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2003 NCAA Division I-AA season
2003 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	121
Duration	August–November
Payton Award	Jamaal Branch (RB, Colgate)
Buchanan Award	Jared Allen (DE, Idaho State)
Playoff
Duration	November 29–December 19
Championship date	December 19, 2003
Championship site	Finley Stadium; Chattanooga, Tennessee
Champion	Delaware
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
	«2002 2004»

The 2003 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 2003, and concluded with the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 2003, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Colgate Raiders by a final score of 40−0.^[1]

Conference changes and new programs

2003 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Delaware +^	8	–	1	15	–	1
No. 11 UMass +^	8	–	1	10	–	3
No. 20 Northeastern	6	–	3	8	–	4
No. 25 Villanova	5	–	4	7	–	4
Maine	4	–	4	6	–	5
William & Mary	4	–	4	5	–	5
James Madison	4	–	5	6	–	6
New Hampshire	3	–	6	5	–	7
Rhode Island	3	–	6	4	–	8
Hofstra	2	–	6	2	–	10
Richmond	1	–	8	2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2003 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 14 Montana +^	5	–	2	9	–	4
No. 10 N Arizona +^	5	–	2	9	–	4
No. 21 Montana State +^	5	–	2	7	–	6
No. 22 Idaho State	4	–	3	8	–	4
Weber State	4	–	3	8	–	4
Eastern Washington	3	–	4	6	–	5
Portland State	1	–	6	4	–	7
Sacramento State	1	–	6	2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2003 Gateway Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 5 Northern Iowa +^	6	–	1	10	–	3
No. 9 Southern Illinois +^	6	–	1	10	–	2
No. 6 Western Illinois ^	5	–	2	9	–	4
No. 7 Western Kentucky ^	5	–	2	9	–	4
Illinois State	3	–	4	6	–	6
Youngstown State	2	–	5	5	–	7
Southwest Missouri State	1	–	6	4	–	7
Indiana State	0	–	7	3	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2003 Ivy League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 12 Penn $	7	–	0	10	–	0
Harvard	4	–	3	7	–	3
Brown	4	–	3	5	–	5
Yale	4	–	3	6	–	4
Dartmouth	4	–	3	5	–	5
Columbia	3	–	4	4	–	6
Princeton	2	–	5	2	–	8
Cornell	0	–	7	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2003 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 16 North Carolina A&T $^	7	–	1	10	–	2
No. 15 Bethune–Cookman ^	6	–	2	9	–	2
South Carolina State	5	–	2	8	–	4
Hampton	5	–	2	7	–	4
Morgan State	4	–	3	6	–	5
Florida A&M	3	–	4	6	–	6
Howard	2	–	5	4	–	7
Delaware State	1	–	6	1	–	10
Norfolk State	0	–	8	1	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2003 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 18 Jacksonville State $^	7	–	1	8	–	4
Eastern Kentucky	6	–	2	7	–	5
Samford	5	–	3	7	–	4
Tennessee State	5	–	3	7	–	5
Southeast Missouri State	5	–	3	5	–	7
Murray State	3	–	5	4	–	8
Eastern Illinois	3	–	5	4	–	8
Tennessee Tech	1	–	7	2	–	9
Tennessee–Martin	1	–	7	2	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2003 Patriot League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Colgate $^	7	–	0	15	–	1
No. 23 Lehigh	6	–	1	8	–	3
Fordham	4	–	3	9	–	3
Bucknell	4	–	3	6	–	6
Towson	3	–	4	6	–	6
Lafayette	2	–	5	5	–	6
Georgetown	1	–	6	4	–	8
Holy Cross	1	–	6	1	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2003 Pioneer Football League standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
North Division
Valparaiso xy$	3	–	1	8	–	4
San Diego x	3	–	1	8	–	2
Dayton	2	–	2	9	–	2
Drake	1	–	3	6	–	6
Butler	1	–	3	2	–	9
South Division
Morehead State xy	3	–	0	8	–	3
Jacksonville	1	–	2	4	–	6
Austin Peay	1	–	2	4	–	7
Davidson	1	–	2	3	–	8
Championship: Valparaiso 54, Morehead State 42
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

2003 Southern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 3 Wofford $^	8	–	0	12	–	2
Appalachian State	6	–	2	7	–	4
No. 24 Georgia Southern	5	–	3	7	–	4
Furman	4	–	4	6	–	5
The Citadel	4	–	4	6	–	6
Western Carolina	3	–	5	4	–	7
Chattanooga	3	–	5	3	–	9
East Tennessee State	2	–	6	5	–	7
Elon	1	–	7	2	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll

2003 Southland Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 8 McNeese State $^	5	–	0	10	–	2
Stephen F. Austin	4	–	1	7	–	4
Northwestern State	2	–	3	7	–	5
Texas State	2	–	3	5	–	7
Sam Houston State	2	–	3	3	–	8
Nicholls State†	0	–	5	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant † – Nicholls State forfeited 5 wins, including 3 conference victories. Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2003 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Alabama State xy	5	–	2	8	–	5
Alcorn State x	5	–	2	7	–	5
Alabama A&M	4	–	3	8	–	4
Jackson State	2	–	5	2	–	10
Mississippi Valley State	1	–	6	2	–	9
West Division
No. 13 Southern xy$	6	–	1	12	–	1
No. 17 Grambling State x	6	–	1	9	–	3
Texas Southern	3	–	4	5	–	6
Arkansas–Pine Bluff	3	–	4	4	–	7
Prairie View A&M	0	–	7	1	–	10
Championship: Southern 20, Alabama State 9
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from The Sports Network Poll

2003 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 4 Florida Atlantic ^		–		11	–	3
Cal Poly		–		7	–	4
Southeastern Louisiana		–		5	–	7
Southern Utah		–		4	–	7
Saint Mary's		–		1	–	11
FIU		–		0	–	10
Savannah State		–		0	–	12

^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Record adjusted for 2 vacated wins by FIU Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Conference Champions
Atlantic 10 Conference – Delaware and UMass Big Sky Conference – Montana, Montana State, and Northern Arizona Big South Conference – Gardner-Webb Gateway Football Conference – Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois Ivy League – Penn Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Duquesne Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina A&T Northeast Conference – Albany (NY) and Monmouth Ohio Valley Conference – Jacksonville State Patriot League – Colgate Pioneer Football League – Valparaiso Southern Conference – Wofford Southland Conference – McNeese State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Southern

The top four teams in the tournament were seeded;^[2] seeded teams were assured of hosting games in the first two rounds.^[3]

First Round November 29 Campus sites			Quarterfinals December 6 Campus sites			Semifinals December 13 Campus sites			National Championship Game December 19 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN

1	McNeese State*	3

	Northern Arizona	35
			Northern Arizona*		25

			Florida Atlantic		48
Bethune–Cookman*		24

Florida Atlantic		32
							Florida Atlantic*	24

						4	Colgate	36
4	Colgate*	19

	UMass	7
			4	Colgate*	28

				Western Illinois	27
Montana*		40

Western Illinois		43**
									4	Colgate	0

									2	Delaware	40
3	Wofford*	31

	North Carolina A&T	0
			3	Wofford*	34

				Western Kentucky	17
Western Kentucky*		45

Jacksonville State		7
						3	Wofford	9

						2	Delaware*	24
2	Delaware*	48

	Southern Illinois	7
			2	Delaware*	37

				Northern Iowa	7
Northern Iowa*		35

Montana State		14