NCAA Division I-A independent schools
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NCAA Division I-A independent schools are four-year institutions whose football programs are not part of an NCAA-affiliated conference. This means that I-A independents do not schedule each other for competition like conference schools do. There are considerably fewer independent schools than in years past; many independent schools later join (or attempt to join) established conferences, usually in order to gain a share of television revenue and access to bowl games that agree to take teams from certain conferences.
[edit] NCAA Division I-A independent schools for 2006
- United States Military Academy (Army) (left Conference USA after the 2004 season; member of Patriot League for all other sports sponsored by that league)
- United States Naval Academy (Navy) (member of Patriot League for all other sports sponsored by that league)
- University of Notre Dame (member of Big East Conference for all other sports but football sponsored by that league)
- Temple University (left Big East Conference after the 2004 season. Joining Mid-American Conference as a football member in 2007; member of Atlantic Ten Conference for all other sports sponsored by that league)
Of these schools, only Notre Dame is a Bowl Championship Series school, which can be chosen for an at-large bid to a BCS Bowl game. It can also take one of the Big East's bowl spots depending on how its record compares to teams in that conference.
[edit] Independents' Stadiums
| School | Football Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Army | Michie Stadium | 39,929 |
| Navy | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | 34,000 |
| Notre Dame | Notre Dame Stadium | 80,795 |
| Temple | Lincoln Financial Field | 66,000 |
[edit] See also
- NCAA Division I-AA independent schools
- NCAA Division I independents (women's hockey)
- NCAA Division II independent schools
- NCAA Division III independent schools
- NAIA independent schools
| NCAA Division I Bowl Subdivision Football Conferences: |
| Atlantic Coast Conference* – Big 12 Conference* – Big East Conference* – Big Ten Conference* – Conference USA – Mid-American Conference – Mountain West Conference – Pacific Ten Conference* – Southeastern Conference* – Sun Belt Conference – Western Athletic Conference – Independents |
| * – BCS Conference |
