1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1998, and concluded with the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1998, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The UMass Minutemen won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Georgia Southern Eagles by a final score of 55−43.[1]

1998 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
DurationAugust–November
Payton AwardJerry Azumah (RB, New Hampshire)
Buchanan AwardJames Milton (LB, Western Illinois)
Playoff
DurationNovember 28–December 19
Championship dateDecember 19, 1998
Championship siteFinley Stadium
Chattanooga, Tennessee
ChampionUMass
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons

Conference changes and new programs
School1997 Conference1998 Conference
Arkansas–Pine BluffIndependent (NAIA)SWAC (I-AA)
Boston UniversityAtlantic 10Dropped Program
EvansvillePioneerDropped Program
JacksonvilleNew ProgramI-AA Independent
Sacred HeartEastern (D-II)Northeast

Conference standings
1998 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
New England
No. 9 Connecticut x^  6 –2     10 –3  
No. 1 UMass x^  6 –2     12 –3  
Maine  3 –5     6 –5  
New Hampshire  3 –5     4 –7  
Rhode Island  2 –6     3 –8  
Mid-Atlantic
No. 10 Richmond x$^  7 –1     9 –3  
No. 23 Delaware  4 –4     7 –4  
Villanova  4 –4     6 –5  
No. 17 William & Mary  4 –4     7 –4  
Northeastern  3 –5     5 –6  
James Madison  2 –6     3 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1998 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 15 Montana $^  6 –2     8 –4  
Cal State Northridge  5 –3     7 –4  
No. 25 Montana State  5 –3     7 –4  
Weber State  4 –4     6 –5  
Eastern Washington  4 –4     5 –6  
Portland State  4 –4     5 –6  
Northern Arizona  3 –5     6 –5  
Sacramento State  3 –5     5 –6  
Idaho State  2 –6     3 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1998 Gateway Football Conference standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 4 Western Illinois $^  5 –1     11 –3  
No. 16 Illinois State ^  4 –2     8 –4  
Northern Iowa  3 –3     7 –4  
Youngstown State  3 –3     6 –5  
Southwest Missouri State  3 –3     5 –6  
Indiana State  2 –4     5 –6  
Southern Illinois  1 –5     3 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1998 Ivy League football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Penn $  6 –1     8 –2  
Brown  5 –2     7 –3  
Yale  5 –2     6 –4  
Princeton  4 –3     5 –5  
Columbia  3 –4     4 –6  
Harvard  3 –4     4 –6  
Cornell  1 –6     4 –6  
Dartmouth  1 –6     2 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
1998 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Fairfield +  7 –1     9 –2  
Georgetown +  7 –1     9 –2  
Duquesne  6 –2     8 –3  
Marist  6 –2     7 –3  
St. John's  4 –4     6 –5  
Iona  2 –6     4 –6  
Siena  2 –6     3 –6  
Canisius  2 –6     3 –7  
Saint Peter's  0 –8     0 –10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
1998 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 5 Florida A&M +^  7 –1     11 –2  
No. 11 Hampton +^  7 –1     9 –3  
No. 18 Bethune–Cookman  6 –2     8 –3  
North Carolina A&T  5 –3     8 –3  
Howard  5 –3     7 –4  
South Carolina State  3 –5     5 –6  
Norfolk State  2 –6     2 –9  
Morgan State  1 –7     1 –10  
Delaware State  0 –8     0 –11  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1998 Northeast Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Monmouth +  4 –1     5 –5  
Robert Morris +  4 –1     4 –6  
Wagner  3 –2     7 –3  
Central Connecticut  3 –2     4 –6  
Sacred Heart  1 –4     2 –8  
Saint Francis (PA)  0 –5     0 –10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
1998 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 12 Tennessee State $^  6 –1     9 –3  
No. 24 Murray State  5 –2     7 –4  
Middle Tennessee  5 –2     5 –5  
Eastern Illinois  4 –3     6 –5  
Eastern Kentucky  4 –3     6 –5  
Tennessee Tech  2 –5     4 –7  
Southeast Missouri State  2 –5     3 –8  
Tennessee–Martin  0 –7     0 –11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1998 Patriot League football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 7 Lehigh $^  6 –0     12 –1  
No. 21 Colgate ^  5 –1     8 –4  
Bucknell  3 –3     6 –5  
Lafayette  3 –3     3 –8  
Fordham  2 –4     4 –7  
Towson  1 –5     5 –6  
Holy Cross  1 –5     2 –9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1998 Pioneer Football League standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Drake $  4 –0     7 –3  
Dayton  3 –1     6 –4  
Valparaiso  2 –2     5 –6  
Butler  1 –3     4 –6  
San Diego  0 –4     2 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
1998 Southern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 2 Georgia Southern $^  8 –0     14 –1  
No. 6 Appalachian State ^  6 –2     10 –3  
Western Carolina  5 –3     6 –5  
Chattanooga  4 –4     5 –6  
The Citadel  4 –4     5 –6  
East Tennessee State  3 –5     4 –7  
Wofford  3 –5     4 –7  
Furman  3 –5     5 –6  
VMI  0 –8     1 –10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll
1998 Southland Football League standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 3 Northwestern State $^  6 –1     11 –3  
No. 8 McNeese State ^  5 –2     9 –3  
No. 13 Troy State ^  5 –2     8 –4  
Jacksonville State  4 –3     7 –4  
Nicholls State  3 –4     4 –7  
Southwest Texas State  2 –5     4 –7  
Stephen F. Austin  2 –5     3 –8  
Sam Houston State  1 –6     3 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
  • Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll
1998 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 14 Southern $  8 –0     9 –3  
Jackson State  7 –1     7 –4  
Arkansas–Pine Bluff  6 –2     8 –3  
Texas Southern  4 –4     6 –5  
Grambling State  4 –4     5 –6  
Alabama State  3 –5     5 –6  
Alcorn State  3 –5     5 –6  
Mississippi Valley State  1 –7     1 –10  
Prairie View A&M  0 –8     1 –10  
Alabama A&M   –     5 –6  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Alabama A&M was an affiliate member, so its games did not count in the official standings.
1998 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Morehead State  0 –0     9 –2  
Davidson  0 –0     8 –2  
No. 20 Hofstra  0 –0     8 –3  
No. 22 South Florida  0 –0     8 –3  
No. 19 Western Kentucky  0 –0     7 –4  
Samford  0 –0     6 –5  
St. Johns (NY)  0 –0     6 –5  
Liberty  0 –0     5 –6  
Southern Utah  0 –0     5 –6  
Elon  0 –0     5 –6  
Austin Peay  0 –0     4 –7  
Buffalo  0 –0     4 –7  
Jacksonville  0 –0     4 –5  
La Salle  0 –0     3 –6  
Cal Poly  0 –0     3 –8  
Charleston Southern  0 –0     3 –8  
Saint Mary's  0 –0     2 –8  
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Conference champions
See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons
Conference Champions

Atlantic 10 Conference – Richmond
Big Sky Conference – Montana
Gateway Football Conference – Western Illinois
Ivy League – Penn
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Fairfield and Georgetown
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Florida A&M and Hampton
Northeast Conference – Monmouth and Robert Morris
Ohio Valley Conference – Tennessee State
Patriot League – Lehigh
Pioneer Football League – Drake
Southern Conference – Georgia Southern
Southland Football League – Northwestern State
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Southern

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket
First Round
November 28
Campus Sites 		Quarterfinals
December 4–5
Campus Sites 		Semifinals
December 12
Campus Sites 		National Championship Game
December 19
Finley Stadium
Chattanooga, TN
            
1 Georgia Southern* 49
16 Colgate 28
1 Georgia Southern* 52
8 Connecticut 30
8 Connecticut* 42
9 Hampton 34
1 Georgia Southern* 42
4 Western Illinois 14
5 Florida A&M* 27
12 Troy State 17
5 Florida A&M 21
4 Western Illinois* 24
4 Western Illinois* 52
13 Montana 9
1 Georgia Southern 43
11 UMass 55
3 Richmond* 23
14 Lehigh 24
14 Lehigh 21
11 UMass* 27
6 McNeese State* 19
11 UMass 21
11 UMass 41
2 Northwestern State* 31
7 Appalachian State* 45
10 Tennessee State 31
7 Appalachian State 20
2 Northwestern State* 31
2 Northwestern State* 48
15 Illinois State 28

* Denotes host institution
Source:[2]

References
  1. "1998 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 16. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  2. "Division I-AA playoffs". Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. November 23, 1998. p. D5. Retrieved February 8, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
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