On Dec. 5, 2020, ESPN’s College GameDay visited Coastal Carolina. The No. 14-ranked Chanticleers were set to take on No. 25 Liberty. But COVID precautions prevented Liberty from playing the game, and a schedule change just days before the game saw No. 8 BYU go to CCU instead. The Chanticleers won 22-17, capping off a historic day.
Just five years prior, CCU and Liberty were a part of the Big South Conference. They were the latest of the twelve teams that made the FCS to the FBS jump from 2008 to 2018. However, for some of these programs, the FCS was just a one or two-year stop as part of its transition to the FBS.
The FCS has seen more programs depart for the FBS recently. James Madison joined the Sun Belt in 2022. Sam Houston and Jacksonville State joined CUSA in 2023, while Kennesaw will join CUSA in 2024.
CCU and Liberty are success stories when it comes to teams making the transition. But these transitions aren’t always sunshine and bowl games. It’s a mixed bag when looking at the records of these teams since they became FBS programs. Some have struggled mightily. Some have found success but endured down years in the process.
Here are the 15 teams that have jumped to the FBS since 2008 and their records as FBS programs for each season.
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Western Kentucky
WKU competed in the FCS from 1978-2007. Its last FCS conference was the Gateway Football Conference, which is now the MVFC. WKU was in the Sun Belt Conference from 2009-2014 and then joined Conference USA.
2009: 0-12
2010: 2-10
2011: 7-5
2012: 7-6
2013: 8-4
2014: 8-5 (Popeyes Bahamas Bowl win)
2015: 12-2 (Miami Beach Bowl win)
2016: 11-3 (Boca Raton Bowl win)
2017: 6-7 (AutoNation Cure Bowl loss)
2018: 3-9
2019: 9-4 (SERVPRO First Responder Bowl win)
2020: 5-7 (LendingTree Bowl loss)
2021: 9-5 (Boca Raton Bowl win)
2022: 9-5 (R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl win)
2023: 8-5 (Famous Toastery Bowl win)
Texas State
Texas State was an FCS program from 1984–2011. Its last FCS conference was the Southland. The Bobcats joined the WAC in 2012 and then became a Sun Belt Conference member in 2013.
2012: 4-8
2013: 6-6
2014: 7-5
2015: 3-9
2016: 2-10
2017: 2-10
2018: 3-9
2019: 3-9
2020: 2-10
2021: 4-8
2022: 4-8
2023: 8-5 (SERVPRO First Responder Bowl win)
UMass
Umass played in the FCS from 1978–2011. Its last FCS conference was the CAA. The Minutemen joined the MAC in 2013 and have been an FBS independent since 2016.
2013: 1-11
2014: 3-9
2015: 3-9
2016: 2-10
2017: 4-8
2018: 4-8
2019: 1-11
2020: 0-4
2021: 1-11
2022: 1-11
2023: 3-9
UTSA
UTSA began its football program in 2010. It competed as an FCS independent in 2011 before joining the WAC in 2012. The Roadrunners became a member of Conference USA in 2013 and joined the AAC in 2023.
2012: 8-4
2013: 7-5
2014: 4-8
2015: 3-9
2016: 6-7
2017: 6-5
2018: 3-9
2019: 4-8
2020: 7-5 (First Responder Bowl loss)
2021: 12-2 (Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl loss)
2022: 11-3 (Duluth Trading Cure Bowl loss)
2023: 9-4 (Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl win)
South Alabama
South Alabama’s first football season was 2009. The Jaguars played as an NCAA unclassified team in 2009 and 2010, then played as an FCS independent in 2011 and 2012. They joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2013.
2013: 6-6
2014: 6-7
2015: 5-7
2016: 6-7
2017: 4-8
2018: 3-9
2019: 2-10
2020: 4-7
2021: 5-7
2022: 10-3 (R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl loss)
2023: 7-6 (68 Ventures Bowl win)
Georgia State
Georgia State played its first football season in 2009. It began as an independent before joining the CAA in 2012 for one season. In 2013, the school began full membership in the Sun Belt Conference.
2013: 0-12
2014: 1-11
2015: 6-7
2016: 3-9
2017: 7-5 (AutoNation Cure Bowl win)
2018: 2-10
2019: 7-6 (NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl loss)
2020: 6-4 (LendingTree Bowl win)
2021: 8-5 (TaxAct Camellia Bowl win)
2022: 4-8
2023: 7-6 (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl win)
Appalachian State
App State was an FCS program from 1982–2013 and was a member of the SoCon. It joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2014.
2014: 7-5
2015: 11-2 (Raycom Media Camellia Bowl win)
2016: 10-3 (Raycom Media Camellia Bowl win)
2017: 9-4 (Dollar General Bowl win)
2018: 11-2 (R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl win)
2019: 13-1 (R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl win)
2020: 9-3 (Myrtle Beach Bowl win)
2021: 10-4 (Boca Raton Bowl loss)
2022: 6-6
2023: 9-5 (Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl win)
Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern played in the FCS from 1984–2013. The Eagles were a SoCon member before joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2014.
2014: 9-3
2015: 9-4 (GoDaddy Bowl win)
2016: 5-7
2017: 2-10
2018: 10-3 (Raycom Media Camellia Bowl win)
2019: 7-6 (FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl loss)
2020: 8-5 (R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl win)
2021: 3-9
2022: 6-7 (Camellia Bowl loss)
2023: 6-7 (Myrtle Beach Bowl loss)
Old Dominion
Old Dominion played in the FCS from 2009–2013 and was a CAA member from 2011-2012. ODU joined Conference USA in 2014, and then joined the Sun Belt in 2022.
2014: 6-6
2015: 5-7
2016: 10-3 (Popeyes Bahamas Bowl win)
2017: 5-7
2018: 4-8
2019: 1-11
2020: 0-0 (opted out due to COVID)
2021: 6-7 (Myrtle Beach Bowl loss)
2022: 3-9
2023: 6-7 (Famous Toastery Bowl loss)
Charlotte
Charlotte had a football program from 1946-1948. The school decided to bring back football 60 years later and the 49ers’ first two seasons were as an FCS independent from 2013-2014. Charlotte joined Conference USA in 2015 and joined the AAC in 2023.
2015: 2-10
2016: 4-8
2017: 1-11
2018: 5-7
2019: 7-6 (Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl loss)
2020: 2-4
2021: 5-7
2022: 3-9
2023: 3-9
Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina was an FCS member from 2003–2016. Those years were spent in the Big South Conference besides 2016, when the Chanticleers were an FCS independent. They joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2017.
2017: 3-9
2018: 5-7
2019: 5-7
2020: 11-1 (FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl loss)
2021: 11-2 (Tailgreeter Cure Bowl win)
2022: 9-4 (TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl loss)
2023: 8-5 (EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl win)
Liberty
Liberty played in the FCS from 1989–2017 with its last 15 years spent in the Big South Conference. The Flames became a provisional FBS member in 2018 and became a full FBS member with bowl eligibility in 2019. They played as an independent before joining C-USA in 2023.
2018: 6-6
2019: 8-5 (FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl win)
2020: 10-1 (FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl win)
2021: 8-5 (LendingTree Bowl win)
2022: 8-5 (Boca Raton Bowl loss)
2023: 13-1 (Vrbo Fiesta Bowl loss)
James Madison
JMU competed in the FCS from 1980-2021 and was a member of the CAA from 2007–2021. The Dukes joined the Sun Belt as a full member in 2022 but were not eligible for the postseason due to transition rules.
2022: 8-3
2023: 11-2 (Armed Forces Bowl loss)
Sam Houston
SHSU competed in the FCS from 1984-2022, spending most of those years in the Southland Conference before playing in the WAC for two seasons. The Bearkats then joined CUSA in 2023.
2023: 3-9
Jacksonville State
JSU played in the FCS from 1995-2022, spending 2003-2020 in the OVC before joining the ASUN in 2021. The Gamecocks joined CUSA in 2023.
2023: 9-4 (R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl win)
