The Ivy League announced that it will introduce a bye week to its football schedule beginning with the 2027 season.
Conference members currently play a seven‑game, round‑robin Ivy League schedule along with three non‑conference matchups, with league play traditionally beginning in Week 3—after most FCS programs have already played two or three games.
Starting in 2027, the Ivy League schedule will shift one week earlier to create an open date in the middle of the season. League play will begin in the rest of the FCS’s Week 2 on September 11, and the conference-wide bye week will fall on Saturday, October 23 (Week 7).
The league noted that all 2027 Ivy League games originally slated for Week 6 will move to Week 1 on September 11. Details on how the bye week will be implemented in subsequent seasons will be announced at a later date.
2027 Ivy League Football Schedule
Week 1 – Sept. 11
Week 2 – Sept. 18
Week 3 – Sept. 25
Week 4 – Oct. 2
Week 5 – Oct. 9
Week 6 – Oct. 16
Week 7 – Bye Week
Week 8 – Oct. 30
Week 9 – Nov. 6
Week 10 – Nov. 13
Week 11 – Nov. 20
So, this essentially puts it back where it was before Week Zero was opened up to everyone. Starting in FCS Week 2, which follow Weeks 1, and 0… is no different from starting in Week 3 when there was no Week 0.
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The conference-wide Bye week is interesting… but silly. It puts a restriction on when Ivy teams fit in their 3 OOCs. How long before they just drop down to Division II at this rate? Everyone else in FCS is mostly playing 12 games, except for those who are at 11 because it’s hard to schedule OOCs in some areas (such as New England, not surprisingly) when conferences over-restrict scheduling.