1982 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1982 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams91
DurationAugust–November
Playoff
DurationNovember 27–December 18
Championship dateDecember 18, 1982
Championship siteMemorial Stadium
Wichita Falls, Texas
ChampionEastern Kentucky
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons

The 1982 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 1982 and concluded with the 1982 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 18, 1982, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Eastern Kentucky Colonels won their second I-AA championship, defeating the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens in the Pioneer Bowl, 17−14.[1][2][3]

Conference changes and new programs

Upon the expiration of the four-year limit for compliance with Division I-A football criteria (set in January 1978), 41 NCAA Division I-A teams were reclassified from Division I-A to Division I-AA:[4]

  • Ivy League — all eight members. Yale met the requirements to stay in I-A, but voluntarily chose to downgrade to I-AA to remain with the rest of the Ivy League.
  • Southern Conference — all eight members
  • Southland Conference — five members. McNeese State and Southwestern Louisiana met the requirements to remain in I-A; McNeese State voluntarily chose to downgrade to I-AA to remain with the rest of the Southland, while Southwestern Louisiana remained in Division I-A as an Independent.
  • Missouri Valley Conference — five members, with New Mexico State, Tulsa, and Wichita State remaining in I-A but also remaining in the conference. This was the onset of a four-year period in which the MVC functioned as a hybrid I-A/I-AA conference.
  • Mid-American Conference — eight members, with only Central Michigan and Toledo maintaining I-A status. Several of the demoted schools appealed the demotion, with the result that all eight MAC members reclassified to I-AA for 1982 were returned to I-A as of 1983.[5]
  • Independent Cincinnati was reclassified to I-AA along with the MAC schools but filed an injunction against the NCAA to postpone their demotion until after the 1982 season, and was successful in remaining in I-A.[6]

The successful appeals of Cincinnati (effective 1982) and the MAC schools (effective 1983) meant that 40 Division I-A members joined I-AA in 1982, of which 32 remained in 1983.

School 1981 Conference 1982 Conference
Alabama State D-II Independent SWAC (I-AA)
Appalachian State Southern (I-A) Southern (I-AA)
Arkansas State Southland (I-A) Southland (I-AA)
Ball State MAC (I-A) MAC (I-AA)
Bowling Green MAC (I-A) MAC (I-AA)
Brown Ivy (I-A) Ivy (I-AA)
Chattanooga Southern (I-A) Southern (I-AA)
Colgate I-A Independent I-AA Independent
Columbia Ivy (I-A) Ivy (I-AA)
Cornell Ivy (I-A) Ivy (I-AA)
Dartmouth Ivy (I-A) Ivy (I-AA)
Drake Missouri Valley (I-A) Missouri Valley (I-AA)
East Tennessee State Southern (I-A) Southern (I-AA)
Eastern Michigan MAC (I-A) MAC (I-AA)
Furman Southern (I-A) Southern (I-AA)
Harvard Ivy (I-A) Ivy (I-AA)
Holy Cross I-A Independent I-AA Independent
Illinois State Missouri Valley (I-A) Missouri Valley (I-AA)
Indiana State Missouri Valley (I-A) Missouri Valley (I-AA)
Kent State MAC (I-A) MAC (I-AA)
Lamar Southland (I-A) Southland (I-AA)
Northeast Louisiana I-A Independent Southland (I-AA)
Louisiana Tech Southland (I-A) Southland (I-AA)
Marshall Southern (I-A) Southern (I-AA)
McNeese State Southland (I-A) Southland (I-AA)
Miami (OH) MAC (I-A) MAC (I-AA)
North Texas State I-A Independent I-AA Independent
Northern Illinois MAC (I-A) MAC (I-AA)
Ohio MAC (I-A) MAC (I-AA)
Penn Ivy (I-A) Ivy (I-AA)
Princeton Ivy (I-A) Ivy (I-AA)
Richmond I-A Independent I-AA Independent
Southern Illinois Missouri Valley (I-A) Missouri Valley (I-AA)
Texas–Arlington Southland (I-A) Southland (I-AA)
The Citadel Southern (I-A) Southern (I-AA)
VMI Southern (I-A) Southern (I-AA)
West Texas State Missouri Valley (I-A) Missouri Valley (I-AA)
Western Carolina Southern (I-A) Southern (I-AA)
Western Kentucky Ohio Valley I-AA Independent
Western Michigan MAC (I-A) MAC (I-AA)
William & Mary I-A Independent I-AA Independent
Yale Ivy (I-A) Ivy (I-AA)

Conference standings

1982 Association of Mid-Continent Universities football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Eastern Illinois +^ 2 – 0 – 1 11 – 1 – 1
Northern Iowa + 2 – 0 – 1 4 – 6 – 1
Southwest Missouri State 1 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Western Illinois 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1982 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 19 Montana $^ 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 6 – 0
No. 11 Idaho ^ 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 4 – 0
Montana State 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
No. 15 Boise State 4 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Nevada 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Northern Arizona 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Weber State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Idaho State 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll
1982 Ivy League football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Harvard + 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Penn + 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Dartmouth + 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Princeton 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Yale 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Brown 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Cornell 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Columbia 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1982 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Bowling Green $ 7 – 2 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Western Michigan 5 – 2 – 2 7 – 2 – 2
Miami (OH) 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Central Michigan 5 – 3 – 1 6 – 4 – 1
Ohio 5 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Toledo 5 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Northern Illinois 5 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Ball State 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Eastern Michigan 1 – 7 – 1 1 – 9 – 1
Kent State 0 – 9 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • The conference was a hybrid of NCAA Division I-A and I-AA programs. Central Michigan and Toledo were I-A while the other teams were classified as I-AA for the 1982 season only.
1982 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 South Carolina State $^ 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Florida A&M 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Bethune–Cookman 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Howard 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Delaware State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
North Carolina A&T 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1982 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Tulsa $ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
Wichita State 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Southern Illinois 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Indiana State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Drake 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
New Mexico State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
West Texas State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Illinois State 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • The conference was a hybrid of NCAA Division I-A and I-AA programs. New Mexico State, Tulsa, and Wichita State were I-A and the other teams were I-AA.
1982 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Eastern Kentucky $^ 7 – 0 – 0 13 – 0 – 0
Akron 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Middle Tennessee 4 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Youngstown State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Morehead State 2 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Murray State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Austin Peay 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Tennessee Tech 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1982 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Furman $^ 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 17 Chattanooga 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Western Carolina 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
The Citadel 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Appalachian State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
VMI 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
East Tennessee State 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Marshall 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1982 Southland Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Louisiana Tech $^ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 3 – 0
No. 12 Northeast Louisiana 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Arkansas State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
McNeese State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 1
Lamar 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
UT Arlington 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
North Texas State 0 – 0 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1982 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Jackson State $^ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Southern 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 10 Grambling State 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Alcorn State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Mississippi Valley State 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Texas Southern 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 1
Prairie View A&M 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
Alabama State 0 – 0 – 0 2 – 6 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1982 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Maine + 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Boston University +^ 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Connecticut + 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
UMass + 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Rhode Island 2 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
New Hampshire 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
1982 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Delaware ^   –   12 – 2 – 0
No. 4 Tennessee State ^   –   10 – 1 – 1
No. 13 Holy Cross   –   8 – 3 – 0
James Madison   –   8 – 3 – 0
No. 9 Colgate ^   –   8 – 4 – 0
No. 20 Lafayette   –   7 – 3 – 0
Nicholls State   –   7 – 4 – 0
No. 18 Northwestern State   –   6 – 5 – 0
Western Kentucky   –   5 – 5 – 0
Bucknell   –   4 – 6 – 0
Lehigh   –   4 – 6 – 0
Southeastern Louisiana   –   4 – 7 – 0
Northeastern   –   3 – 6 – 0
William & Mary   –   3 – 8 – 0
Richmond   –   0 – 10 – 0
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee

Conference champions

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

Big Sky Conference – Montana (tiebreaker over Idaho, Montana State)
Ivy League – Dartmouth, Harvard, and Penn
Mid-Continent Conference – Eastern Illinois
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina State
Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky
Southern Conference– Furman
Southland Conference – Louisiana Tech
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Jackson State
Yankee Conference – Boston University, Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts

Postseason

The playoffs expanded from eight to twelve teams this season; four years later, in 1986, the field was expanded to sixteen teams.

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

The top four teams were seeded, and received first-round byes.[7]

First Round
November 27
Campus sites 		Quarterfinals
December 4
Campus sites 		Semifinals
December 11
Campus sites 		National Championship Game
December 18
Memorial Stadium
Wichita Falls, Texas
(1) Eastern Kentucky* 38
Idaho* 21 Idaho 30
Montana 7 (1) Eastern Kentucky* 13
(4) Tennessee State 7
(4) Tennessee State* 20
Eastern Illinois* 16 Eastern Illinois 19
Jackson State 13 (1) Eastern Kentucky 17
(3) Delaware 14
(2) Louisiana Tech* 38
Furman* 0 South Carolina State 3
South Carolina State 17 (2) Louisiana Tech* 0
(3) Delaware 17
(3) Delaware* 20
Colgate* 21 Colgate 13
Boston University 7

* Next to team name denotes host institution[8]

References

  1. ^ "1982 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  2. ^ "Breaks seal Colonels' win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 19, 1982. p. 10F.
  3. ^ "E. Kentucky 17, Delaware 14". Beaver County Times. (Pennsylvania). December 19, 1982. p. C14.
  4. ^ "The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts on August 28, 1982 · 32".
  5. ^ "The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio on August 27, 1982 · Page 19".
  6. ^ "The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio on September 24, 1982 · Page 23".
  7. ^ "Blue Hens Get Berth; Earn Opening Bye". The Daily Times. Salisbury, Maryland. AP. November 22, 1982. p. 10. Retrieved February 6, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Playoffs, NCAA Div. I-AA". Detroit Free Press. November 27, 1982. p. 4D. Retrieved February 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.