[1] The regular season and postseason schedules for the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) were both impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

[4] The participants of the 2021 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2020 FCS Playoffs—South Dakota State and Sam Houston State—which began with a 16-team bracket.

[6] Neither program had previously won a Division I Football Championship Game.

SDSU was the top seed in the playoffs and defeated Holy Cross, Southern Illinois, and Delaware at home.

SHSU was the second seed in the playoffs and defeated Monmouth, defending champion North Dakota State, and James Madison at home.