2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season

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.

2014 NCAA Division I FCS season
Regular season
Number of teams124
DurationAugust 23 – November 22
Payton AwardJohn Robertson, QB, Villanova
Buchanan AwardKyle Emanuel, DE, North Dakota State
Playoff
DurationNovember 29 – December 20
Championship dateJanuary 10, 2015
Championship siteToyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
ChampionNorth Dakota State
NCAA Division I FCS football seasons

Conference changes and new programs

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Other notable changes

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  • 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]

FCS team wins over FBS teams

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(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 standings

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2014 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 4 Eastern Washington $^ 71  113 
No. 13 Montana ^ 62  95 
No. 20 Montana State ^ 62  85 
No. 25 Idaho State 62  84 
Cal Poly 53  75 
Northern Arizona 53  75 
Sacramento State 44  75 
North Dakota 35  57 
Southern Utah 35  39 
Northern Colorado 26  38 
Portland State 26  39 
Weber State 26  210 
UC Davis 17  29 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2014 Big South Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 5 Coastal Carolina +^ 41  122 
No. 17 Liberty +^ 41  95 
Charleston Southern 32  84 
Presbyterian 32  65 
Monmouth 14  65 
Gardner–Webb 05  48 
  • + Conference co-champions
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2014 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 3 New Hampshire $^ 80  122 
No. 7 Villanova ^ 71  113 
No. 18 James Madison ^ 62  94 
No. 16 Richmond ^ 53  95 
William & Mary 44  75 
Delaware 44  66 
Maine 44  56 
Stony Brook 44  57 
Albany 35  75 
Towson 26  48 
Rhode Island 17  111 
Elon 08  111 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2014 Ivy League football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 15 Harvard $ 70  100 
Dartmouth 61  82 
Yale 52  82 
Princeton 43  55 
Brown 34  55 
Penn 25  28 
Cornell 16  19 
Columbia 07  010 
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from The Sports Network Poll
2014 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 23 Bethune–Cookman + 62  93 
North Carolina A&T + 62  93 
South Carolina State + 62  84 
North Carolina Central + 62  75 
Morgan State +^ 62  76 
Norfolk State 44  48 
Howard 35  57 
Florida A&M * 35  39 
Hampton 26  39 
Delaware State 26  210 
Savannah State * 08  012 
  • + 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
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 1 North Dakota State +^ 71  151 
No. 2 Illinois State +^ 71  132 
No. 10 Northern Iowa ^ 62  95 
No. 12 South Dakota St. ^ 53  95 
No. 19 Indiana State ^ 44  86 
No. 22 Youngstown State 44  75 
Southern Illinois 35  66 
Western Illinois 35  57 
Missouri State 17  48 
South Dakota 08  210 
  • + Conference co-champions
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2014 Northeast Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Sacred Heart +^ 51  93 
Wagner + 51  74 
Bryant 42  83 
Saint Francis (PA) * 33  56 
Duquesne 24  66 
Central Connecticut 15  39 
Robert Morris 15  110 
  • + Conference co-champions
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
  • * – Saint Francis (PA) ineligible for FCS playoffs due to APR violation
2014 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 9 Jacksonville State $^ 80  102 
No. 21 Eastern Kentucky ^ 62  94 
UT Martin 53  66 
Eastern Illinois 53  57 
Tennessee Tech 44  57 
Tennessee State 35  66 
SE Missouri State 35  57 
Murray State 17  39 
Austin Peay 17  111 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2014 Patriot League football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 11 Fordham $^ 60  113 
Bucknell 42  83 
Lafayette 33  56 
Colgate 33  57 
Holy Cross 24  48 
Lehigh 24  38 
Georgetown 15  38 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2014 Pioneer Football League standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
San Diego $^ 71  93 
Jacksonville * 71  92 
Dayton 62  83 
Drake 62  74 
Campbell 44  57 
Marist 44  47 
Stetson 35  57 
Morehead State 35  48 
Butler 26  47 
Valparaiso 26  48 
Davidson 08  111 
  • $ 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
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 8 Chattanooga $^ 70  104 
Samford 52  74 
Western Carolina 52  75 
Wofford 43  65 
The Citadel 34  57 
Furman 25  39 
Mercer 16  66 
VMI 16  210 
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2014 Southland Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 6 Sam Houston St +^ 71  115 
No. 14 SE Louisiana +^ 71  94 
Lamar 53  84 
Stephen F. Austin ^ 53  85 
Central Arkansas 53  66 
McNeese State 44  65 
Abilene Christian * 44  66 
Northwestern State 44  66 
Incarnate Word * 26  29 
Houston Baptist 17  29 
Nicholls State 08  012 
  • + 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
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
East Division
Alcorn State x$ 72  103 
Alabama State * 54  75 
Jackson State 36  57 
Alabama A&M 36  48 
Mississippi Valley State * 18  29 
West Division
Southern xy 81  94 
Grambling State 72  75 
Prairie View A&M * 54  55 
Texas Southern 36  56 
Arkansas–Pine Bluff * 36  47 
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
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
Charlotte   56 
  • Charlotte ineligible for FCS playoffs as part of FBS transition

Conference summaries

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Championship games

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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

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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

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FCS ConferenceGPRecordWin %PFPAPD
Ivy League11–01.0004943+6
MVFC122–10.167212384–172
Southland132–11.154235656–421
Big South81–7.125123348–225
OVC111–10.091159495–336
MEAC141–13.071146673–527
Pioneer10–1.000066–66
Patriot20–2.0004172–31
NEC20–2.0003172–41
SWAC50–5.00040224–184
Southern110–11.000154443–289
CAA110–11.000121487–366
Big Sky170–17.000266696–430
FCS Independents00–0000
TOTAL1088–100.07415774659–3082
FBS ConferenceGPRecordWin %PFPAPD
SEC1414–01.000685131+554
ACC1414–01.000636173+463
Big Ten1111–01.000391156+235
MWC1010–01.000354157+197
American88–01.00035281+271
Pac-1288–01.000410142+268
Big 1287–1.875357156+201
MAC1311–2.846462196+266
Sun Belt97–2.778445165+280
C-USA97–2.778367126+241
FBS Independents43–1.75020094+106
TOTAL108100–8.92646591577+3082

Playoff qualifiers

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Automatic berths for conference champions

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At large qualifiers

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Conference Team Appearance Last bid Result
Big Sky ConferenceMontana23rd2013Second Round (L – Coastal Carolina)
Montana State8th2012Quarterfinals (L – Sam Houston State)
Big South ConferenceCoastal Carolina5th2013Quarterfinals (L – North Dakota State)
Colonial Athletic AssociationJames Madison10th2011Second Round (L – North Dakota State)
Richmond9th2009Quarterfinals (L – Appalachian State)
Villanova11th2012First Round (L – Stony Brook)
Mid-Eastern Athletic ConferenceNone
Missouri Valley Football ConferenceIllinois State5th2012Quarterfinals (L – Eastern Washington)
Indiana State3rd1984Quarterfinals (L – Middle Tennessee State)
Northern Iowa17th2011Quarterfinals (L – Montana)
South Dakota State4th2013Second Round (L – Eastern Washington)
Northeast ConferenceNone
Ohio Valley ConferenceEastern Kentucky21st2011First Round (L – James Madison)
Patriot LeagueNone
Pioneer Football League
Southern Conference
Southland ConferenceSoutheastern Louisiana2nd2013Quarterfinals (L – New Hampshire)
Stephen F. Austin6th2010Second Round (L – Villanova)

Abstentions

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Postseason

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NCAA Division I playoff bracket

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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

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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

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Preseason and in-season

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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

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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

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References

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  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. 1 2 "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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  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.