Four CAA Football Teams Receive Berths In NCAA FCS Playoffs

Four CAA Football Teams Receive Berths In NCAA FCS Playoffs

11/19/2023 1:12:39 PM

Rob Washburn

NCAA FCS Playoff Bracket

RICHMOND, Va. (November 19, 2023) – Four CAA Football teams were chosen to the 24-team field for the 2023 NCAA FCS playoffs on Sunday afternoon.

CAA tri-champions UAlbany, Richmond and Villanova were joined by Delaware. It is the eighth time that CAA Football has had four teams selected to the field and first since 2017.

UAlbany (9-3, 7-1 CAA) earned the No. 5 national seed and received a first-round bye. The Great Danes will host the winner of the North Carolina Central/Richmond first-round matchup at Noon on Dec. 2. UAlbany received an FCS playoff berth for the third time in its history and first since 2019, when the Great Danes reached the second round.

Villanova (9-2, 7-1 CAA) was awarded the No. 8 national seed and gained a first-round bye. The Wildcats will entertain the winner of the Duquesne/Youngstown State first-round matchup at Noon on Dec. 2. Villanova made the FCS playoffs for the third time in five years, having advanced to the quarterfinals in 2021. The Wildcats have 15 playoff appearances in their history, which includes the 2009 national championship.

Richmond (8-3, 7-1 CAA) will host North Carolina Central (9-2, 4-1 MEAC) in a first-round clash at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Spiders are in the FCS playoff field for the second year in a row, having advanced to the second round in 2022. It’s the 13^th all-time playoff appearance for the Spiders, who captured the national championship in 2008.

Delaware (8-3, 6-2 CAA) will welcome Patriot League champion Lafayette (9-2, 5-1 Patriot) at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Blue Hens earned an FCS playoff berth for the third time in the past four seasons and the 19^th time overall. Delaware, which reached the second round in 2022, claimed the national championship in 2003.

All first and second-round games will air on ESPN+. CAA Football’s four teams in the field were tied with the Big Sky for the second-most of any FCS conference, trailing only the Missouri Valley with six.

CAA Football has now had multiple teams selected to the FCS playoff field for the 33^rd consecutive year, and it’s the 13^th time that at least four teams were chosen. The conference has had at least one team advance to the semifinals of the playoffs in nine of the past 10 years and has had a team in the national championship game 11 times since 2003.