2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season

The 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The FCS Championship Game was played on January 6, 2018, in Frisco, Texas. The North Dakota State Bison beat the James Madison Dukes, 17–13, to capture their sixth title in seven years.

Notable changes
On April 14, the NCAA Division I Council approved a suite of rule changes affecting the recruiting process. The changes most significant to FCS football were to take effect with the 2017–18 school year. A national early signing period for high school players was to be introduced for FBS and FCS, at a time in December to be announced later, and FCS programs would no longer have any restriction on the number of new players that may be signed to letters of intent or financial aid agreements. Previously, FCS teams were limited to signing 30 new players per year.

FCS team wins over FBS teams
(FCS rankings from the STATS poll)

August 31: Tennessee State 17, Georgia State 10 September 2: Howard 43, UNLV 40 September 2: No. 1 James Madison 34, East Carolina 14 September 2: Liberty 48, Baylor 45 September 9: No. 12 New Hampshire 22, Georgia Southern 12 September 9: South Dakota 35, Bowling Green 27 September 16: Idaho State 30, Nevada 28 September 16: No. 25 North Carolina A&T 35, Charlotte 31 September 23: No. 19 Western Illinois 52, Coastal Carolina 10

Conference changes and new programs
For the first time since 2012 (and just the second time ever), there were no independent programs in FCS during the 2017 season.

Other conference winners
Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.

Abstentions

 * Ivy League – Yale
 * Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina A&T
 * Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State

NCAA Division I playoff bracket
* Home team Winner All times in Eastern Standard Time (UTC−05:00)

Kickoff games

 * Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff (aka Montgomery Kickoff Classic)
 * Jacksonville State defeated Chattanooga 27–13 at the Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama) on August 26.
 * Other Week Zero games:
 * FBS opponent BYU defeated Portland State 20–6 at home on August 26.
 * Colgate traveled to Cal Poly August 26, coming away as 20–14 winners.
 * Florida A&M hosted Texas Southern on August 26, winning 29–7.

Walter Payton Award

 * The Walter Payton Award is given to the year's most outstanding offensive player. Finalists:
 * Jeremiah Briscoe (QB), Sam Houston State
 * Keelan Doss (WR), UC Davis
 * Chris Streveler (QB), South Dakota

Buck Buchanan Award

 * The Buck Buchanan Award is given to the year's most outstanding defensive player. Finalists:
 * Andrew Ankrah (DE), James Madison
 * Darius Jackson (DE), Jacksonville State
 * Brett Taylor (LB), Western Illinois

Jerry Rice Award

 * The Jerry Rice Award is given to the year's most outstanding freshman.
 * Winner: Bryson Armstrong (LB), Kennesaw State

Coaches

 * AFCA Coach of the Year: Brian Bohannon, Kennesaw State
 * Eddie Robinson Award: Will Healy, Austin Peay

New stadiums

 * East Tennessee State defeated Division II Limestone 31–10 in the opener for William B. Greene Jr. Stadium on September 2. The team had played its first two seasons since reinstating football at local high school venue Kermit Tipton Stadium.
 * Abilene Christian opened Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium on September 16 with a 24–3 win over Houston Baptist, following 57 seasons at Shotwell Stadium.

In-season
This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2017. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2017, see 2016 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.