(Editor's note: NCAA news release)
INDIANAPOLIS — The city of Nashville, Tennessee, and the Ohio Valley Conference were awarded the 2026 and 2027 Division I Football Championship games.
The games, which will be co-hosted by the Ohio Valley Conference and the Nashville Sports Council, will be played at FirstBank Stadium on the campus of Vanderbilt.
Nashville becomes the 11th city to host the Football Championship Subdivision championship game since 1978. It will be the first time the game has been played in Tennessee since Chattanooga hosted from 1997 to 2009.
"On behalf of the committee, we are very excited to bring FCS football to Nashville," said Matt Larsen, athletics director at North Dakota State and chair of the Division I Football Championship Committee. "We considered a number of finalists, but Nashville set themselves apart. The opportunity to continue to grow the game and our brand in a setting like this is something we know the FCS community as a whole will be excited about."
Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, the host of the game since 2010, originally had been slated to host through 2027.
Due to a recently announced multiyear renovation project to begin after this year's contest, it became necessary to look at other sites. The location of the game beyond 2027 will be determined in a future bid cycle.
"The city of Frisco and Toyota Stadium are incredible partners and have helped grow our championship to an exceptional level the past 15 years," said Ty Halpin, NCAA director of championships. "Frisco holds a special place in the history of the championship and in the hearts of our institutions and fans. The committee looks forward to seeing the renovations to the stadium in Frisco."
The 2025 FCS championship game will be played at 7 p.m. Eastern time Monday, Jan. 6, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco. It will air on ESPN.
