2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season

2014 NCAA Division I FCS season
Regular season
Number of teams	124
Duration	August 23 – November 22
Payton Award	John Robertson, QB, Villanova
Buchanan Award	Kyle Emanuel, DE, North Dakota State
Playoff
Duration	November 29 – December 20
Championship date	January 10, 2015
Championship site	Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
Champion	North Dakota State
NCAA Division I FCS football seasons
«2013 2015»

The 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The season began on August 23, 2014, and concluded with the 2015 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game played on January 10, 2015, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State won its fourth consecutive title, defeating Illinois State, 29–27.

Notable changes

Under a standard provision of NCAA rules, all FCS programs were allowed to play 12 regular-season games (not counting conference title games) in 2014. In years when the period starting with the Thursday before Labor Day and ending with the final Saturday in November contains 14 Saturdays, FCS programs may play 12 games instead of the regular 11. After this season, the next season in which 12-game seasons are allowed was 2019.^[1]

On May 14, 2014, the NCAA announced its Academic Progress Rate (APR) sanctions for the 2014–15 school year. The acceptable minimum score was raised significantly for the first time since the APR was introduced, in 2004. A total of 36 programs in 11 sports were declared ineligible for postseason play after failing to meet the required APR benchmark, including the following seven FCS teams:^[2] Alabama State, Arkansas–Pine Bluff, Florida A&M, Mississippi Valley State, Prairie View A&M, Saint Francis (PA), and Savannah State.In addition these, the entire athletic program at Southern University, including the football team, was declared ineligible for postseason play for failing to supply usable academic data to the NCAA.

FCS team wins over FBS teams

(FCS rankings from the Sports Network poll; FBS rankings from the AP Poll)

August 30: No. 22 Bethune-Cookman 14, Florida International 12
August 30: No. 2 North Dakota State 34, Iowa State 14
September 6: Eastern Kentucky 17, Miami (OH) 10
September 13: Abilene Christian 38, Troy 35
September 13: Indiana State 27, Ball State 20—The Victory Bell Game
September 20: Northwestern State 30, Louisiana Tech 27
September 27: Yale 49, Army 43 ^OT
October 11: Liberty 55, Appalachian State 48 ^OT

Conference changes and new programs

Main article: 2010–13 NCAA conference realignment

School	2013 Conference	2014 Conference
Abilene Christian	FCS Independent	Southland
Appalachian State	SoCon	Sun Belt (FBS)
Elon		CAA
Georgia Southern		Sun Belt (FBS)
Houston Baptist	FCS Independent	Southland
Incarnate Word
Mercer	Pioneer	SoCon
Monmouth	FCS Independent	Big South
Old Dominion		C-USA (FBS)
VMI	Big South	SoCon

Conference standings

2014 Big Sky Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 4 Eastern Washington $^   7 – 1     11 – 3   No. 13 Montana ^   6 – 2     9 – 5   No. 20 Montana State ^   6 – 2     8 – 5   No. 25 Idaho State   6 – 2     8 – 4   Cal Poly   5 – 3     7 – 5   Northern Arizona   5 – 3     7 – 5   Sacramento State   4 – 4     7 – 5   North Dakota   3 – 5     5 – 7   Southern Utah   3 – 5     3 – 9   Northern Colorado   2 – 6     3 – 8   Portland State   2 – 6     3 – 9   Weber State   2 – 6     2 – 10   UC Davis   1 – 7     2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2014 Big South Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 5 Coastal Carolina +^   4 – 1     12 – 2   No. 17 Liberty +^   4 – 1     9 – 5   Charleston Southern   3 – 2     8 – 4   Presbyterian   3 – 2     6 – 5   Monmouth   1 – 4     6 – 5   Gardner–Webb   0 – 5     4 – 8   + – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2014 Colonial Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 3 New Hampshire $^   8 – 0     12 – 2   No. 7 Villanova ^   7 – 1     11 – 3   No. 18 James Madison ^   6 – 2     9 – 4   No. 16 Richmond ^   5 – 3     9 – 5   William & Mary   4 – 4     7 – 5   Delaware   4 – 4     6 – 6   Maine   4 – 4     5 – 6   Stony Brook   4 – 4     5 – 7   Albany   3 – 5     7 – 5   Towson   2 – 6     4 – 8   Rhode Island   1 – 7     1 – 11   Elon   0 – 8     1 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2014 Ivy League football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 15 Harvard $   7 – 0     10 – 0   Dartmouth   6 – 1     8 – 2   Yale   5 – 2     8 – 2   Princeton   4 – 3     5 – 5   Brown   3 – 4     5 – 5   Penn   2 – 5     2 – 8   Cornell   1 – 6     1 – 9   Columbia   0 – 7     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network Poll	2014 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 23 Bethune–Cookman +   6 – 2     9 – 3   North Carolina A&T +   6 – 2     9 – 3   South Carolina State +   6 – 2     8 – 4   North Carolina Central +   6 – 2     7 – 5   Morgan State +^   6 – 2     7 – 6   Norfolk State   4 – 4     4 – 8   Howard   3 – 5     5 – 7   Florida A&M *   3 – 5     3 – 9   Hampton   2 – 6     3 – 9   Delaware State   2 – 6     2 – 10   Savannah State *   0 – 8     0 – 12   + – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant * Florida A&M and Savannah State ineligible for FCS Playoffs due to APR violations Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2014 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 1 North Dakota State +^   7 – 1     15 – 1   No. 2 Illinois State +^   7 – 1     13 – 2   No. 10 Northern Iowa ^   6 – 2     9 – 5   No. 12 South Dakota St. ^   5 – 3     9 – 5   No. 19 Indiana State ^   4 – 4     8 – 6   No. 22 Youngstown State   4 – 4     7 – 5   Southern Illinois   3 – 5     6 – 6   Western Illinois   3 – 5     5 – 7   Missouri State   1 – 7     4 – 8   South Dakota   0 – 8     2 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2014 Northeast Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Sacred Heart +^   5 – 1     9 – 3   Wagner +   5 – 1     7 – 4   Bryant   4 – 2     8 – 3   Saint Francis (PA) *   3 – 3     5 – 6   Duquesne   2 – 4     6 – 6   Central Connecticut   1 – 5     3 – 9   Robert Morris   1 – 5     1 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant * – Saint Francis (PA) ineligible for FCS playoffs due to APR violation	2014 Ohio Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 9 Jacksonville State $^   8 – 0     10 – 2   No. 21 Eastern Kentucky ^   6 – 2     9 – 4   UT Martin   5 – 3     6 – 6   Eastern Illinois   5 – 3     5 – 7   Tennessee Tech   4 – 4     5 – 7   Tennessee State   3 – 5     6 – 6   SE Missouri State   3 – 5     5 – 7   Murray State   1 – 7     3 – 9   Austin Peay   1 – 7     1 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2014 Patriot League football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 11 Fordham $^   6 – 0     11 – 3   Bucknell   4 – 2     8 – 3   Lafayette   3 – 3     5 – 6   Colgate   3 – 3     5 – 7   Holy Cross   2 – 4     4 – 8   Lehigh   2 – 4     3 – 8   Georgetown   1 – 5     3 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2014 Pioneer Football League standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   San Diego $^   7 – 1     9 – 3   Jacksonville *   7 – 1     9 – 2   Dayton   6 – 2     8 – 3   Drake   6 – 2     7 – 4   Campbell   4 – 4     5 – 7   Marist   4 – 4     4 – 7   Stetson   3 – 5     5 – 7   Morehead State   3 – 5     4 – 8   Butler   2 – 6     4 – 7   Valparaiso   2 – 6     4 – 8   Davidson   0 – 8     1 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant *Jacksonville ineligible for PFL title and FCS playoffs due to matters regarding the PFL's financial aid rules	2014 Southern Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 8 Chattanooga $^   7 – 0     10 – 4   Samford   5 – 2     7 – 4   Western Carolina   5 – 2     7 – 5   Wofford   4 – 3     6 – 5   The Citadel   3 – 4     5 – 7   Furman   2 – 5     3 – 9   Mercer   1 – 6     6 – 6   VMI   1 – 6     2 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network Poll	2014 Southland Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 6 Sam Houston St +^   7 – 1     11 – 5   No. 14 SE Louisiana +^   7 – 1     9 – 4   Lamar   5 – 3     8 – 4   Stephen F. Austin ^   5 – 3     8 – 5   Central Arkansas   5 – 3     6 – 6   McNeese State   4 – 4     6 – 5   Abilene Christian *   4 – 4     6 – 6   Northwestern State   4 – 4     6 – 6   Incarnate Word *   2 – 6     2 – 9   Houston Baptist   1 – 7     2 – 9   Nicholls State   0 – 8     0 – 12   + – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant * – ineligible for FCS playoffs due to transition from NCAA Division II Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2014 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   East Division Alcorn State x$   7 – 2     10 – 3   Alabama State *   5 – 4     7 – 5   Jackson State   3 – 6     5 – 7   Alabama A&M   3 – 6     4 – 8   Mississippi Valley State *   1 – 8     2 – 9   West Division Southern xy   8 – 1     9 – 4   Grambling State   7 – 2     7 – 5   Prairie View A&M *   5 – 4     5 – 5   Texas Southern   3 – 6     5 – 6   Arkansas–Pine Bluff *   3 – 6     4 – 7   Championship: Alcorn State 38, Southern 24 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant * – ineligible for postseason due to APR violations	2014 NCAA Division I FCS independents football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Charlotte   –     5 – 6   Charlotte ineligible for FCS playoffs as part of FBS transition

Conference summaries

Championship games

Conference	Champion	Runner-up	Score	Offensive Player of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year	Coach of the Year
SWAC	Alcorn State	Southern	38–24	Malcolm Cyrus (RB, Alabama State) John Gibbs, Jr. (QB, Alcorn State)	Jerome Howard (LB, Prairie View A&M)	Broderick Fobbs (Grambling State)

Other conference winners

Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.

Conference	Champion	Record	Offensive Player of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year	Coach of the Year
Big Sky	Eastern Washington	10–2 (7–1)	Vernon Adams (QB, Eastern Washington)	Zack Wagenmann (DE, Montana)	Mike Kramer (Idaho State)
Big South	Coastal Carolina Liberty	11–1 (4–1) 8–4 (4–1)	Alex Ross (QB, Coastal Carolina)	Quinn Backus (LB, Coastal Carolina)	Joe Moglia (Coastal Carolina) Harold Nichols (Presbyterian)
CAA	New Hampshire	10–1 (8–0)	John Robertson (QB, Villanova)	Mike Reilly (DL, William & Mary)	Sean McDonnell (New Hampshire)
Ivy	Harvard	10–0 (7–0)	Tyler Varga (RB, Yale)	Zack Hodges (DE, Harvard) Mike Zeuli (LB, Princeton)	Tim Murphy (Harvard)
MEAC	Bethune-Cookman Morgan State North Carolina A&T North Carolina Central South Carolina State	9–3 (6–2) 7–5 (6–2) 9–3 (6–2) 7–5 (6–2) 8–4 (6–2)	Tarik Cohen (RB, North Carolina A&T) Greg McGhee (QB, Howard)	Javon Hargrave (DT, South Carolina State)	Lee Hull (Morgan State)
MVFC	Illinois State North Dakota State	10–1 (7–1) 11–1 (7–1)	Marshaun Coprich (RB, Illinois State)	Kyle Emanuel (DE, North Dakota State)	Brock Spack (Illinois State)
NEC	Sacred Heart Wagner	9–2 (5–1) 7–4 (5–1)	Khairi Dickson (RB, Saint Francis (PA))	Jeff Covitz (DE, Bryant)	Mark Nofri (Sacred Heart)
OVC	Jacksonville State	10–1 (8–0)	Dy'Shawn Mobley (RB, Eastern Kentucky)	Devaunte Sigler (DT, Jacksonville State)	John Grass (Jacksonville State)
Patriot	Fordham	10–2 (6–0)	Mike Nebrich (QB, Fordham)	Evan Byers (LB, Bucknell)	Joe Susan (Bucknell)
Pioneer	San Diego	9–1 (7–1)	Connor Kacsor (RB, Dayton)	Donald Payne (S, Stetson)	Dale Lindsey (San Diego)
Southern	Chattanooga	9–3 (7–0)	Jacob Huesman (QB, Chattanooga)	Davis Tull (DL, Chattanooga)	Russ Huesman (Chattanooga)
Southland	Sam Houston State Southeastern Louisiana	8–4 (7–1) 9–3 (7–1)	Bryan Bennett (QB, Southeastern Louisiana) Gus Johnson (RB, Stephen F. Austin)	Jonathan Woodard (DE, Central Arkansas)	Clint Conque (Stephen F. Austin)

FCS results by conference against FBS opponents

FCS Conference GP Record Win % PF PA PD Ivy League 1 1–0 1.000 49 43 +6 MVFC 12 2–10 .167 212 384 –172 Southland 13 2–11 .154 235 656 –421 Big South 8 1–7 .125 123 348 –225 OVC 11 1–10 .091 159 495 –336 MEAC 14 1–13 .071 146 673 –527 Pioneer 1 0–1 .000 0 66 –66 Patriot 2 0–2 .000 41 72 –31 NEC 2 0–2 .000 31 72 –41 SWAC 5 0–5 .000 40 224 –184 Southern 11 0–11 .000 154 443 –289 CAA 11 0–11 .000 121 487 –366 Big Sky 17 0–17 .000 266 696 –430 FCS Independents 0 0–0 – 0 0 0 TOTAL 108 8–100 .074 1577 4659 –3082

FBS Conference GP Record Win % PF PA PD SEC 14 14–0 1.000 685 131 +554 ACC 14 14–0 1.000 636 173 +463 Big Ten 11 11–0 1.000 391 156 +235 MWC 10 10–0 1.000 354 157 +197 American 8 8–0 1.000 352 81 +271 Pac-12 8 8–0 1.000 410 142 +268 Big 12 8 7–1 .875 357 156 +201 MAC 13 11–2 .846 462 196 +266 Sun Belt 9 7–2 .778 445 165 +280 C-USA 9 7–2 .778 367 126 +241 FBS Independents 4 3–1 .750 200 94 +106 TOTAL 108 100–8 .926 4659 1577 +3082

Playoff qualifiers

Automatic berths for conference champions

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid	Result
Big Sky Conference	Eastern Washington	11th	2013	Semifinals (L – Towson)
Big South Conference	Liberty	1st	–	–
Colonial Athletic Association	New Hampshire	13th	2013	Semifinals (L – North Dakota State)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	Morgan State	1st	–	–
Missouri Valley Football Conference	North Dakota State	5th	2013	National Champions (W – Towson)
Northeast Conference	Sacred Heart	2nd	2013	First Round (L – Fordham)
Ohio Valley Conference	Jacksonville State	5th	2013	Quarterfinals (L – Eastern Washington)
Patriot League	Fordham	4th	2013	Second Round (L – Towson)
Pioneer Football League	San Diego	1st	–	–
Southern Conference	Chattanooga	2nd	1984	First Round (L – Arkansas State)
Southland Conference	Sam Houston State	8th	2013	Second Round (L – Southeastern Louisiana)

At large qualifiers

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid	Result
Big Sky Conference	Montana	23rd	2013	Second Round (L – Coastal Carolina)
	Montana State	8th	2012	Quarterfinals (L – Sam Houston State)
Big South Conference	Coastal Carolina	5th	2013	Quarterfinals (L – North Dakota State)
Colonial Athletic Association	James Madison	10th	2011	Second Round (L – North Dakota State)
	Richmond	9th	2009	Quarterfinals (L – Appalachian State)
	Villanova	11th	2012	First Round (L – Stony Brook)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	None
Missouri Valley Football Conference	Illinois State	5th	2012	Quarterfinals (L – Eastern Washington)
	Indiana State	3rd	1984	Quarterfinals (L – Middle Tennessee State)
	Northern Iowa	17th	2011	Quarterfinals (L – Montana)
	South Dakota State	4th	2013	Second Round (L – Eastern Washington)
Northeast Conference	None
Ohio Valley Conference	Eastern Kentucky	21st	2011	First Round (L – James Madison)
Patriot League	None
Pioneer Football League
Southern Conference
Southland Conference	Southeastern Louisiana	2nd	2013	Quarterfinals (L – New Hampshire)
	Stephen F. Austin	6th	2010	Second Round (L – Villanova)

Abstentions

• Ivy League – Harvard
• Southwestern Athletic Conference – Alcorn State

Postseason

NCAA Division I playoff bracket

	First Round November 29 Campus sites					Second Round December 6 Campus sites					Quarterfinals December 12 and 13 Campus sites					Semifinals December 19 and 20 Campus sites					National Championship January 10 Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
							Fordham	19
	Sacred Heart		22			1	New Hampshire*	44
	Fordham*		44								1	New Hampshire*	35
											8	Chattanooga	30
							Indiana State	14
	Indiana State		36			8	Chattanooga*	35
	Eastern Kentucky*		16													1	New Hampshire*	18
																5	Illinois State	21
							Montana	20
	San Diego		14			4	Eastern Washington*	37
	Montana*		52								4	Eastern Washington*	46
											5	Illinois State	59
							Northern Iowa	21
	Stephen F. Austin		10			5	Illinois State*	41
	Northern Iowa*		44																		5	Illinois State	27
																					2	North Dakota State	29
							South Dakota State	24
	South Dakota State		47			2	North Dakota State*	27
	Montana State*		40								2	North Dakota State*	39
											7	Coastal Carolina	32
							Richmond	15
	Morgan State		24			7	Coastal Carolina*	36
	Richmond*		46													2	North Dakota State*	35
																	Sam Houston State	3
							Sam Houston State	37
	Southeastern Louisiana		17			3	Jacksonville State*	26
	Sam Houston State*		21									Sam Houston State	34
											6	Villanova*	31
							Liberty	22
	Liberty		26			6	Villanova*	29
	James Madison*		21

* Home team   
 Winner
All times in Eastern Standard Time (UTC−05:00)

Preseason bowl game

Game	Date/TV	Location	Winning Team	Losing Team	Score	MVP
Legacy Bowl	March 21, 2015	KINCHO Stadium Osaka, Japan	Princeton 5–5 (4–3)	Kwansei Gakuin (JAFA) 9–1 (7–0)	36–7	Chad Kanoff (QB, Princeton)

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2014. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2014, see 2013 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement
Nicholls State	Charlie Stubbs	September 14	Resigned[3]	Steve Axman (interim)[4]
Florida A&M	Earl Holmes	October 29	Fired[5]	Corey Fuller (interim)[5]

End of season

School	Outgoing coach	Date announced	Reason	Replacement
Nicholls State	Steve Axman	November 20	Resigned[6]	Tim Rebowe[7]
VMI	Sparky Woods	November 24	Fired[8]	Scott Wachenheim[9]
Bethune-Cookman	Brian Jenkins	December 16	Hired by Alabama State[10]	Terry Sims[11]
Florida A&M	Corey Fuller	December 23	Permanent Replacement	Alex Wood[12]

See also

• 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings
• 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season
• 2014 NCAA Division II football season
• 2014 NCAA Division III football season

References

1. "Bylaws 17.9.3 and 17.9.5.1" (PDF). 2012–13 NCAA Division I Manual. NCAA. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
2. "Student-Athleties Continue To Achieve Academically" (Press release). NCAA. May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
3. "Nicholls State football coach Charlie Stubbs resigns" (Press release). NOLA.com. September 14, 2014. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
4. "Axman is interim Nicholls State football coach". USA Today. Associated Press. September 17, 2014. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
5. "Florida A&M fires Earl Holmes". ESPN. Associated Press. October 29, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
6. Johnson, Luke. "Tim Rebowe introduced as Nicholls State coach". theadvocate.com/. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
7. "Tim Rebowe named Colonels coach". espn.com. November 21, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
8. King, Randy. "VMI declines to extend new contract to football coach Sparky Woods". Roanoke Times. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
9. "Scott Wachenheim Named VMI Head Football Coach". VMIKeydets.com. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
10. "Bethune-Cookman names Brian Jenkins Head Football Coach". Omnidian Online. December 21, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
11. "Bethune-Cookman promotes Terry Sims as new head football coach". The Orlando Sentinel. December 22, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
12. "FAMU announces Alex Wood as new head football coach". Tallahassee Democrat. December 23, 2014. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved 2015-01-10.