2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season

The 2010 NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) football season, or the college football season, began on Thursday, September 2, 2010. The season will progress through the regular season and bowl season, and (aside from all-star exhibition games that follow the bowl games) conclude with the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game on Monday, January 10, 2011.

Rule changes for 2010

 * Wedge blocks are now banned on kickoffs.
 * Messages on eye-black are no longer allowed.

Conference realignment
During the first half of 2010, and especially starting in May of that year, several conferences were widely speculated to be considering expansion, and a number of schools were believed to be seriously considering conference moves. Due to conference notice requirements, no changes announced in 2010 will take effect until at least 2011.

The first change to be officially announced came on June 10, when the Pacific-10 Conference announced that Colorado had accepted that conference's invitation to join. At the time, it was not yet known whether Colorado would officially join the Pac-10 in 2011 or 2012; in September 2010, it was confirmed for 2011.

The following day saw two schools change conferences:
 * The Mountain West Conference announced that Boise State had accepted the conference's invitation to join from the Western Athletic Conference, effective with the 2011-12 academic year.
 * Nebraska applied for membership in, and was accepted by, the Big Ten Conference, in a move to take effect in 2011.

In the following days, it was widely speculated that the five public schools in the Big 12 South Division (Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State) would leave as a unit for the Pac-10. A&M was also reported to be flirting with the SEC. However, a last-minute deal announced on June 14 saw Texas cast its lot with a truncated Big 12, with the remaining schools also pledging their support for the conference. Rebuffed by the Big 12 schools, the Pac-10 shifted its focus to the Mountain West, extending an invitation to Utah on June 16 to join effective in 2011. Utah officially accepted the next day. When Utah and Colorado join, the Pac-10 will officially become the Pac-12.

Two months later, reports surfaced indicating that Brigham Young would leave the Mountain West Conference to become an independent in football, with its other sports rejoining the school's former conference, the WAC. On August 31, BYU pulled a surprise, indeed becoming an independent football team, but joining the West Coast Conference for the 2011-12 season. The MWC responded on August 18 by inviting current WAC members Fresno State, Nevada, and Utah State. Utah State declined the MWC offer, but the other two accepted later that day.

Records

 * Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno, in his 45th season, needs just three wins to achieve a feat that no coach in major college football history has ever reached: the 400-win mark. He is currently at 397 wins. Paterno already holds records for the most wins in major college football history as well as the most bowl wins (24) in college football history.

New and expanded stadiums
No new stadiums are scheduled to open in the 2010 season. However, expansion projects at several stadiums will be completed in time for the season:
 * Alabama: The seventh major expansion of Bryant–Denny Stadium will increase capacity from 92,138 to 101,821.
 * East Carolina: The east end zone at Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium has been enclosed, increasing capacity from 43,000 to 50,000.
 * Louisville: A second deck has been added to the east side of Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, increasing capacity from its original 42,000 to over 56,000.
 * Michigan: Michigan Stadium will once again claim the title of largest college football stadium. The new capacity was officially announced on July 14 as 109,901.
 * Texas Tech: Renovations to Jones AT&T Stadium increased the capacity to 60,454 and a new building on the stadium's eastern side added an additional 26 suites and 500 club seats.

Overall

 * AP Player of the Year:
 * Maxwell Award (top player):
 * Walter Camp Award (top player):

Niche
 * Campbell Trophy ("academic Heisman", formerly the Draddy Trophy):
 * Wuerffel Trophy (humanitarian-athlete):
 * Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player):

Offense
Quarterback
 * Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback):
 * Johnny Unitas Award (Sr. quarterback):
 * Manning Award (quarterback):
 * Sammy Baugh Trophy (quarterback, specifically passer):

Running Back
 * Doak Walker Award (running back):

Wide Receiver
 * Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver):

Tight End
 * John Mackey Award (tight end):

Lineman
 * Dave Rimington Trophy (center):
 * Lombardi Award (top lineman):
 * Outland Trophy (interior lineman):

Defense

 * Bronko Nagurski Trophy (defensive player):
 * Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player):
 * Lott Trophy (defensive impact):

Defensive Line
 * Ted Hendricks Award (defensive end):

Linebacker
 * Dick Butkus Award (linebacker):

Defensive Back
 * Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back):

Special Teams

 * Lou Groza Award (placekicker):
 * Ray Guy Award (punter):

Coaches

 * AP Coach of the Year:
 * Paul "Bear" Bryant Award:
 * The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award:
 * Walter Camp Coach of the Year:

Assistant
 * Broyles Award (assistant coach):

Preseason
This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2010. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2010, see 2009 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.