2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 2003, and concluded with the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 2003, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Colgate Raiders by a final score of 40−0.[1]

2003 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
DurationAugust–November
Payton AwardJamaal Branch (RB, Colgate)
Buchanan AwardJared Allen (DE, Idaho State)
Playoff
DurationNovember 29–December 19
Championship dateDecember 19, 2003
Championship siteFinley Stadium
Chattanooga, Tennessee
ChampionDelaware
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons

Conference changes and new programs
School2002 Conference2003 Conference
CanisiusMAACDropped Program
Coastal CarolinaNew ProgramBig South
East Tennessee StateSouthernDropped Program
ElonBig SouthSouthern
FairfieldMAACDropped Program
Jacksonville StateSouthlandOhio Valley
St. John's (NY)NortheastDropped Program
SamfordI-AA IndependentOhio Valley
Southeastern LouisianaRevived ProgramI-AA Independent
VMISouthernBig South

Conference standings
2003 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 1 Delaware +^  8 –1     15 –1  
No. 11 UMass +^  8 –1     10 –3  
No. 20 Northeastern  6 –3     8 –4  
No. 25 Villanova  5 –4     7 –4  
Maine  4 –4     6 –5  
William & Mary  4 –4     5 –5  
James Madison  4 –5     6 –6  
New Hampshire  3 –6     5 –7  
Rhode Island  3 –6     4 –8  
Hofstra  2 –6     2 –10  
Richmond  1 –8     2 –9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2003 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 14 Montana +^  5 –2     9 –4  
No. 10 N Arizona +^  5 –2     9 –4  
No. 21 Montana State +^  5 –2     7 –6  
No. 22 Idaho State  4 –3     8 –4  
Weber State  4 –3     8 –4  
Eastern Washington  3 –4     6 –5  
Portland State  1 –6     4 –7  
Sacramento State  1 –6     2 –9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2003 Big South Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Gardner–Webb $  4 –0     8 –4  
Liberty  3 –1     6 –6  
VMI  2 –2     6 –6  
Coastal Carolina  1 –3     6 –5  
Charleston Southern  0 –4     1 –11  
  • $ – Conference champion
2003 Gateway Football Conference standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 5 Northern Iowa +^  6 –1     10 –3  
No. 9 Southern Illinois +^  6 –1     10 –2  
No. 6 Western Illinois ^  5 –2     9 –4  
No. 7 Western Kentucky ^  5 –2     9 –4  
Illinois State  3 –4     6 –6  
Youngstown State  2 –5     5 –7  
Southwest Missouri State  1 –6     4 –7  
Indiana State  0 –7     3 –9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2003 Ivy League football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 12 Penn $  7 –0     10 –0  
Harvard  4 –3     7 –3  
Brown  4 –3     5 –5  
Yale  4 –3     6 –4  
Dartmouth  4 –3     5 –5  
Columbia  3 –4     4 –6  
Princeton  2 –5     2 –8  
Cornell  0 –7     1 –9  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2003 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Duquesne $  5 –0     8 –3  
Iona  4 –1     6 –5  
Marist  2 –3     4 –6  
La Salle  2 –3     3 –8  
Saint Peter's  2 –3     2 –8  
Siena  0 –5     0 –11  
  • $ – Conference champion
2003 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 16 North Carolina A&T $^  7 –1     10 –2  
No. 15 Bethune–Cookman ^  6 –2     9 –2  
South Carolina State  5 –2     8 –4  
Hampton  5 –2     7 –4  
Morgan State  4 –3     6 –5  
Florida A&M  3 –4     6 –6  
Howard  2 –5     4 –7  
Delaware State  1 –6     1 –10  
Norfolk State  0 –8     1 –11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2003 Northeast Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Monmouth +  6 –1     10 –2  
Albany +  6 –1     7 –4  
Robert Morris  4 –3     6 –4  
Stony Brook  4 –3     6 –4  
Sacred Heart  3 –4     6 –5  
Wagner  3 –4     6 –5  
Central Connecticut  2 –4     3 –8  
Saint Francis (PA)  0 –7     1 –9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
2003 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 18 Jacksonville State $^  7 –1     8 –4  
Eastern Kentucky  6 –2     7 –5  
Samford  5 –3     7 –4  
Tennessee State  5 –3     7 –5  
Southeast Missouri State  5 –3     5 –7  
Murray State  3 –5     4 –8  
Eastern Illinois  3 –5     4 –8  
Tennessee Tech  1 –7     2 –9  
Tennessee–Martin  1 –7     2 –10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2003 Patriot League football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 2 Colgate $^  7 –0     15 –1  
No. 23 Lehigh  6 –1     8 –3  
Fordham  4 –3     9 –3  
Bucknell  4 –3     6 –6  
Towson  3 –4     6 –6  
Lafayette  2 –5     5 –6  
Georgetown  1 –6     4 –8  
Holy Cross  1 –6     1 –11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2003 Pioneer Football League standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
North Division
Valparaiso $  3 –1     8 –4  
San Diego  3 –1     8 –2  
Dayton  2 –2     8 –2  
Drake  1 –3     6 –6  
Butler  1 –3     2 –9  
South Division
Morehead State  3 –0     8 –3  
Jacksonville  1 –3     4 –6  
Austin Peay  1 –3     4 –7  
Davidson  1 –3     3 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
2003 Southern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 3 Wofford $^  8 –0     12 –2  
Appalachian State  6 –2     7 –4  
No. 24 Georgia Southern  5 –3     7 –4  
Furman  4 –4     6 –5  
The Citadel  4 –4     6 –6  
Western Carolina  3 –5     4 –7  
Chattanooga  3 –5     3 –9  
East Tennessee State  2 –6     5 –7  
Elon  1 –7     2 –10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll
2003 Southland Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 8 McNeese State $^ 5 –0 –0  10 –2 –0
Stephen F. Austin 4 –1 –0  7 –4 –0
Northwestern State 2 –3 –0  7 –5 –0
Texas State 2 –3 –0  5 –7 –0
Sam Houston State 2 –3 –0  3 –8 –0
Nicholls State 0 –5 –0  0 –11 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
  • Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll
2003 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East
Alabama State x  5 –2     8 –5  
Alcorn State x  5 –2     7 –5  
Alabama A&M  4 –3     8 –4  
Jackson State  2 –5     2 –10  
Mississippi Valley State  1 –6     2 –9  
West
No. 13 Southern x$  6 –1     12 –1  
No. 17 Grambling State x  6 –1     9 –3  
Texas Southern  3 –4     5 –6  
Arkansas–Pine Bluff  3 –4     4 –7  
Prairie View A&M  0 –7     1 –10  
Championship: Southern 20, Alabama State 9
December 13, 2003
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
2003 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 4 Florida Atlantic ^  0 –0     11 –3  
No. 19 Northern Colorado  0 –0     9 –2  
Cal Poly  0 –0     7 –4  
Southeastern Louisiana  0 –0     5 –7  
Southern Utah  0 –0     4 –7  
Saint Mary's  0 –0     1 –11  
FIU  0 –0     0 –10  
Savannah State  0 –0     0 –12  
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
  • Record adjusted for 2 vacated wins by Florida International
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

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

Atlantic 10 Conference – Delaware and UMass
Big Sky Conference – Montana, Montana State, and Northern Arizona
Big South Conference – Gardner-Webb
Gateway Football Conference – Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois
Ivy League – Penn
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Duquesne
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina A&T
Northeast Conference – Albany (NY) and Monmouth
Ohio Valley Conference – Jacksonville State
Patriot League – Colgate
Pioneer Football League – Valparaiso
Southern Conference – Wofford
Southland Conference – McNeese State
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Southern

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket

The top four teams in the tournament were seeded;[2] seeded teams were assured of hosting games in the first two rounds.[3]

First Round
November 29
Campus Sites 		Quarterfinals
December 6
Campus Sites 		Semifinals
December 13
Campus Sites 		National Championship Game
December 19
Finley Stadium
Chattanooga, TN
            
1 McNeese State* 3
Northern Arizona 35
Northern Arizona* 25
Florida Atlantic 48
Bethune-Cookman* 24
Florida Atlantic 32
Florida Atlantic* 24
4 Colgate 36
4 Colgate* 19
UMass 7
4 Colgate* 28
Western Illinois 27
Montana* 40
Western Illinois 43**
4 Colgate 0
2 Delaware 40
3 Wofford* 31
North Carolina A&T 0
3 Wofford* 34
Western Kentucky 17
Western Kentucky* 45
Jacksonville State 7
3 Wofford 9
2 Delaware* 24
2 Delaware* 48
Southern Illinois 7
2 Delaware* 37
Northern Iowa 7
Northern Iowa* 35
Montana State 14

* By team name denotes host institution
* By score denotes overtime period(s)

References
  1. "2003 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 16. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  2. Nelson, Marcus (November 24, 2003). "500 gather to watch announcement". The Palm Beach Post. p. 5C. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  3. Gordillo, Jim (November 23, 2003). "Selection Sunday primer for Division I-AA playoffs". The Southern Illinoisan. Carbondale, Illinois. p. 3B. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
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