The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a football-only conference. It has member schools that range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. It is headquartered in St. Louis, in the same complex that also contains the offices of the Missouri Valley Conference and Missouri Valley Football Conference. Unlike most other Division I FCS conferences, the Pioneer League consists of institutions that choose not to award athletic scholarships ("grants-in-aid") to football players.
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. Originally established as the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) in 1978, it was renamed as the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2001, and briefly rebranded as the ASUN Conference from 2016 to 2023. The conference still uses "ASUN" as an official abbreviation. The conference headquarters are located in Atlanta.
The Mercer Bears are the athletic teams of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, United States. Mercer is the only private university in Georgia with an NCAA Division I athletic program and fields teams in eight men's and nine women's sports. The university competes in the Southern Conference for most sports. In 2013, the football team competed in the Pioneer Football League.
The East Tennessee State Buccaneers football program is the intercollegiate American football team for East Tennessee State University (ETSU) located in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was dormant from the end of the 2003 season until being reinstated for the 2015 season. They played all of their 2015 home games and all but one of their 2016 home games at Kermit Tipton Stadium before the opening of the new William B. Greene Jr. Stadium for the 2017 season. The remaining 2016 home game, against Western Carolina on September 17, was played at nearby Bristol Motor Speedway, which was already set up for football due to a game the prior week between the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech. Before ETSU dropped football, it competed in NCAA Division I as a Southern Conference (SoCon) football program. The revived program played as an independent in 2015 before returning to the SoCon in 2016.
The 2014 VMI Keydets football team represented the Virginia Military Institute in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. It was VMI's 124th football season, as the Keydets were led by seventh year head coach Sparky Woods. They played their home games at 10,000-seat Alumni Memorial Field, as they have since 1962. This was VMI's first season as a member of the Southern Conference, following an eleven-year stint in the Big South.
The 2013 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 29, 2013, and concluded with the 2014 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game on January 4, 2014, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
The 2013 Mercer Bears football team represented Mercer University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Bobby Lamb and played their home games at the Moye Complex. They were a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL). This was Mercer's first year sponsoring football since 1941. This was also their only season as a member of the PFL as they joined the Southern Conference in 2014. They finished the season 10–2 overall and 6–2 in conference play, placing third in the PFL.
The 2013 Elon Phoenix football team represented Elon University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Jason Swepson and played their home games at Rhodes Stadium. They were a member of the Southern Conference. This was their final season as a member of the SoCon as they joined the Colonial Athletic Association in 2014. They finished the season 2–10, 1–7 in SoCon play to finish in a tie for eighth place.
The 2015 The Citadel Bulldogs football team represented The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs were led by second-year head coach Mike Houston and played their home games at Johnson Hagood Stadium. They played as members of the Southern Conference, as they have since 1936. They finished the season 9–4, 6–1 in SoCon play to finish in a share for the SoCon title with Chattanooga. Due to their head-to-head loss to Chattanooga, they did not receive the SoCon's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs. However, they received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Coastal Carolina in the first round before losing in the second round to Charleston Southern.
The 2015 Mercer Bears football team represented Mercer University as a member the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Bobby Lamb and played their home games at the Moye Complex in Macon, Georgia. Mercer finished the season 5–6 overall and 2–5 in SoCon play to tie for sixth place.
The 2016 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team represented East Tennessee State University (ETSU) in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season and were in the first year of their second stint as football members of the Southern Conference (SoCon). ETSU had originally joined the SoCon in 1978, with football joining in 1979, but dropped the sport after the 2003 season and left the conference entirely in 2005. ETSU returned to the SoCon as a full but non-football member in 2014, at that time announcing that the school would reinstate football with play beginning in the 2015 season. The Buccaneers played that season as an FCS independent.
The 2016 Mercer Bears football team represented Mercer University as a member the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Bobby Lamb and played their home games at the Moye Complex in Macon, Georgia. Mercer finished the season 6–5 overall and 4–4 in SoCon play to place fifth.
The 2017 Mercer Bears football team represented Mercer University as a member the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Bobby Lamb and played their home games at the Moye Complex in Macon, Georgia. Mercer finished the season 5–6 overall and 4–4 in SoCon play to place fifth.
The 2018 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team represented East Tennessee State University (ETSU) in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season and were in the third year of their second stint as football members of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They were led by first-year head coach Randy Sanders and played their home games at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium. They finished the season 8–4, 6–2 in SoCon play to win a share of the SoCon championship. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, where they lost to Jacksonville State in the first round.
The 2018 Mercer Bears football team represented Mercer University as a member the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Bobby Lamb and played their home games at the Five Star Stadium in Macon, Georgia. Mercer finished the season 5–6 overall and 4–4 in SoCon play to place in a three-way tie for fifth.
The 2019 Mercer Bears football team represented Mercer University as a member the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by seventh-year head coach Bobby Lamb and played their home games at the Five Star Stadium in Macon, Georgia. Mercer finished the season 4–8 overall and 3–5 in SoCon play to place seventh.
The 2020 Mercer Bears football team represented Mercer University as a member the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Drew Cronic and played their home games at the Five Star Stadium in Macon, Georgia. Mercer finished the season 5–6 overall and 5–3 in SoCon play to place fourth.
The 2021 Mercer Bears football team represented Mercer University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). The Bears were led by second-year head coach Drew Cronic and played their home games at Moye Complex in Macon, Georgia.
