1993 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1993 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams118
DurationAugust–November
Payton AwardDoug Nussmeier (QB, Idaho)
Playoff
DurationNovember 27–December 18
Championship dateDecember 18, 1993
Championship siteMarshall University Stadium
Huntington, West Virginia
ChampionYoungstown State
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons

The 1993 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 1993, and concluded with the 1993 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 18, 1993, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The Youngstown State Penguins won their second I-AA championship, defeating the Marshall Thundering Herd by a score of 17−5.[1] It was the third consecutive year that Marshall and Youngstown State faced off in the I-AA title game.

Conference changes and new programs

  • A 1991 NCAA rule change required athletic programs to maintain all of their sports at the same division level by the 1993 season. In order to comply, 28 Division I programs with football teams at the Division II and Division III levels were forced to upgrade their programs to the Division I level, and all of them (at least initially) chose Division I-AA as their new football home.
  • The rule change led directly to the establishment of the Pioneer Football League, a non-scholarship football conference at the Division I-AA level with six founding members, all of which had played in Division II or III: Butler, Dayton, Drake, Evansville, San Diego, and Valparaiso.
  • It also led to the creation of the American West Conference, initially a football-only conference at the Division I-AA level with five founding members, all formerly in Division II: UC Davis, Cal Poly, Cal State Northridge, Sacramento State, and Southern Utah.[2]
  • The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, an existing Division I conference, also began sponsoring football in order to accommodate these new I-AA football programs.
School 1992 Conference 1993 Conference
Buffalo D-III Independent I-AA Independent
Butler MIFC (D-II) Pioneer (I-AA)
California–Davis Northern California (D-II) American West+
Cal Poly Western (D-II) American West (I-AA)
Cal State Northridge Western (D-II) American West (I-AA)
Canisius D-III Independent MAAC (I-AA)
Central Connecticut State D-II Independent I-AA Independent
Charleston Southern D-III Independent I-AA Independent
Davidson D-III Independent I-AA Independent
Dayton D-III Independent Pioneer (I-AA)
Drake D-III Independent Pioneer (I-AA)
Duquesne D-III Independent I-AA Independent
Evansville D-III Independent Pioneer (I-AA)
Georgetown D-III Independent MAAC (I-AA)
Georgia Southern I-AA Independent Southern
Iona Liberty (D-III) MAAC (I-AA)
James Madison I-AA Independent Yankee
Marist) Liberty (D-III) I-AA Independent
Monmouth New Program I-AA Independent
Northeastern I-AA Independent Yankee
Sacramento State Western (D-II) American West (I-AA)
St. Francis (PA) D-III Independent I-AA Independent
St. John's (NY) Liberty (D-III) MAAC (I-AA)
St. Mary's (CA) D-II Independent I-AA Independent
St. Peter's D-III Independent MAAC (I-AA)
San Diego D-III Independent Pioneer (I-AA)
Siena D-III Independent MAAC (I-AA)
Southern Utah Western (D-II) American West (I-AA)
Troy State D-II Independent I-AA Independent
UAB D-III Independent I-AA Independent
Valparaiso MIFC (D-II) Pioneer (I-AA)
Wagner Liberty (D-III) I-AA Independent
William & Mary I-AA Independent Yankee

+ The UC Davis Aggies, although a member of the new American West Conference, were listed in Division II polls,[3] and participated in the Division II postseason.[4]

Conference standings

1993 American West Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 UC Davis +^ 3 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
Southern Utah + 3 – 1 – 0 3 – 7 – 1
Sacramento State 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Cal Poly 1 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Cal State Northridge 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
  • Although UC Davis was a conference member, they participated in NCAA Division II polls and postseason.
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1993 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Montana $^ 7 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 11 Idaho ^ 5 – 2 – 0 11 – 3 – 0
No. 20 Eastern Washington 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Montana State 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Northern Arizona 3 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Weber State 3 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Boise State 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Idaho State 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1993 Gateway Football Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 13 Northern Iowa $^ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Southwest Missouri State 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Western Illinois 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Illinois State 2 – 3 – 1 6 – 4 – 1
Eastern Illinois 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 7 – 1
Indiana State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Southern Illinois 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1993 Ivy League football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 16 Penn $ 7 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0
Dartmouth 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Princeton 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Brown 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Cornell 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Yale 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Harvard 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Columbia 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1993 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Iona $ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Canisius 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
St. John's 3 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Georgetown 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Saint Peter's 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Siena 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1993 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Howard $^ 6 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
South Carolina State 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Delaware State 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
No. 21 North Carolina A&T 3 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Florida A&M 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Bethune–Cookman 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Morgan State 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1993 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 17 Eastern Kentucky $^ 8 – 0 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
No. 22 Tennessee Tech 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Tennessee–Martin 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Middle Tennessee 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Murray State 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Tennessee State 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Morehead State 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Southeast Missouri State 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Austin Peay 0 – 8 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1993 Patriot League football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Lehigh $ 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Lafayette 3 – 1 – 1 5 – 4 – 2
Bucknell 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Holy Cross 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Colgate 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 7 – 1
Fordham 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1993 Pioneer Football League standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Dayton $   5 – 0     9 – 1  
Drake   3 – 2     8 – 2  
Butler   3 – 2     4 – 6  
Evansville   2 – 3     6 – 4  
San Diego   1 – 4     6 – 4  
Valparaiso   1 – 4     5 – 5  
  • $ – Conference champion
1993 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Georgia Southern $^ 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 3 – 0
No. 9 Marshall ^ 6 – 2 – 0 11 – 4 – 0
Western Carolina 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Furman 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 1
The Citadel 4 – 4 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Appalachian State 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
East Tennessee State 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Chattanooga 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
VMI 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1993 Southland Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 McNeese State $^ 7 – 0 – 0 10 – 3 – 0
No. 4 NE Louisiana ^ 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 14 Stephen F. Austin ^ 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Northwestern State 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Sam Houston State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
North Texas 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Nicholls State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
SW Texas State 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1993 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 15 Southern $ 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 23 Alcorn State 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Grambling State 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Jackson State 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
Alabama State 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Mississippi Valley State 2 – 3 – 2 4 – 4 – 2
Texas Southern 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Prairie View A&M 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from The Sports Network Poll
1993 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
New England Division
No. 6 Boston University x$^ 8 – 0 – 0 12 – 1 – 0
No. 25 UMass 6 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Connecticut 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
New Hampshire 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Rhode Island 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Maine 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
Mid-Atlantic Division
No. 10 William & Mary x^ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 18 Delaware ^ 6 – 2 – 0 9 – 4 – 0
James Madison 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Richmond 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Northeastern 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Villanova 1 – 7 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1993 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Troy State ^   –   11 – 0 – 1
Youngstown State ^   –   10 – 2 – 0
UAB   –   9 – 2 – 0
Wagner   –   9 – 2 – 0
No. 12 UCF ^   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 24 Towson   –   8 – 2 – 0
No. 19 Western Kentucky   –   8 – 3 – 0
Hofstra   –   6 – 3 – 1
Saint Mary's   –   6 – 3 – 1
Davidson   –   6 – 4 – 0
Central Connecticut State   –   5 – 5 – 0
Liberty   –   5 – 5 – 0
Marist   –   5 – 5 – 0
Samford   –   5 – 6 – 0
Duquesne   –   4 – 6 – 0
Saint Francis   –   3 – 7 – 0
Charleston Southern   –   3 – 8 – 0
Monmouth   –   2 – 5 – 0
Buffalo   –   1 – 10 – 0
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Conference champions

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

American West Conference – Southern Utah and UC Davis
Big Sky Conference – Montana
Gateway Football Conference – Northern Iowa
Ivy League – Penn
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Iona
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Howard
Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky
Patriot League – Lehigh
Pioneer Football League – Dayton
Southern Conference – Georgia Southern
Southland Conference – McNeese State
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Southern
Yankee Conference – Boston University

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

Only the top four teams in the field were seeded, with the NCAA placing others teams in the bracket to avoid early round matchups between teams from the same conference.[5] This was the first season that the NCAA did not use an in-house poll process for I-AA ranking purposes; independent polling by The Sports Network wire service was used.[6] The site of the title game, Marshall University Stadium, had been predetermined months earlier.[7]

First Round
November 27
Campus sites 		Quarterfinals
December 4
Campus sites 		Semifinals
December 11
Campus sites 		National Championship Game
December 18
Marshall University Stadium
Huntington, WV
        
Eastern Kentucky 12
(1) Georgia Southern* 14
(1) Georgia Southern 14
Youngstown State* 34
UCF 30
Youngstown State* 56
Youngstown State* 35
Idaho 16
Northern Iowa 21
(4) Boston University* 27**
(4) Boston University 14
Idaho* 21
Idaho 34'
Northeast Louisiana* 31
Youngstown State 17
Marshall 5
Delaware 49
(2) Montana* 48
Delaware 31
Marshall* 34
Howard 14
Marshall* 28*
Marshall* 24
Troy State 21
William & Mary 28
(3) McNeese State* 34
(3) McNeese State* 28
Troy State 35
Stephen F. Austin 20
Troy State* 42

* Next to team name denotes host institution
* Next to score denotes overtime period
Source:[8]

References

  1. ^ "1993 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 15. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  2. ^ Senior, Ryan (July 16, 1993). "Cal Poly moving to Division I". Santa Maria Times. Santa Maria, California. p. C-1. Retrieved February 10, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "College polls, NCAA Division II". Waterloo Courier. Waterloo, Iowa. November 2, 1993. p. D2. Retrieved February 10, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "NCAA Division II Playoffs". St. Louis Post Dispatch. November 28, 1993. p. 8F. Retrieved February 10, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Fairbank, Dave (November 23, 1993). "Many factors put W&M on the road". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. p. D3. Retrieved February 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Geise, George (September 30, 1993). "New I-AA poll lacks clout, but still a big improvement". Great Falls Tribune. Great Falls, Montana. p. 1C. Retrieved April 15, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Mead, Doug (June 27, 1993). "Western ranked second". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, North Carolina. p. 1D. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  8. ^ "UCF faces Youngstown St. in Division I-AA playoffs". The Palm Beach Post. November 22, 1993. p. 11C. Retrieved February 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.