Can Nashville become permanent FCS championship site? Year 1 was big first step

The resounding success of the FCS national championship game between Montana State and Illinois State at Vanderbilt's FirstBank Stadium on Jan. 5 suggests it could remain in Nashville for the long term.

A crowd of 24,105, the seventh-largest in FCS championship game history, rocked the stadium throughout Montana State's 35-34 overtime win at Vanderbilt's FirstBank Stadium in the first of a two-year contract to hold the game in Nashville. The Nashville Sports Council and Ohio Valley Conference officials will attempt to keep the championship game beyond 2027.

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Montana State's Taco Dowler got open in the end zone and caught a 14-yard pass from the game's most outstanding player Justin Lamson. The point after kick by Myles Sansted was the game winner and Montana State players stormed the field when the PAT was ruled good for the win.

"That was a scene," Montana State coach Brent Vigen said. "We've had some scenes back home, but to take our fan base down to Nashville and take over, that's certainly impactful. It was a long time coming, 41 years in the making. I couldn't be more proud of our players because players win games."

FCS championship game in Nashville exceeded expectations

The title game, played in Frisco, Texas, for the previous 15 years, surpassed expectations for its Nashville organizers. The crowd was the largest for the championship game since 1996, when 30,052 attended the Marshall vs. Montana contest held on Dec. 21, 1996. It was the second-largest attended true neutral site FCS championship game in history.

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"For a first-year event that had been somewhere for 15 years, it exceeded our expectations and hopes," Nashville Sports Council CEO and president Scott Ramsey said. "There were two or three things we focused on that we hoped we could elevate, being in Nashville. One, player experience: Gaylord Opryland Hotel has been a great host, and the players have enjoyed their stay. Game-day atmosphere with a great crowd and a loud crowd. And with the video boards and everything else in this stadium, it really put on a championship-level experience for the players."

Ramsey said the second goal was to provide an enjoyable experience for fans and the feedback he received so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

The ESPN production was also improved. It included a new 30-minute preview and, according to Ramsey, was bolstered by a pregame song, "Twang Town," written exclusively for the game by Nashville songwriter Casey Beathard, the son of former NFL general manager Bobby Beathard. The song, put to highlight video by ESPN, was also broadcast inside the stadium.

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"That's what playing in Nashville did for you right there, Casey Beathard writes a great song for the game and did it for free," Ramsey said. "I think we've continued to try to built this national championship game up and hope we can keep it for a long time."

Montana State beat Illinois State in overtime for FCS championship

It was Montana State's second national FCS championship and first since beating Louisiana Tech 48-23 in 1984.

The Bobcats (14-2), who finished runner-up to North Dakota State in 2025, allowed a 21-7 halftime to slip away.

Illinois State (12-5) rallied and tied the game on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Rittenhouse to Dylan Lord with 5:10 left in regulation.

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The Redbirds went up 34-28 in overtime on a 10-yard pass from Rittenhouse to Lord, but Myles Cosentino's extra point kick was blocked.

With Montana State facing a 3rd-and-10 on the Bobcats' overtime possession, Lamson's pass to Jabez Woods was broken up. The Bobcats came back with the same play on fourth down and Lamson found Dowler open in the end zone for the winning score.

"We had a play called and (offensive coordinator Pete) Sterbick liked what he saw on the second play of that drive," Lamson said. "It's an inside-out read and on the first one it was a little bit behind (Woods) and he couldn't catch it. But Taco won on the corner so we came back to it. That's just good stuff out of a really good OC."

Lamson finished 18-of-27 passing for 280 yards with two touchdowns. Dowler had eight catches for 111 yards. Rittenhouse was 33-of-46 for 311 yards with four touchdowns for Illinois State.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Can Nashville become permanent FCS championship site? Year 1 was big first step