The world of college football is ever changing and that will be no different in the 2025 season. With the transfer portal, new ideas for playoff format, conference realignment, and much more it makes for a very exciting time, but can be hard to keep up with. UMass is the only program that is heading to a new conference as the former Independent will join the MAC, which was the last conference intact in terms of realignment.
The FBS will be getting some new blood though in 2025 as two former FCS programs will play their first season in the top division of college football. Despite this transition requiring a two year post season ban, many teams who have made the jump in recent years have had great success on the field. Coastal Carolina moved up in 2017 and Liberty in 2018 and both have quickly become premier Group of 5 programs. James Madison and Jacksonville State made the jump within the past three years and have a combined record of 46-18 as FBS members.
Let’s now meet the two new teams that will be joining the FBS in 2025.
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
- Head Coach: Ryan Carty
- Record Last 10 Seasons: 62-52
- Accolades: 1 FCS National Title (2003), 5 Division II National Championships
- Notable Alumni: Joe Flacco, Rich Gannon, Matt Nagy
The Blue Hens will be the first FBS team from the state of Delaware as they will be joining Conference USA in 2025. Due to the transition they were ineligible for the postseason last year, but prior to that they made the FCS playoffs in four of the last six seasons.
This program was built up by Tubby Raymond who served as head coach for 35 years and had a .711 win percentage. After Tubby came K.C. Keeler who is currently the head coach at Temple.
They are now led by Ryan Carty who was a quarterback at Delaware from 2002-2006. Carty is entering his fifth season as the head man and has accumulated a record of 26-11 thus far. He began his coaching career in 2008, but this will be his first season in a job above the FCS level. They play in Delaware Stadium which can hold over 20,000 fans and have consistently been near the top of average attendance in FCS.
Since 2008, Delaware is 1-11 vs FBS opponents with the lone win coming against Navy in 2022. On top of their CUSA schedule the Blue Hens will play Delaware State, UConn, Wake Forest, and will travel out to Colorado for their first ever FBS vs FBS contest in a game against Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes.
Missouri State Bears
- Head Coach: Ryan Beard
- Record Last 10 Seasons: 47-76
- Accolades: 10 Conference Championships, 4 FCS Playoff Appearances
- Notable Alumni: Clay Harbor, Jason Whittle, Ryan Howard (baseball)
Missouri State football will also be joining Conference USA in 2025 moving the league to 12 teams. The Bears program has certainly not been the cream of the crop at the FCS level as of late with just two winning seasons in the last ten years. They have played in the daunting Missouri Valley Football Conference though which features FCS powers North Dakota State, South Dakota State, and Youngstown State.
The Bears are coming off a solid 8-4 season in head coach Ryan Beard’s third year at the helm. Beard will be one of the youngest head coaches in FBS at 37 years old. He previously served as the DC at Missouri State and had brief stints at the FBS level with Louisville, Western Kentucky, and Central Michigan.
In the program's history they are likely most known for hiring Bobby Petrino as head coach in 2020. Petrino held the position for three seasons before leaving, but his son Nick Petrino stayed and is currently the offensive coordinator.
Since 1998 the Bears have played at least one FBS opponent each season. They did not win a single one of those games with a record of 0-31 and an average margin of defeat of 32.9 points. Outside of CUSA play, their 2025 slate includes non conference games against USC, Marshall, SMU, and UT-Martin.