The Ivy League will participate in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs beginning with the 2025 season, ending an 80-year ban on its teams participating in postseason play. The conference had requested an auto-bid into the 24-team bracket after a nearly unanimous vote by its presidents.
The decision comes after a proposal by the Ivy League Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), which was led by Mason Shipp, a senior football student-athlete at Yale. The committee’s push for inclusion in the playoffs has been ongoing since November.
Under the new format, 11 conferences will be awarded auto-bids and 13 teams will receive at-large bids, increasing the total number of playoff spots from 10 to 24. While some argue that Ivy League teams may not have a significant impact on the national title picture, the inclusion of storied programs like Harvard and Yale could add depth and intrigue to the FCS postseason.
This marks a new chapter for the Ivy League in college football, with changes to its regular-season scheduling format still to be determined. The conference is set to begin playing a traditional 10-game season next fall, with a revised schedule format expected to be announced soon.
Source: https://herosports.com/ivy-league-participate-fcs-playoffs-2025-bzbz