2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season


The 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level. The season began on August 29, 2013, and concluded with the 2014 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game on January 4, 2014, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

Notable changes

For 2013, the FCS playoffs expanded for the first time since 2010. The Pioneer Football League champion now receives an automatic bid into the FCS playoffs, which increased to 24 teams.
Under a standard provision of NCAA rules, all FCS programs were allowed to play 12 regular-season games in 2013, and also 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 2014, the next season in which 12-game seasons are allowed will be 2019.

Conference changes and new programs

Several teams changed conferences from the 2012 season, with all moves officially taking effect on July 1, 2013.
Albany and Stony Brook became football-only members of the Colonial Athletic Association. Previously, they had respectively been football-only members of the Northeast Conference and Big South Conference.
Georgia State left the FCS ranks to become a member of the Sun Belt Conference. As it began its FBS transition in 2012, it was counted as an FBS member for scheduling purposes in 2013.
Old Dominion joined Conference USA and started its FBS transition. ODU was technically an FCS independent in 2013 before becoming a provisional FBS member in 2014 and a full FBS member in 2015.
The Southland Conference added four schools—two with established football programs, one launching a new program, and another without varsity football. The established programs were Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word, both joining from the Division II Lone Star Conference. While technically considered FCS independents in 2013, they played Division II schedules this season. Both would be counted as FCS members for scheduling purposes in 2014, at which time they began playing full Southland Conference schedules. Houston Baptist, arriving from the Division I Great West Conference, fielded a football team for the first time in 2013, but only played a partial schedule. Houston Baptist also began playing a full Southland schedule in 2014.
Monmouth announced in December 2012 that it would leave the Northeast Conference for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, effective in July 2013. As the MAAC has not sponsored football since 2007, Monmouth's football plans were uncertain. Those plans became clear on February 14, 2013, when the Big South Conference announced that Monmouth would become a football-only member of that league in 2014. Since Monmouth was transitioning from the limited-scholarship NEC to a conference that allows the full FCS limit of 63 scholarship equivalents, the Hawks played the 2013 football season as an independent.
In addition to the schools changing conferences, three others launched FCS football programs. Charlotte, which rejoined C-USA after eight years in the Atlantic 10 Conference, played as an FCS independent in its first football season, as part of its announced plan to become a full FBS member in 2015. The 49ers were counted as an FBS program for scheduling purposes in 2014 and became a C-USA football member in 2015. Two other schools, Mercer and Stetson, reinstated varsity football after decades-long absences—Mercer had last played in 1941 and Stetson in 1956. Both initially planned to operate as non-scholarship programs in the Pioneer Football League. However, Mercer would later commit to scholarship football when it accepted an invitation to join the Southern Conference in 2014.
Two other SoCon members, Appalachian State and Georgia Southern, were officially announced on March 27, 2013 as future Sun Belt members. Both schools began FBS transitions in 2013 in advance of their 2014 entry into the Sun Belt. They were counted as FBS members for scheduling purposes in 2014, and were eligible for the Sun Belt football championship, but were not eligible for bowl games until completing their transitions in 2015.
This was also the last season for two other programs in their then-current conferences. Elon left the SoCon for the CAA in July 2014; at the same time, VMI left the Big South and returned to the SoCon after an 11-year absence.
School2012 Conference2013 Conference
Abilene ChristianLone Star Independent
AlbanyNECCAA
CharlotteNew for 2013Independent
Georgia StateCAASun Belt
Houston BaptistNew for 2013Independent
Incarnate WordLone StarIndependent
MercerNew for 2013Pioneer League
MonmouthNECIndependent
Old DominionCAAIndependent
StetsonNew for 2013Pioneer League
Stony BrookBig SouthCAA

New, expanded, renovated, and temporary stadiums

New stadiums

Renovated stadiums

Temporary stadiums

FCS team wins over FBS teams

Conference summaries

Championship games

Other conference winners

Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.
ConferenceChampionRecordOffensive Player of the YearDefensive Player of the YearCoach of the Year
Big SkyEastern Washington10-2 Vernon Adams, QB Brad Daly
Sullivan Grosz 		Beau Baldwin
Big SouthCoastal Carolina
Liberty		10-2
8-4 		Lorenzo Taliaferro, RB Quinn Backus, LB
CAAMaine10-2 Terrance West, RB Stephon Robertson, LB Jack Cosgrove
IvyHarvard
Princeton		9-1
8-2 		Quinn Epperly, QB Zack Hodges, DE
MEACBethune-Cookman
South Carolina State		10-2
9-3 		Greg McGhee, QB Joe Thomas, LB Brian Jenkins
MVFCNorth Dakota State11-0 Brock Jensen, QB Tyler Starr, LB Craig Bohl
NECSacred Heart
Duquesne		10-2
6-4 		Keshaudas Spence, RB Troy Moore, DL Mark Nofri
OVCEastern Illinois11-1 Jimmy Garoppolo, QB Anthony Bass, DE Dino Babers
PatriotLafayette5-6 Michael Nebrich, QB Stephen Hodge, LB Joe Moorhead
PioneerButler
Marist		9-3
8-3 		Mason Mills, QB Terrence Fede, DE Jim Parady
SouthernChattanooga
Samford
Furman		8-4
8-4
7-5 		Jacob Huesman, So., QB Davis Tull, Jr., DL Russ Huesman
SouthlandSoutheastern Louisiana10-2 Bryan Bennett POY
Cody Stroud OPOY		Cqulin Hubert Ron Roberts

Playoff qualifiers

Automatic berths for conference champions

NCAA FCS Playoff bracket

* Home team

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2013. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2013, see 2012 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.
SchoolOutgoing coachDateReasonReplacement
North Carolina CentralHenry Frazier, IIIAugust 22FiredDwayne Foster
Grambling StateDoug WilliamsSeptember 11FiredGeorge Ragsdale
Grambling StateGeorge RagsdaleOctober 17FiredDennis Winston
ValparaisoDale CarlsonNovember 10FiredMike Gravier

End of season

NFL draft selections

Listed below are all FCS players selected in the 2014 NFL Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionSchoolNFL Team
262Jimmy GaroppoloQuarterbackEastern IllinoisNew England Patriots
367Billy TurnerOffensive TackleNorth Dakota StateMiami Dolphins
394Terrance WestRunning BackTowsonCleveland Browns
396Jerick McKinnonRunning BackGeorgia SouthernMinnesota Vikings
4125Walt AikensCornerbackLibertyMiami Dolphins
4137Dakota DozierOffensive TackleFurmanNew York Jets
4138Lorenzo TaliaferroRunning BackCoastal CarolinaBaltimore Ravens
5143Kadeem EdwardsOffensive GuardTennessee StateTampa Bay Buccaneers
5158Caraun ReidDefensive TacklePrincetonDetroit Lions
5171Jordan TrippOutside LinebackerMontanaMiami Dolphins
6184Kendall JamesCornerbackMaineMinnesota Vikings
6190Matt HazelWide ReceiverCoastal CarolinaMiami Dolphins
6196Walt PowellWide ReceiverMurray StateArizona Cardinals
7226Mitchell Van DykOffensive TacklePortland StateSt. Louis Rams
7234Terrence FedeDefensive EndMaristMiami Dolphins
7235Shelby HarrisDefensive EndIllinois StateOakland Raiders
7250Demetrius RhaneyCenterTennessee StateSt. Louis Rams
7252Lavelle WestbrooksCornerbackGeorgia SouthernCincinnati Bengals
7255Tyler StarrOutside LinebackerSouth DakotaAtlanta Falcons