2024 FCS Over FBS Victories (6)
- Montana State @ New Mexico, 35-31 [Recap]
- Saint Francis (PA) @ Kent State, 23-17 [Recap]
- Idaho @ Wyoming, 17-13 [Recap]
- Southern Utah @ UTEP, 27-24 (1 OT) [Recap]
- Monmouth @ Florida International, 45-42 [Recap]
- UT Martin @ Kennesaw State, 24-13 [Recap]
Playoff Bracket, Notes, and National Champion
The FCS Playoff format has a slight change in 2024 with 16 teams being seeded for the first time since 2000. The total number of teams will remain the same at 24. The top 8 teams will be seeded and receive a first-round bye while seeds 9 through 16 will host a first-round matchup with campus sites used through the semifinal round. Frisco, Texas will be the site of the FCS National Championship for the 15th straight season and the game was moved from its traditional weekend date to Monday, January 6, 2025.
Conference Changes
There were no conference changes to report in 2024 but there were plenty of teams changing conferences along with a few new FCS members and one team that moved to the FBS…
Team Changes
Kennesaw State left the FCS and moved to the FBS as a member of Conference USA. They spent the 2023 season as an FCS independent but were previously aligned with the ASUN in 2022 and the Big South from the inception of the program in 2015 through 2021.
Texas A&M-Commerce changed its name to East Texas A&M on Thursday, November 7, 2024. The school will keep the Lions nickname and will remain in the Southland Conference.
Joining the FCS in 2024 from NCAA Division II were Mercyhurst from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and West Georgia from the Gulf South Conference. Mercyhurst joined the Northeast Conference while West Georgia joined the United Athletic Conference in football and the ASUN as a full member.
Within the FCS, there were quite a few moves. Joining the CAA for 2024 was Bryant, who moved from the Big South-OVC Football Association. The Big South-OVC also lost Robert Morris, which rejoined the Northeast Conference as a football-only affiliate. Speaking of the NEC, it lost Merrimack and Sacred Heart to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) but the MAAC doesn’t sponsor football. Both schools opted to play the 2024 season as FCS independents.
The Missouri Valley Football Conference lost one member, although it was already known back in 2023. Western Illinois spent the 2023 season in the MVFC and officially moved to the Big South-OVC in 2024. Finally, there was the late move by Stephen F. Austin from the United Athletic Conference (the primary conference was the WAC) to return to the Southland Conference. The table below shows all the conference affiliations
| Team | Old Conference | New Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Bryant | Big South-OVC (FCS) | CAA (FCS) |
East Texas A&M | N/A | N/A |
| Kennesaw State | FCS Independent | C-USA (FBS) |
| Mercyhurst | PSAC (D-II) | Northeast Conference (FCS) |
| Merrimack | Northeast Conference (FCS) | FCS Independent |
| Robert Morris | Big South-OVC (FCS) | Northeast Conference (FCS) |
| Sacred Heart | Northeast Conference (FCS) | FCS Independent |
| Stephen F. Austin | United Athletic (FCS) | Southland (FCS) |
| West Georgia | Gulf South (D-II) | United Athletic (FCS) |
| Western Illinois | MVFC (FCS) | Big South-OVC (FCS) |
Stats
Below is a graph showing the stats every week for the entire FCS subdivision in various categories and another table showing how each FCS Conference performed for the entire season.
2023 Season ———————————————————————————————————————————————————- 2025 Season