1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1986 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams85
DurationAugust–November
Playoff
DurationNovember 29–December 19
Championship dateDecember 19, 1986
Championship siteTacoma Dome
Tacoma, Washington
ChampionGeorgia Southern
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons

The 1986 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 1986, and concluded with the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1986,[1][2] at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their second consecutive I-AA championship, defeating the Arkansas State Indians by a score of 48–21.[3]

Conference changes and new programs

School 1985 Conference 1986 Conference
Bucknell I-AA Independent Colonial
Colgate I-AA Independent Colonial
Delaware I-AA Independent Yankee
Drake Missouri Valley (I-AA) D-III Independent
Florida A&M I-AA Independent MEAC
Holy Cross I-AA Independent Colonial
Indiana State Missouri Valley Gateway
Lafayette I-AA Independent Colonial
Lehigh I-AA Independent Colonial
Richmond I-AA Independent Yankee
Southeastern Louisiana Gulf Star Dropped Program
Texas–Arlington Southland Dropped Program
West Texas State Missouri Valley (I-AA) Lone Star (II)

Conference standings

1986 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Nevada $^ 7 – 0 – 0 13 – 1 – 0
No. 16 Idaho ^ 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Northern Arizona 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Montana* 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Boise State 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Weber State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Montana State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Idaho State* 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
  • * – Montana and Idaho State played twice.
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll
1986 Colonial League football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Holy Cross $ 4 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
Lafayette 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Lehigh 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Colgate 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Bucknell 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1986 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Eastern Illinois $^ 5 – 1 – 0 11 – 2 – 0
No. 17 Southern Illinois 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Northern Iowa 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 1
Illinois State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Western Illinois 2 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
SW Missouri State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Indiana State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1986 Gulf Star Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 11 Sam Houston State $^ 3 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 12 Nicholls State ^ 2 – 2 – 0 10 – 3 – 0
Northwestern State 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 1
Southwest Texas State 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Stephen F. Austin 1 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1986 Ivy League football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Penn $ 7 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0
Cornell 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Brown 4 – 2 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Dartmouth 3 – 3 – 1 3 – 6 – 1
Harvard 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Yale 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Princeton 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Columbia 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1986 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 20 North Carolina A&T $^ 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Howard 3 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Delaware State 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
South Carolina State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Bethune–Cookman 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Morgan State 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1986 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Eastern Kentucky ^ 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 3 – 1
No. 18 Murray State $^ 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 1
Akron 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Middle Tennessee 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Morehead State 3 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Austin Peay 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Youngstown State 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Tennessee Tech 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1986 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Appalachian State $^ 6 – 0 – 1 9 – 2 – 1
Western Carolina 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
No. 15 Furman ^ 4 – 2 – 1 7 – 3 – 2
East Tennessee State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Marshall 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 1
Chattanooga 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
VMI 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
The Citadel 0 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1986 Southland Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Arkansas State $^ 5 – 0 – 0 12 – 2 – 1
North Texas State 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Louisiana Tech 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 1
Northeast Louisiana 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
McNeese State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Lamar 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1986 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 Jackson State $^ 7 – 0 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Alcorn State 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Grambling State 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Southern 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 1
Mississippi Valley State 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Alabama State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Texas Southern 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 8 – 1
Prairie View A&M 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1986 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 13 Delaware +^ 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 4 – 0
No. 19 Connecticut + 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
UMass + 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
New Hampshire 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Maine 3 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Richmond 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Boston University 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Rhode Island 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1986 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Georgia Southern ^   –   13 – 2 – 0
No. 14 Tennessee State ^   –   10 – 2 – 1
No. 8 William & Mary ^   –   9 – 3 – 0
Eastern Washington   –   5 – 5 – 0
James Madison   –   5 – 5 – 1
Florida A&M   –   5 – 6 – 0
Northeastern   –   4 – 6 – 0
Western Kentucky   –   4 – 6 – 1
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Conference champions

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

Big Sky Conference – Nevada
Colonial League – Holy Cross
Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Eastern Illinois
Gulf Star Conference – Sam Houston State
Ivy League – Penn
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina A&T
Ohio Valley Conference – Murray State
Southern Conference – Appalachian State
Southland Conference – Arkansas State
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Jackson State
Yankee Conference – Connecticut, Delaware, and Massachusetts

Postseason

The playoffs expanded from twelve to sixteen teams this season, eliminating the bye for the top four seeds.

The I-AA playoff field remained at sixteen through the 2009 season, expanding to twenty in 2010 and 24 in 2013.

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

The top four teams were seeded,[4] with remaining teams placed in the bracket based on geographical considerations.

First Round
November 29
Campus sites 		Quarterfinals
December 6
Campus sites 		Semifinals
December 13
Campus sites 		National Championship Game
December 19 [1][2]
Tacoma Dome
Tacoma, Washington
            
Idaho 7
1 Nevada* 27
1 Nevada* 33
Tennessee State 6
Tennessee State 32
Jackson State* 23
1 Nevada* 38
4 Georgia Southern 48
North Carolina A&T 21
4 Georgia Southern* 52
4 Georgia Southern* 55
Nicholls State 31
Nicholls State 28
Appalachian State* 26
4 Georgia Southern 48
2 Arkansas State 21
Sam Houston State 7
2 Arkansas State* 48
2 Arkansas State 55
Delaware* 14
Delaware 51
William & Mary* 21
2 Arkansas State* 24
Eastern Kentucky 10
Murray State 21
3 Eastern Illinois* 28
3 Eastern Illinois* 22
Eastern Kentucky 24
Eastern Kentucky 23
Furman* 10

* Denotes host institution

References

  1. ^ a b "Georgia Southern goes for 2nd-straight title". The News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. AP. December 19, 1986. p. 5C. Retrieved May 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "Georgia Southern wins I-AA football crown". Reno Gazette-Journal. Reno, Nevada. December 20, 1986. p. 1B. Retrieved May 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "1986 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  4. ^ "I-AA playoffs". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. November 24, 1986. p. C5. Retrieved February 6, 2019 – via newspapers.com.