With the wealth of games on most every Saturday in the fall, many fans wonder just how many D1 college football teams there are. This isn’t the simplest question, but here’s what you need to know.
The quick answer is there are 136 D1 FBS teams, but this doesn’t capture all of “D1”. This FBS “subdivision” of D1 is the topmost tier which competes for bowls and a spot in the College Football Playoff. There is a lower division called “FCS” that plays their own championship tournament. You can find out more about that here!
The next stipulation is that while there are currently 136 FBS teams, this is constantly changing with conference realignment and independent teams dropping down. In fact, 5 additional teams recently joined FBS – Sam Houston State and Jacksonville State in 2023, Kennesaw State in 2024 and Delaware and Missouri State in 2025. Transitioning teams play FBS teams as they transition but are not fully fledged members of D1 FBS until the transition process is concluded.
If you include FCS in your total, the number of D1 teams actually jumps up to 265 (as there are 129 FCS teams) – but note, some of these FCS teams are already eyeing an FBS transition themselves.
While this all makes the number of D1 teams ever-changing and a bit confusing, that’s half the fun of CFB! Check out our list of FCS teams we think can make the transition to FBS soon.
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