NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in the context of "NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision"

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⭐ Core Definition: NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision

The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the FCS level comprises 129 teams in 13 conferences as of the 2024 season. The FCS designation is relevant only for football; members of the subdivision compete in NCAA Division I in all other sports.

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NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in the context of Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps over 500,000 college student athletes who compete annually in college sports. The headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Until the 1956–57 academic year, the NCAA was a single division for all schools. That year, the NCAA split into the University Division and the College Division. In August 1973, the current three-division system of Division I, Division II, and Division III was adopted by the NCAA membership in a special convention. Under NCAA rules, Division I and Division II schools can offer athletic scholarships to students. Division III schools may not offer any athletic scholarships. Generally, larger schools compete in Division I and smaller schools in II and III. Division I football was further divided into I-A and I-AA in 1978, while Division I programs that did not have football teams were known as I-AAA. In 2006, Divisions I-A and I-AA were, respectively, renamed the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). In its 2022–23 fiscal year, the NCAA generated $1.28 billion in revenue, $945 million (74%) of which came from airing rights to the Division I men's basketball tournament.

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NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in the context of Touchdown

A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the football into the opponent's end zone. More specifically, a touchdown is when a player is in possession of the ball, any part of the ball is in the end zone they are attacking, and the player is not down.

Because of the speed at which football happens, it is often hard for an official to make the correct call based on their vantage point alone. Most professional football leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL), as well as some college leagues, such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), allow certain types of plays to be reviewed. Among these plays are touchdowns, as well as all other scoring plays, dangerous or unsportsmanlike conduct by players or staff, out-of-bounds calls, the place on the field where the official spots the ball after a play, and turnovers. Coaches can also challenge calls, provided they are made during a play eligible to be reviewed; the only exception is during periods of the game where coaches' challenges are restricted, such as the last two minutes of each half. The NFL and CFL review all scoring plays and turnovers regardless of whether the call was questionable, and therefore do not allow coaches to challenge those plays, either. The NCAA allows Division I FBS teams to review plays throughout the regular season and postseason, while Division I FCS teams can only use it during the playoffs, Division II teams only during the quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship game, and Division III teams only during the semifinals and championship game.

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