American college football season
1998 NCAA Division I-AA season Duration August–November Payton Award Jerry Azumah (RB, New Hampshire)Buchanan Award James Milton (LB, Western Illinois) Duration November 28–December 19 Championship date December 19, 1998 Championship site Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee Champion UMass
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 score of 55−43.[1]
Conference changes and new programs [ ]
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 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
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
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 Rankings 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
–
9
–
2
Davidson
–
8
–
2
No. 20 Hofstra
–
8
–
3
No. 22 South Florida
–
8
–
3
No. 19 Western Kentucky
–
7
–
4
Samford
–
6
–
5
St. Johns (NY)
–
6
–
5
Liberty
–
5
–
6
Southern Utah
–
5
–
6
Elon
–
5
–
6
Austin Peay
–
4
–
7
Buffalo
–
4
–
7
Jacksonville
–
4
–
5
La Salle
–
3
–
6
Cal Poly
–
3
–
8
Charleston Southern
–
3
–
8
Saint Mary's
–
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 [ ]
Champion – Massachusetts Minutemen
Pre-NCAA
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NCAA Division I NCAA Division I-A/FBS NCAA Division I-AA/FCS NCAA College Division NCAA Division II NCAA Division III