The 2014 season saw a few teams leave the FCS for the FBS while others moved conferences within the subdivision.
2014 FCS Over FBS Victories (8)
- Bethune-Cookman @ Florida International, 14-12
- North Dakota State @ Iowa State, 34-14
- Eastern Kentucky @ Miami (OH), 17-10
- Abilene Christian @ Troy, 38-35
- Indiana State @ Ball State, 27-20
- Northwestern State @ Louisiana Tech, 30-27
- Army @ Yale, 49-43 (1 OT)
- Liberty @ Appalachian State, 55-48 (1 OT)
Playoff Bracket, Notes, and National Champion
2014 kept the same format as instituted in 2013 with 24 teams in which 8 seeded teams all received a first-round bye while campus sites were used through the semifinal round. Frisco, Texas was the site of the FCS National Championship for the fifth consecutive season. The title game was held on January 10, 2015.
The home team is listed on the bottom of each matchup in the bracket below while an asterisk (*) denotes the number of overtime periods played if a game went to overtime. North Dakota State (15-1 Overall, 7-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference) won a fourth straight FCS National Championship by taking down a conference rival in Illinois State (13-2 Overall, 7-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference). The Bison used a last-minute drive to win 29-27 over the Redbirds.
Conference Changes
No conference changes were in effect for the 2014 FCS season.
Team Changes
Appalachian State and Georgia Southern both left the Southern Conference for the Sun Belt Conference but were replaced by two other FCS teams. Elon also left the Southern Conference to go to the Colonial Athletic Association. Mercer joined the SoCon from the Pioneer Football League while VMI left the Big South. VMI was previously part of the SoCon between 1924 and 2002.
Old Dominion was an FCS independent in 2013 as it started the transition to the FBS. The Monarchs joined Conference USA for the 2014 season. Monmouth moved from FCS independent into the Big South Conference while Three teams joined the Southland Conference from FCS independent status – Abilene Christian, Houston Baptist, and Incarnate Word.
Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word were not considered fully FCS eligible until 2017 by the NCAA. We consider them as FCS for the 2013 through 2016 seasons since they were transitioning to a higher level.
| Team | Old Conference | New Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Abilene Christian | FCS Independent | Southland (FCS) |
| Appalachian State | Southern (FCS) | Sun Belt (FBS) |
| Elon | Southern (FCS) | CAA (FCS) |
| Georgia Southern | Southern (FCS) | Sun Belt (FBS) |
| Houston Christian (Houston Baptist) | FCS Independent | Southland (FCS) |
| Incarnate Word | FCS Independent | Southland (FCS) |
| Mercer | Pioneer Football League (FCS) | Southern (FCS) |
| Monmouth | FCS Independent | Big South (FCS) |
| Old Dominion | FCS Independent | C-USA (FBS) |
| VMI | Big South (FCS) | Southern (FCS) |
2013 Season ———————————————————————————————————————————————————- 2015 Season