1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season

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This article is about the first Division I-AA (now FCS) season. For the first Division I-A (now FBS) season, see 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season.
1978 NCAA Division I-AA season
NCAA 70s logo.svg
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
«1977 (Division I)

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.

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 realignment[]

Conference changes[]

  • Five conferences, the Big Sky Conference, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Southwestern Athletic Conference, and Yankee Conference, transitioned from Division II to the newly-established Division I-AA level of college football. All of their members, alongside eight independents, changed divisions at the same time.

Membership changes[]

School 1977 Conference 1978 Conference
Bucknell D-II Independent I-AA Independent
Florida A&M SIAC (Division II) I-AA Independent
Lafayette D-II Independent I-AA Independent
Lehigh D-II Independent I-AA Independent
Northeastern D-II Independent I-AA Independent
Nevada D-II Independent I-AA Independent
Northwestern State D-I Independent I-AA Independent
Portland State D-II Independent I-AA Independent

Conference standings[]

1978 Big Sky Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   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
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   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
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   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
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   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
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   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
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   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[]

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

Big Sky Conference – Northern Arizona
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina State
Ohio Valley Conference – Western Kentucky
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State
Yankee Conference – UMass

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 Stadium–Wichita 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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