American college football season
2002 NCAA Division I-AA season Duration August–November Payton Award Tony Romo (QB, Eastern Illinois)Buchanan Award Rashean Mathis (FC, Bethune-Cookman)Duration November 30–December 20 Championship date December 20, 2002 Championship site Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee Champion Western Kentucky
The 2002 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 2002, and concluded with the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 20, 2002, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee . The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers won their first I-AA championship, defeating the McNeese State Cowboys by a final score of 34−14.[1]
Conference changes and new programs [ ] Conference standings [ ]
2002 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team
W
L
W
L
No. 6 Maine $^
7
–
2
11
–
3
No. 11 Northeastern $^
7
–
2
10
–
3
No. 4 Villanova ^
6
–
3
11
–
4
UMass
6
–
3
8
–
4
William & Mary
5
–
4
6
–
5
Richmond
4
–
5
4
–
7
Delaware
4
–
5
6
–
6
Hofstra
4
–
5
6
–
6
James Madison
4
–
6
5
–
7
New Hampshire
2
–
7
3
–
8
Rhode Island
1
–
8
3
–
9
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant The Sports Network poll
2002 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team
W
L
W
L
No. 7 Montana +^
5
–
2
11
–
3
No. 19 Montana State +^
5
–
2
7
–
6
No. 18 Idaho State +
5
–
2
8
–
3
Eastern Washington
3
–
4
6
–
5
Northern Arizona
3
–
4
6
–
5
Portland State
3
–
4
6
–
5
Sacramento State
3
–
4
5
–
8
Weber State
1
–
6
3
–
8
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant The Sports Network poll
2002 Big South Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team
W
L
W
L
No. 22 Gardner–Webb $
3
–
0
9
–
1
Elon
2
–
1
4
–
7
Liberty
1
–
2
2
–
9
Charleston Southern
0
–
3
4
–
8
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2002 Gateway Football Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team
W
L
W
L
No. 1 Western Kentucky +^
6
–
1
12
–
3
No. 5 Western Illinois +^
6
–
1
11
–
2
Youngstown State
4
–
3
7
–
4
Illinois State
4
–
3
6
–
5
Indiana State
3
–
4
5
–
7
Northern Iowa
2
–
5
5
–
6
Southern Illinois
2
–
5
4
–
8
Southwest Missouri State
1
–
6
4
–
7
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant The Sports Network poll
2002 Ivy League football standings
Conf Overall
Team
W
L
W
L
No. 17 Penn $
7
–
0
9
–
1
Harvard
6
–
1
7
–
3
Princeton
4
–
3
6
–
4
Yale
4
–
3
6
–
4
Cornell
3
–
4
4
–
6
Dartmouth
2
–
5
3
–
7
Brown
2
–
5
2
–
8
Columbia
0
–
7
1
–
9
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2002 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team
W
L
W
L
Duquesne $
8
–
0
11
–
1
Marist
5
–
3
7
–
4
Saint Peter's
5
–
3
6
–
5
Fairfield
5
–
3
5
–
6
Iona
4
–
4
5
–
6
Siena
3
–
5
3
–
7
St. John's
2
–
6
2
–
8
Canisius
2
–
6
2
–
9
La Salle
2
–
6
2
–
9
2002 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team
W
L
W
L
No. 15 Bethune-Cookman $^
7
–
1
11
–
2
Florida A&M
5
–
3
7
–
5
Hampton
5
–
3
7
–
5
Morgan State
5
–
3
7
–
5
South Carolina State
4
–
4
7
–
5
Howard
4
–
4
6
–
5
Norfolk State
2
–
6
5
–
6
North Carolina A&T
2
–
6
4
–
8
Delaware State
2
–
6
4
–
8
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant The Sports Network poll
2002 Northeast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team
W
L
W
L
Albany $
6
–
1
8
–
4
Stony Brook
5
–
2
8
–
2
Sacred Heart
5
–
2
7
–
3
Wagner
4
–
3
7
–
4
Central Connecticut
3
–
4
5
–
6
Robert Morris
2
–
5
3
–
4
Monmouth
2
–
5
2
–
8
Saint Francis (PA)
1
–
6
2
–
8
2002 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team
W
L
W
L
No. 13 Eastern Illinois +^
5
–
1
8
–
4
No. 20 Murray State +^
5
–
1
7
–
5
No. 21 Eastern Kentucky
4
–
2
8
–
4
No. 24 Southeast Missouri State
4
–
2
8
–
4
Tennessee Tech
2
–
4
5
–
7
Tennessee State
1
–
5
2
–
10
Tennessee–Martin
0
–
6
2
–
10
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant The Sports Network poll
2002 Patriot League football standings
Conf Overall
Team
W
L
W
L
No. 12 Fordham +^
6
–
1
10
–
3
No. 25 Colgate +
6
–
1
9
–
3
Lafayette
5
–
2
7
–
5
Lehigh
4
–
3
8
–
4
Towson
3
–
4
6
–
5
Georgetown
2
–
5
5
–
6
Holy Cross
2
–
5
4
–
8
Bucknell
0
–
7
2
–
9
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant The Sports Network poll
2002 Pioneer Football League standings
Conf Overall
Team
W
L
W
L
North Division
Dayton xy$
4
–
0
11
–
1
San Diego
3
–
1
5
–
5
Butler
2
–
2
4
–
6
Drake
1
–
3
5
–
6
Valparaiso
0
–
4
1
–
10
South Division
Morehead State xy
3
–
0
9
–
3
Davidson
2
–
1
7
–
3
Austin Peay
1
–
2
7
–
5
Jacksonville
0
–
3
3
–
7
Championship: Dayton 28 , Morehead State 0
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant
2002 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team
W
L
W
L
No. 3 Georgia Southern $^
7
–
1
11
–
3
No. 14 Wofford
6
–
2
9
–
3
No. 10 Appalachian State ^
6
–
2
8
–
4
No. 9 Furman ^
6
–
2
8
–
4
VMI
3
–
5
6
–
6
Western Carolina
3
–
5
5
–
6
East Tennessee State
2
–
6
4
–
8
Chattanooga
2
–
6
2
–
10
The Citadel
1
–
7
3
–
9
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
2002 Southland Football League standings
Conf Overall
Team
W
L
W
L
No. 2 McNeese State $^
6
–
0
13
–
2
No. 16 Northwestern State ^
4
–
2
9
–
4
No. 23 Nicholls State
3
–
3
7
–
4
Stephen F. Austin
3
–
3
6
–
5
Jacksonville State
2
–
4
5
–
5
Sam Houston State
2
–
4
4
–
7
Southwest Texas State
1
–
5
4
–
7
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant The Sports Network poll
2002 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team
W
L
W
L
East
Alabama A&M x
6
–
1
8
–
4
Jackson State
5
–
2
7
–
4
Alcorn State
3
–
4
6
–
5
Mississippi Valley State
3
–
4
5
–
6
Alabama State
2
–
5
6
–
6
West
No. 8 Grambling State x$
6
–
1
11
–
2
Southern
5
–
2
6
–
6
Texas Southern
3
–
4
4
–
7
Arkansas–Pine Bluff
2
–
5
3
–
8
Prairie View A&M
0
–
7
1
–
10
Championship: Grambling State 31, Alabama A&M 19
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions
Conference champions [ ] See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons
Conference Champions
Atlantic 10 Conference – Maine and Northeastern Idaho State , Montana , and Montana State Big South Conference – Gardner-Webb Western Illinois and Western Kentucky Penn Duquesne Bethune-Cookman Albany (NY) Eastern Illinois and Murray State Colgate and Fordham Dayton Georgia Southern McNeese State Grambling State
Postseason [ ] NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket [ ] The top four teams in the tournament were seeded ;[2] [3] [4]
First Round November 30
Quarterfinals December 7
Semifinals December 14
National Championship Game December 20 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN
1
McNeese State 21
Montana State
14
1
McNeese State *
24
Montana
20
Montana 45
Northwestern State
14
1
McNeese State *
39
Villanova
28
Villanova 45
Furman
38
Villanova *
24
Fordham
10
4
Northeastern *
24
Fordham 29
1
McNeese State
14
Western Kentucky
34
3
Georgia Southern 34
Bethune–Cookman
0
3
Georgia Southern *
31
Maine
7
Appalachian State *
13
Maine 14
3
Georgia Southern*
28
Western Kentucky
31
Western Kentucky 59
Murray State
20
Western Kentucky
31
2
Western Illinois*
28
2
Western Illinois 48
Eastern Illinois
9
* Denotes host institution
References [ ]
^ "2002 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF) . NCAA . NCAA.org. p. 16. Retrieved December 29, 2013 .^ Nielsen, Brian (November 25, 2002). "Eastern to go to Western in I-AA playoff matchup" . Journal Gazette . Mattoon, Illinois . p. B5. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com. ^ Kasper, Jon (November 12, 2001). "NCAA changes format for playoff pairings" . Missoulian Missoula, Montana . p. D1. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com. ^ Kasper, Jon (November 12, 2001). "NCAA changes format for playoff pairings (cont'd)" . Missoulian Missoula, Montana . p. D6. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
Champion – Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Pre-NCAA
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