2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season
The 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level. The season began on September 1, 2011, and concluded with the 2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game on January 7, 2012, at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State won their first FCS championship, defeating Sam Houston State by a final score of 17–6.
Conference changes and new programs
| School | 2010 conference | 2011 conference |
| Lamar | FCS Independent | Southland |
| Old Dominion | [NCAA NCAA Division I|Division I FCS independent schools|FCS Independent] | CAA |
| Savannah State | FCS Independent | MEAC |
| South Alabama | New program+ | FCS Independent |
| UTSA | New program | FCS Independent |
| Texas State | Southland | FCS Independent |
+ "unclassified" for 2009 and 2010
FCS team wins over FBS teams
September 3: Richmond 23, Duke 21September 3: Sacramento State 29, Oregon State 28OT
September 17: Indiana State 44, Western Kentucky 16
September 24: North Dakota State 37, Minnesota 24
September 24: Sam Houston State 48, New Mexico 45 OT
September 24: Southern Utah 41, UNLV 16
Conference summaries
Other conference winners
Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.| Conference | Champion | Record | Offensive Player of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year | Coach of the Year |
| Big Sky | Montana State | 9–2 | Bo Levi Mitchell | Caleb McSurdy | Robin Pflugrad |
| Big South | Stony Brook | 8–3 | Miguel Maysonet | Justin Bethel | Chuck Priore |
| CAA | Towson | 9–2 | Kevin Decker | Ronnie Cameron | Rob Ambrose |
| Great West | North Dakota Cal Poly | 8–3 6–5 | Brad Sorensen | Tyler Osborne | Chris Mussman |
| Ivy | Harvard | 9–1 | Jeff Mathews | Josue Ortiz | |
| MEAC | Norfolk State | 9–2 | Mike Mayhew Chris Walley | Ryan Davis | Pete Adrian |
| MVFC | North Dakota State Northern Iowa | 10–1 9–2 | Shakir Bell | L. J. Fort | Craig Bohl |
| NEC | Duquesne Albany | 9–2 8–3 | Jordan Brown | Serge Kona | Bob Ford |
| OVC | Tennessee Tech Eastern Kentucky Jacksonville State | 7–3 7–4 7–4 | Tim Benford | Rico Council | Watson Brown |
| Patriot | Lehigh | 10–1 | Chris Lum | Andrew Schaetzke | Kevin Kelly |
| Pioneer | San Diego Drake | 9–2 | Mike Piatkowski | Blake Oliaro | Ron Caragher |
| Southern | Georgia Southern | 9–2 | Eric Breitenstein | Brent Russell | Jeff Monken |
| Southland | Sam Houston State | 11–0 | Richard Sincere | Darnell Taylor | Willie Fritz |
Playoff qualifiers
Automatic berths for conference champions
- Big Sky Conference – Montana
- Big South Conference – Stony Brook
- Colonial Athletic Association – Towson
- Missouri Valley Football Conference – North Dakota State
- Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Norfolk State
- Northeast Conference – Albany
- Ohio Valley Conference – Tennessee Tech
- Patriot League – Lehigh
- Southern Conference – Georgia Southern
- Southland Conference – Sam Houston State
At large qualifiers
- Big Sky Conference – Montana State
- Colonial Athletic Association – James Madison, Maine, New Hampshire, Old Dominion
- Missouri Valley Football Conference – Northern Iowa
- Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky
- Southern Conference – Appalachian State, Wofford
- Southland Conference – Central Arkansas
Abstains
Postseason
NCAA Division I playoff bracket
SWAC Championship Game
| Date | Location | Venue | West Div. Champion | East Div. Champion | Result |
| December 10 | Birmingham, Alabama | Legion Field | Grambling State | Alabama A&M | GSU 16 – AAMU 15 |
Conference summaries
Other conference winners
Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.| Conference | Champion | Record | Offensive Player of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year | Coach of the Year |
| Big Sky | Montana State | 9–2 | Bo Levi Mitchell | Caleb McSurdy | Robin Pflugrad |
| Big South | Stony Brook | 8–3 | Miguel Maysonet | Justin Bethel | Chuck Priore |
| CAA | Towson | 9–2 | Kevin Decker | Ronnie Cameron | Rob Ambrose |
| Great West | North Dakota Cal Poly | 8–3 6–5 | Brad Sorensen | Tyler Osborne | Chris Mussman |
| Ivy | Harvard | 7–0 | Jeff Mathews | Josue Ortiz | |
| MEAC | Norfolk State | 9–2 | Mike Mayhew Chris Walley | Ryan Davis | Pete Adrian |
| MVFC | North Dakota State Northern Iowa | 10–1 9–2 | Shakir Bell | L. J. Fort | Craig Bohl |
| NEC | Duquesne Albany | 9–2 8–3 | Jordan Brown | Serge Kona | Bob Ford |
| OVC | Tennessee Tech Eastern Kentucky Jacksonville State | 7–3 7–4 7–4 | Tim Benford | Rico Council | Watson Brown |
| Patriot | Lehigh | 10–1 | Chris Lum | Andrew Schaetzke | Kevin Kelly |
| Pioneer | San Diego Drake | 9–2 | Mike Piatkowski | Blake Oliaro | Ron Caragher |
| Southern | Georgia Southern | 9–2 | Eric Breitenstein | Brent Russell | Jeff Monken |
| Southland | Sam Houston State | 11–0 | Richard Sincere | Darnell Taylor | Willie Fritz |