independent in 2018 was anything to be ashamed of. They have since reeled off six straight seasons of at least eight wins and were 13-0 in 2023 when they ascended to No. 18 before losing to Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl. That was their first year as a member of Conference USA, which was also Jamey Chadwell’s debut on the Liberty sideline. The Flames, who were coached by Hugh Freeze for four seasons before he left to coach at Auburn, are 61-27 as an FBS program.

2017 Coastal Carolina

After Joe Moglia’s tenure that included Big South co-championships in the program’s final three seasons in the FCS, Jamey Chadwell took over on an interim basis for the FBS transition season while Moglia was on medical leave. The ride was bumpy at first, though not without progress. That progress delivered big time results as the Chanticleers went 31-7 over Chadwell’s final three seasons (2020-22) in Conway before moving on to Liberty. Tim Beck took over the Chants in 2023 and is 14-12 in two seasons, including 6-7 a year ago.

2015 Charlotte

The 49ers took to the gridiron for the first time in 2013 and spent two seasons at the FCS level before moving up to the FBS where life has been very difficult. A 7-6 showing in 2019 is as good as it has been in Charlotte, which is otherwise 30-72 since joining the FBS. Things looked up at times in 2024. At 3-3 midway through Biff Poggi’s final season at the helm, the 49ers at least had a decent chance in a weak American to become bowl eligible. Alas, they lost four straight in largely non-competitive fashion, which cost Poggi his job. Assistant Tim Brewster took over on an interim basis and the 49ers won their final two games to finish 5-7. Tim Albin, who took over for Frank Solich at Ohio and led the Bobcats to a 31-10 mark, including three bowl wins the past three seasons and the program’s first MAC title since 1968, is now running the show.