1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season was the first season of Division I-AA college football; Division I-AA was created in 1978 when Division I was subdivided into Division I-A and Division I-AA for football only.[1] With the exception of seven teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Division I teams from the 1977 season played in Division I-A during the 1978 season. The SWAC teams, along with five conferences and five other teams formerly in Division II, played in Division I-AA.

1978 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams43
DurationAugust–November
Playoff
DurationDecember 9–December 16
Championship dateDecember 16, 1978
Championship siteMemorial Stadium
Wichita Falls, Texas
ChampionFlorida A&M
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons

The Division I-AA season began in August 1978 and concluded with the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game played on December 16 at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Florida A&M Rattlers won the first I-AA championship, defeating the UMass Minutemen in the Pioneer Bowl, 35–28.[2] Florida A&M of 1978 remains the only team from an HBCU to play in the I-AA/FCS national championship game.

Conference changes and new programs

School1977 Conference1978 Conference
BucknellD-II IndependentI-AA Independent
LafayetteD-II IndependentI-AA Independent
LehighD-II IndependentI-AA Independent
NevadaD-II IndependentI-AA Independent
Northwestern StateD-I IndependentI-AA Independent
Portland StateD-II IndependentI-AA Independent

Conference standings

1978 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 7 Northern Arizona $ 6 0 0  8 2 0
No. T–9 Montana State 4 2 0  8 2 0
Montana 4 2 0  5 6 0
Boise State 3 3 0  7 4 0
Weber State 2 4 0  4 7 0
Idaho 2 4 0  2 9 0
Idaho State 0 6 0  2 9 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA AP Poll
1978 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 6 South Carolina State $ 5 0 1  8 2 1
North Carolina A&T 4 2 0  6 6 0
Delaware State 3 3 0  3 7 0
Morgan State 2 3 1  4 6 1
Howard 2 4 0  4 6 0
Maryland Eastern Shore 2 4 0  3 8 0
North Carolina Central 2 4 0  3 8 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1978 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. T–4 Western Kentucky $ 7 0 0  8 2 0
No. 8 Eastern Kentucky 6 1 0  8 2 0
Tennessee Tech 4 3 0  5 6 0
Austin Peay 4 3 0  6 4 0
Murray State 2 5 0  4 7 0
Morehead State 2 5 0  2 6 1
East Tennessee State 2 5 0  4 7 0
Middle Tennessee 1 6 0  1 9 1
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1978 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Grambling State $ 5 0 1  9 1 1
No. 2 Jackson State ^ 5 1 0  10 2 0
Mississippi Valley State 3 2 1  6 3 1
Alcorn State 2 3 1  5 4 1
Southern 2 4 0  4 7 0
Texas Southern 1 4 1  3 6 1
Prairie View A&M 1 5 0  3 7 0
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1978 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. T–4 UMass $^ 5 0 0  9 4 0
No. 7 Rhode Island 3 2 0  7 3 0
Connecticut 3 2 0  4 7 0
Boston University 2 3 0  6 4 0
New Hampshire 1 3 1  6 4 1
Maine 0 4 1  3 7 1
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1978 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 3 Florida A&M ^      12 1 0
No. 1 Nevada ^      11 1 0
No. 9 Lehigh      8 3 0
Northeastern      6 5 0
Bucknell      5 5 0
Northwestern State      5 6 0
Portland State      5 6 0
Lafayette      4 7 0
  • ^ NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll

Conference champions

Conference champions

Big Sky ConferenceNorthern Arizona
Mid-Eastern Athletic ConferenceSouth Carolina State
Ohio Valley ConferenceWestern Kentucky
Southwestern Athletic ConferenceGrambling State
Yankee ConferenceUMass

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket

The bracket consisted of three regional selections (West, East, and South) plus an at-large team.[3] Florida A&M (FAMU) of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) was the at-large selection.[4] While the SIAC was a Division II conference, FAMU had successfully petitioned the NCAA for Division I classification (Division I-AA in football), which took effect on September 1, 1978.[5]

Semifinals
December 9
Campus Sites
National Championship Game
December 17
Pioneer Bowl
Memorial StadiumWichita Falls, TX
      
AtLg Florida A&M 15
South Jackson State* 10
AtLg Florida A&M 35
East UMass 28
East UMass 44
West Nevada* 21

* Denotes host institution

See also

References

  1. "Big schools win battle". St. Petersburg Independent. (Florida). Associated Press. January 13, 1978. p. 5C.
  2. "1978 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  3. Climer, David (July 22, 1978). "I-AA Finals Set At Pioneer Bowl". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 20. Retrieved February 9, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  4. "FAMU Gains I-AA Playoffs". Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. December 4, 1978. p. 19. Retrieved February 9, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  5. Cooper, Barry (August 31, 1978). "Florida A&M granted Division 1 status". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. p. 1B. Retrieved May 13, 2019 via newspapers.com.
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