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68-574: The 2018 season was the last played with the name Liga Profesional de Baloncesto: in 2019 a new competition called Copa LPB was played. In late 2019 the president of the Venezuelan Basketball Federation Hanthony Coello announced the creation of a new league called SuperLiga Profesional de Baloncesto. In 1974 the league was founded as Liga Especial de Baloncesto (Special Basketball League). The initiative came from Leonardo Rodríguez, who had come back from

136-459: A "counter" as "an individual who is receiving institutional financial aid that is countable against the aid limitations in a sport." The number of scholarships that Division I members may award in each sport is listed below. In this table, scholarship numbers for head-count sports are indicated without a decimal point ; for equivalency sports, they are listed with a decimal point, with a trailing zero if required. The NCAA also has rules specifying

204-685: A conference and show the NCAA it has the financial ability to support a D-I program. Division I athletic programs generated $ 8.7 billion in revenue in the 2009–10 academic year. Men's teams provided 55%, women's teams 15%, and 30% was not categorized by sex or sport. Football and men's basketball are usually a university's only profitable sports, and are called "revenue sports". From 2008 to 2012, 205 varsity teams were dropped in NCAA Division I – 72 for women and 133 for men, with men's tennis, gymnastics and wrestling hit particularly hard. In

272-756: A decimal point. Numbers for equivalency sports are indicated with a decimal point, with a trailing zero if needed. Notes: The following table lists the men's individual D-I sports with at least 1,000 participating athletes. Sports are ranked by number of athletes. D-I college wrestling has lost almost half of its programs since 1982. The following table lists the women's individual D-I sports with at least 1,000 participating athletes. Sports are ranked by number of athletes. NCAA Division I schools have broadcasting contracts that showcase their more popular sports — typically football and men's basketball — on network television and in basic cable channels. These contracts can be quite lucrative, particularly for D-I schools from

340-422: A later vote of the league's school presidents and athletic directors and has since increased to 45. The Patriot League only began awarding football scholarships in the 2013 season, with the first scholarships awarded only to incoming freshmen. Before the conference began its transition to scholarship football, athletes receiving scholarships in other sports were ineligible to play football for member schools. Since

408-635: A near-complete membership turnover that saw the conference stripped of all but two of its football-sponsoring members. The two remaining football-sponsoring schools, Idaho and New Mexico State , played the 2013 season as FBS independents before becoming football-only members of the Sun Belt Conference in 2014. Both left Sun Belt football in 2018, with Idaho downgrading to FCS status and adding football to its all-sports Big Sky Conference membership and New Mexico State becoming an FBS independent. The WAC added two more football-sponsoring schools with

476-526: A row (1987, 1988 and 1989). Trotamundos had several players from the Venezuela national team such as Rostyn González , Luis Jiménez , Iván Olivares and Alexander Nelcha , and import players such as Al Smith, Sam Shepherd and Leroy Combs . The 1987 season saw the debut of Víctor David Díaz , who played for Panteras de Miranda and went on to become the all-time league leader in games played, minutes played and points scored. In 1990 Bravos de Portuguesa won

544-410: A specific bowl game bid for which the conference has a tie-in. Some conferences have numbers in their names but this often has no relation to the number of member institutions in the conference. The Big Ten Conference did not formally adopt the "Big Ten" name until 1987, but unofficially used that name when it had 10 members from 1917 to 1946, and again from 1949 forward. However, it has continued to use

612-830: A substantial number of players in Championship Subdivision programs are on full scholarships. A former difference was that FCS schools had a limit of 30 players that could be provided with financial aid in a given season, while FBS schools were limited to 25 such additions per season. These limits were suspended in 2020 before being completely eliminated for both subdivisions in 2023. Finally, FCS schools are limited to 95 individuals participating in preseason practices, as opposed to 105 at FBS schools (the three service academies that play FBS football are exempt from preseason practice player limits by NCAA rule). A few Championship Subdivision conferences are composed of schools that offer no athletic scholarships at all, most notably

680-573: A title game, the NCAA Division I Football Championship . As of the 2018 season, the tournament begins with 24 teams; 10 conference champions that received automatic bids, and 14 teams selected at-large by a selection committee. The postseason tournament traditionally begins on Thanksgiving weekend in late November. When I-AA was formed 46 years ago in 1978, the playoffs included just four teams for its first three seasons, doubling to eight teams for one season in 1981. From 1982 to 1985, there

748-469: Is a governing body for basketball in Venezuela . It directs and oversees all of the basketball national teams of Venezuela, including both the junior and senior national teams of both men and women. The Venezuelan Basketball Federation was founded in 1935, and joined FIBA in 1938. NCAA Division I NCAA Division I ( D-I ) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by

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816-525: Is considered an FBS member for scheduling purposes. The newest full FBS members are Jacksonville State , James Madison , and Sam Houston , which completed the transition from FCS prior to the 2024 season . The next school to become a full FBS member is Kennesaw State , which joined Conference USA (CUSA) in 2024 and will become a full FBS member a year later. Delaware and Missouri State are set to join CUSA in 2025 and become full FBS members in 2026. Since

884-685: Is the Atlantic Coast Conference . For the first 60 years after its 1953 founding, the ACC consisted entirely of schools in Atlantic Coast states. However, in 2013 , the conference added three new schools, two of which ( Pittsburgh and, for non-football sports, Indiana-based Notre Dame ) were in states without an Atlantic shoreline. The following year saw the ACC add another non-Atlantic school in Louisville . Then, in 2023 ,

952-407: The 2016 season , all FBS conferences have been allowed to conduct a championship game that does not count against the limit of 12 regular-season contests. Under the current rules, most recently changed in advance of the 2022 season, conferences have complete freedom to determine the participants in their championship games. From 2016 to 2021, FBS rules allowed such a game to be held either (1) between

1020-457: The 2022 season , with all participating in one of 14 conferences. The "I-AA" designation was dropped by the NCAA in 2006, although it is still informally and commonly used. FCS teams are limited to 63 players on scholarship (compared to 85 for FBS teams) and usually play an 11-game schedule (compared to 12 games for FBS teams). The FCS determines its national champion through an NCAA-sanctioned single-elimination bracket tournament , culminating in

1088-680: The Football Bowl Subdivision (130 schools in 2017), between 50 and 60 percent of football and men's basketball programs generated positive revenues (above program expenses). However, in the Football Championship Subdivision (124 schools in 2017), only four percent of football and five percent of men's basketball programs generated positive revenues. In 2012, 2% of athletic budgets were spent on equipment, uniforms and supplies for male athletes at NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision school, with

1156-592: The Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), and those institutions that do not have any football program. FBS teams have more players receiving athletic scholarships than FCS teams and formerly (until 2024) had minimum game-attendance requirements. The FBS is named for its series of postseason bowl games , with various polls ranking teams after the conclusion of these games, while

1224-641: The Ivy League and the Pioneer Football League (PFL), a football-only conference. The Ivy League allows no athletic scholarships at all, while the PFL consists of schools that offer scholarships in other sports but choose not to take on the expense of a scholarship football program. The Northeast Conference also sponsored non-scholarship football, but began offering a maximum of 30 full scholarship equivalents in 2006, which grew to 40 in 2011 after

1292-574: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States , which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic powers, with large budgets, more elaborate facilities and more athletic scholarships than Division II and Division III as well as many smaller schools committed to the highest level of intercollegiate competition. This level was previously called

1360-604: The United States in September 1973 and had proposed the creation of a league to Arturo Redondo, the then-president of the Venezuelan Basketball Federation . Before the foundation of this league, which involved teams from all over the country, basketball was practiced at state level. The first edition of the league included four teams: Ahorristas de Caracas, Beverly Hills (also from Caracas), Colosos de Carabobo and Toyotas de Aragua. The first league

1428-506: The Venezuela national team , which participated as a preparation for the 1983 Pan American Games . In the 1983 Liga Especial Panteras won the title, ending the winning streak of Guaiqueríes. In 1984 and 1985 Gaiteros del Zulia won two consecutive titles, led by American forward Michael Britt , a second round selection in the 1983 NBA draft who was named the 1985 MVP. Between 1986 and 1989 Trotamundos de Carabobo won four consecutive titles, with Alfonso "Al" Smith winning three MVP awards in

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1496-426: The access bowls . FBS schools are limited to a total of 85 football players receiving financial assistance. For competitive reasons, a student receiving partial scholarship counts fully against the total of 85. Nearly all FBS schools that are not on NCAA probation give 85 full scholarships. As of the current 2024 college football season, there are 133 full members of Division I FBS, plus one transitional school that

1564-400: The 2006 season, it was possible for the number of Bowl Subdivision schools to drop in the future if those schools were not able to pull in enough fans into the games. Additionally, 14 FCS schools had enough attendance to be moved up in 2012. Under current NCAA rules, these schools must have an invitation from an FBS conference in order to move to FBS. The difference in the postseasons in each of

1632-461: The 2010 finals to Cocodrilos de Caracas. Marinos reached 7 consecutive finals between 2009 and 2015, winning the titles in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015, reaching a total of 11, the most wins by a team in league history. In 2016 Cocodrilos de Caracas won the title against Bucaneros de La Guaira : the 2015–16 season was the first and only one to be played over two years instead of one. In 2017 and 2018 Guaros de Lara won two consecutive titles. In 2019

1700-432: The 2014–15 fiscal year, the conferences that earned the most revenues (and that distributed the most revenues to each of their member schools) were: The NCAA has limits on the total financial aid each Division I member may award in each sport that the school sponsors. It divides sports that are sponsored into two types for purposes of scholarship limitations: The term "counter" is also key to this concept. The NCAA defines

1768-577: The 2020 arrival of Tarleton and Utah Tech (then Dixie State) from Division II; both schools planned to be FCS independents for the foreseeable future. The WAC would reinstate football at the FCS level in 2021, coinciding with the arrival of four new members with FCS football; for its first season, it entered into a formal partnership with the ASUN Conference to give it enough playoff-eligible members to receive an automatic playoff berth. This partnership

1836-629: The Division I Men's Basketball Championship and ticket sales for all championships. That money is distributed in more than a dozen ways — almost all of which directly support NCAA schools, conferences and nearly half a million student-athletes. About 60% of the NCAA's annual revenue — around $ 600 million — is annually distributed directly to Division I member schools and conferences, while more than $ 150 million funds Division I championships" (NCAA 2021). Finances Under NCAA regulations, all Division I conferences defined as "multisport conferences" must meet

1904-623: The FCS from a lower division (or from the NAIA ) are also ineligible for the playoffs. Division I FCS schools are currently restricted to giving financial assistance amounting to 63 full scholarships. As FCS football is an "equivalency" sport (as opposed to the "head-count" status of FBS football), Championship Subdivision schools may divide their allotment into partial scholarships. However, FCS schools may only have 85 players receiving any sort of athletic financial aid for football—the same numeric limit as FBS schools. Because of competitive forces, however,

1972-618: The FCS national champion is determined by a multi-team bracket tournament. For the 2020–21 school year, Division I contained 357 of the NCAA's 1,066 member institutions, with 130 in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), 127 in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), and 100 non-football schools, with six additional schools in the transition from Division II to Division I. There was a moratorium on any additional movement up to D-I until 2012, after which any school that wants to move to D-I must be accepted for membership by

2040-631: The I-AA playoffs was Jackson State in 1997 ; the SWAC never achieved success in the tournament, going winless in 19 games in twenty years (1978–97). It had greater success outside the conference while in Division II and the preceding College Division. From 2006 through 2009, the Pioneer Football League and Northeast Conference champions played in the Gridiron Classic . If a league champion

2108-596: The LPB merged to form the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto, commonly known as the SPB. The boards agreed to merge all records, statistics and championships of Venezuelan basketball. The competition consists of 20 teams divided in two conferences (West and East) who play each other twice at home and twice away in the regular season, for a total of 36 games. After that, the top four teams of each conference advance to

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2176-586: The Liga Especial in 1977, won six consecutive championships from 1977 to 1982. During this period, Guaiqueríes had three MVP winners: Venezuelan forward Cruz Lairet in 1977 and Americans Gerald Cunningham and Lewis Linder in 1980 and 1981, respectively. In 1983 the league saw the highest number of participants yet, with 9 teams: Caribes de Anzoátegui, Colosos de Carabobo, Gaiteros del Zulia, Guaiqueríes de Nueva Esparta, Panteras de Lara, Taurinos de Aragua, Telefonistas de Caracas, Universitarios de Mérida and

2244-542: The Liga Profesional de Baloncesto was replaced by the Copa LPB, a tournament intended as a preparation to the national team's participation in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup . In December 2019 newly elected Federation president Hanthony Coello announced that a new league called SuperLiga Profesional de Baloncesto was going to replace the LPB and was scheduled to start on February 28, 2020. On March 12, 2020,

2312-496: The MVP award, the first Venezuelan to win it in the LPB era, and the first after 6 consecutive American MVPs (the last Venezuelan to win the award had been Carl Herrera in 1990). In 1998 Marinos de Oriente defeated Trotamundos in the finals, and in 1999 Trotamundos won the title defeating Panteras de Miranda. In 2000 Cocodrilos de Caracas won the final series against Gaiteros del Zulia with the decisive basket of Lee Nailon , who scored in

2380-553: The Midwest (Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, Notre Dame), Upper South (Louisville, Memphis) and Southwest (Houston, SMU). The non-football conference that assumed the Big East name when the original Big East split in 2013 is another example of this phenomenon, as half of its 10 inaugural schools (Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Marquette, Xavier) are traditionally regarded as being Midwestern. An even more extrema example of this phenomenon

2448-834: The Playoffs. Every round (1st round, conference finals and league finals) are played in a best-of-seven format. The regular season starts in February of each year and ends in May. Also, like the NBA , an All-Star Game is held at the middle of the season. The rule that only two foreign players can play per team still stands. The following 18 teams played in the 2024 SPB season. Did not participate: Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence. Venezuelan Basketball Federation The Venezuelan Basketball Federation ( Spanish : Federación Venezolana de Baloncesto , abbreviated as FVB),

2516-635: The University Division of the NCAA, in contrast to the lower-level College Division; these terms were replaced with numeric divisions in 1973. The University Division was renamed Division I, while the College Division was split in two; the College Division members that offered scholarships or wanted to compete against those who did became Division II, while those who did not want to offer scholarships became Division III. For college football only, D-I schools are further divided into

2584-546: The Venezuelan Basketball Federation announced via Twitter that the planning of the new tournament was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic . The SuperLiga eventually commenced on October 13, 2020. A total of 13 teams participated after Trotamundos, Guaros de Lara and Cocodrilos de Caracas withdrew. Spartans Distrito Capital won the first SuperLiga title. On July 8, 2022, the SuperLiga and

2652-599: The addition of Arizona and Arizona State, and "Pac-12" (instead of "Pacific-12") in 2011 when Colorado and Utah joined . Conferences also tend to ignore their regional names when adding new schools. For example, the Pac-8/10/12 retained its "Pacific" moniker even though its four most recent additions (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah) are located in the inland West, and the original Big East kept its name even after adding schools (either in all sports or for football only) located in areas traditionally considered to be in

2720-548: The biggest conferences. For example, the Big Ten conference in 2016 entered into contracts with Fox and ESPN that pay the conference $ 2.64 billion over six years. The NCAA also holds certain TV contracts. For example, the NCAA's contract to show the men's basketball championship tournament (widely known as March Madness) is currently under a 14-year deal with CBS and Turner that runs from 2010 to 2024 and pays $ 11 billion. For

2788-568: The champions of its East and West divisions. Also, three of its member schools traditionally do not finish their regular seasons until Thanksgiving weekend. Grambling State and Southern play each other in the Bayou Classic , and Alabama State plays Tuskegee (of Division II ) in the Turkey Day Classic . SWAC teams are eligible to accept at-large bids if their schedule is not in conflict. The last SWAC team to participate in

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2856-556: The completion of the transition with the 2016 season, member schools have been allowed up to 60 full scholarship equivalents. Several Bowl Subdivision and Championship Subdivision conferences have member institutions that do not compete in football. Such schools are sometimes unofficially referred to as I-AAA. The following non-football conferences have full members that sponsor football: The following Division I conferences do not sponsor football . These conferences still compete in Division I for all sports that they sponsor. Of these,

2924-661: The conference announced it would expand in 2024 to the Pacific coast with San Francisco Bay Area rivals California and Stanford , and also add SMU from Dallas–Fort Worth . ** – "Big Four" or "Power Four" conferences that had guaranteed berths in the "access bowls" associated with the College Football Playoff before its 2024 expansion to 12 teams *** – "Group of Five" conferences The Division I Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ), formerly known as Division I-AA , consists of 130 teams as of

2992-536: The division of broadcasting rights . This led to the creation of the Liga Profesional de Baloncesto (Professional Basketball League), which was a league owned by the teams and not under the direct control of the Federation. The first president was Tulio Capriles. The first edition of league was played between 8 teams, with the best 6 advancing to the first round of semifinals ("Semifinals A"), of which

3060-573: The eponymous post-season championship tournament. The Ivy League was reclassified to I-AA (FCS) following the 1981 season , and plays a strict ten-game schedule. Although it qualifies for an automatic bid, the Ivy League has not played any postseason games at all since becoming a conference, citing academic concerns. The Ivy League member to play in a bowl game was Columbia in the 1934 Rose Bowl . The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) has its own championship game in mid-December between

3128-471: The existence of an official NCAA championship in the latter subdivision. Before the 2023 season, the NCAA required that FBS schools average at least 15,000 attendance, allowing schools to report either total tickets sold or the number of persons in attendance at the games. The requirement was a minimum average of 15,000 people in attendance every other year. These numbers are posted to the NCAA statistics website for football each year. With new rules starting in

3196-404: The final seconds of the seventh game of the series. In 2001 the league title went to Gaiteros del Zulia , and in 2002 Trotamundos de Carabobo won the league after having been down 1–3 in the final series. From 2003 to 2005, Marinos de Oriente won three consecutive titles. In 2006 Trotamundos de Carabobo defeated Guaros de Lara in the championship series and reached 8 league titles, a record at

3264-599: The following criteria: FBS conferences must meet a more stringent set of requirements for NCAA recognition than other conferences: † "Power Four" conferences that had guaranteed berths in the New Year's Six , the bowl games associated with the College Football Playoff , before the playoff's 2024 expansion to 12 teams ‡ "Group of Five" conferences Sports are ranked according to total possible scholarships (number of teams x number of scholarships per team). Scholarship numbers for head-count sports are indicated without

3332-660: The latter of which will move football to the Patriot League in 2025). The MAAC stopped sponsoring football in 2007, after most of its members gradually stopped fielding teams. Among current MAAC members that were in the conference before 2007, only Marist , which plays in the Pioneer Football League, still sponsors football. From 2013 to 2021, the Western Athletic Conference was a non-football league, having dropped football after

3400-505: The median spending per-school at $ 742,000. In 2014, the NCAA and the student athletes debated whether student athletes should be paid. In April, the NCAA approved students-athletes getting free unlimited meals and snacks. The NCAA stated "The adoption of the meals legislation finished a conversation that began in the Awards, Benefits, Expenses and Financial Aid Cabinet. Members have worked to find appropriate ways to ensure student-athletes get

3468-534: The membership totals to 14 in 2023 and 16 effective in 2024. On the other hand, the Pac-12 Conference used names (official or unofficial) that have reflected the number of members from the establishment of its current charter in 1959 until its collapse in 2024 . The conference unofficially used "Big Five" (1959–62), "Big Six" (1962–64), and "Pacific-8" (1964–68) before officially adopting the "Pacific-8" name. The name duly changed to "Pacific-10" in 1978 with

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3536-410: The name even after it expanded to 11 members with the addition of Penn State in 1990, 12 with the addition of Nebraska in 2011 , and 14 with the arrival of Maryland and Rutgers in 2014 . The Big 12 Conference was established in 1996 with 12 members, but continues to use that name even after a number of departures and a few replacements left the conference with 10 members, and later expansions brought

3604-457: The nutrition they need without jeopardizing Pell Grants or other federal aid received by the neediest student-athletes. With their vote, members of the council said they believe loosening NCAA rules on what and when food can be provided from athletics departments is the best way to address the issue." According to the finance section of the NCAA page, "The NCAA receives most of its annual revenue from two sources: television and marketing rights for

3672-557: The previous season replacing Halcones de Caracas. This was the second time a team from Caracas had won the championship following Ahorristas de Caracas in 1974. In 1992 the Venezuela national team had participated in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona , Spain . This had brought increased interest to basketball in Venezuela, and started a clash between the teams of the Liga Especial and the Basketball Federation for

3740-485: The same season. The Pioneer Football League earned an automatic bid beginning in 2013. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) began abstaining from the playoffs with the 2015 season. Like the SWAC, its members are eligible for at-large bids, and the two conferences have faced off in the Celebration Bowl as an alternative postseason game since the 2015 season. Schools in a transition period after joining

3808-447: The sport in which multi-sport athletes are to be counted, with the basic rules being: Subdivisions in Division I exist only in football . In all other sports, all Division I conferences are equivalent. The subdivisions were recently given names to reflect the differing levels of football play in them. As of the 2023 season, the main distinctions between Bowl Subdivision and Championship Subdivision schools are scholarship policies and

3876-573: The subdivisions grant the FCS an advantage to have the best record in college football history, 17–0, while the FBS only allows a 15–0 record. FBS attendance requirements were abolished early in the 2023 season, effective immediately. In their place, Division I added new requirements for athletic funding. Effective in 2027–28, FBS schools must fund the equivalent of at least 210 full scholarships across all of their NCAA sports; spend at least $ 6 million annually on athletic scholarships; and provide at least 90% of

3944-414: The time. In 2007 the league title was won by Guaiqueríes de Margarita. In 2008 the league was expanded to 10 teams, with the addition of Gigantes de Guayana and Deportivo Táchira . The 2008 championship went to Cocodrilos de Caracas. In 2009 Deportivo Táchira moved to La Guaira , and became Bucaneros de La Guaira . The 2009 finals were won by Marinos, which also won the 2011 and 2012 titles after losing

4012-555: The title against Cocodrilos de Caracas , led by MVP Stanley Brundy , another player with NBA experience. In 1995 Panteras de Miranda won the title, defeating Marinos; Marinos also qualified for the 1996 finals, where they lost to Gaiteros del Zulia . In 1996 Harold Keeling of Toros de Aragua won the MVP award: he then went on to acquire Venezuelan citizenship, and played for the Venezuela national team. In 1997 Guaiqueríes de Margarita won their first title after 15 years: that season also saw Víctor David Díaz of Panteras de Miranda win

4080-496: The title, ending Trotamundos' winning streak, with the contribution of MVP Carl Herrera , who had just graduated from the University of Houston , where he played basketball in the NCAA Division I . In 1991 Marinos de Oriente won the league title, and Marinos forward Charlie Bradley , a former player of the University of South Florida , won the MVP award. In 1992 the league title went to Cocodrilos de Caracas , who had debuted

4148-417: The total number of allowed scholarship equivalents across 16 sports, including football. Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ), formerly known as Division I-A , is the top level of college football . Schools in Division I FBS compete in post-season bowl games , with the champions of five conferences, along with the highest-ranked champion of the other five conferences, receiving automatic bids to

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4216-529: The two that most recently sponsored football were the Atlantic 10 and MAAC. The A-10 football league dissolved in 2006 with its members going to CAA Football, the technically separate football league operated by the all-sports Coastal Athletic Association. In addition, four A-10 schools ( Dayton , Fordham , Duquesne , and Massachusetts ) play football in a conference other CAA Football, which still includes two full-time A-10 members ( Rhode Island and Richmond ,

4284-412: The winners and the best losing team qualified for the second round ("Semifinals B"): the winners of Semifinals B qualified for the championship game in a best-of-7 series . The first LPB champions were Marinos de Oriente , which defeated Trotamundos de Carabobo in the final series, 4–3. The first MVP was David Wesley , a player who then went on to have a long career in the NBA . In 1994 Trotamundos won

4352-400: The winners of each of two divisions, with each team having played a full round-robin schedule within its division, or (2) between the conference's top two teams after a full round-robin conference schedule. Before 2016, "exempt" championship games could only be held between the divisional winners of conferences that had at least 12 football teams and split into divisions. The prize is normally

4420-717: Was a 12-team tournament; this expanded to 16 teams in 1986. The playoffs expanded to 20 teams starting in 2010, then grew to 24 teams in 2013. Since the 2010 season, the title game is held in early January at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas . From 1997 through 2009, the title game was played in December in Chattanooga, Tennessee , preceded by five seasons in Huntington, West Virginia . The Football Championship Subdivision includes several conferences which do not participate in

4488-657: Was invited to the national championship playoff as an at-large bid (something the Pioneer league, at least, never received), the second-place team would play in the Gridiron Classic. That game was scrapped after the 2009 season when its four-year contract ran out; this coincided with the NCAA's announcement that the Northeast Conference would get an automatic bid to the tournament starting in 2010. The Big South Conference also received an automatic bid in

4556-442: Was won by Ahorristas de Caracas, which defeated Colosos de Carabobo in the championship series, 3–2. The first MVP was American forward Robert Lewis of Colosos de Carabobo. In 1975 two teams joined the league: Panteras del Táchira and Petroleros del Zulia. In 1975, Sam Shepherd of Panteras del Táchira scored a then-record 57 points against Petroleros del Zulia; that season also saw the first LPB All-Star Game. The 1975 league title

4624-638: Was won by Colosos de Carabobo, which defeated Panteras del Táchira in the final series. In 1976, two more teams joined: Caribes de Anzoátegui and Universitarios de Mérida. The 1976 season saw the first Venezuelan player win the MVP trophy: center Ramón Rivero of Panteras del Táchira. In 1977, the league was divided in two groups: Este (East), which included Ahorristas de Caracas, Centauros de Cojedes, Guaiqueríes de Margarita and Caribes de Anzoátegui, and Oeste (West), which had Colosos de Carabobo, Universitarios de Mérida, Banqueros de Aragua, and Panteras del Táchira. Guaiqueríes de Margarita , which had debuted in

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