1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season

This article is about the first Division I-AA (now FCS) season. For the first Division I-A (now FBS) season, see 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season.

1978 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams43
DurationAugust–November
Playoff
DurationDecember 9–December 16
Championship dateDecember 16, 1978
Championship siteMemorial Stadium
Wichita Falls, Texas
ChampionFlorida A&M
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons

The 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season was the first season of Division I-AA college football. Division I-AA was created in January 1978 when Division I was subdivided into Division I-A and Division I-AA for football only.[1] It was anticipated that 65 Division I football schools would transition to Division I-AA.[2] Instead, just eight programs (seven teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, which had just joined Division I a year before, plus independent Northwestern State) voluntarily opted for Division I-AA for the 1978 season. They were joined by 35 schools that had reclassified from Division II.

The season began in August 1978 and concluded with the Division I-AA Football Championship Game, played on December 16 at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Florida A&M Rattlers won the first I-AA championship, defeating the UMass Minutemen 35–28 in the Pioneer Bowl.[3] Florida A&M of 1978 remains the only HBCU program to play in (and win) the I-AA/FCS national championship game.

Initial membership

School 1977 Conference 1978 Conference
Alcorn State SWAC (D-I) SWAC (I-AA)
Austin Peay Ohio Valley (D-II) Ohio Valley (I-AA)
Boise State Big Sky (D-II) Big Sky (I-AA)
Boston University Yankee (D-II) Yankee (I-AA)
Bucknell D-II Independent I-AA Independent
Connecticut Yankee (D-II) Yankee (I-AA)
Delaware State MEAC (D-II) MEAC (I-AA)
East Tennessee State Ohio Valley (D-II) Ohio Valley (I-AA)
Eastern Kentucky Ohio Valley (D-II) Ohio Valley (I-AA)
Florida A&M SIAC (D-II) I-AA Independent
Grambling State SWAC (D-I) SWAC (I-AA)
Howard MEAC (D-II) MEAC (I-AA)
Idaho ^ Big Sky (D-II) Big Sky (I-AA)
Idaho State Big Sky (D-II) Big Sky (I-AA)
Jackson State SWAC (D-I) SWAC (I-AA)
Lafayette D-II Independent I-AA Independent
Lehigh D-II Independent I-AA Independent
Maine Yankee (D-II) Yankee (I-AA)
Middle Tennessee State Ohio Valley (D-II) Ohio Valley (I-AA)
Mississippi Valley State SWAC (D-I) SWAC (I-AA)
Montana Big Sky (D-II) Big Sky (I-AA)
Montana State Big Sky (D-II) Big Sky (I-AA)
Morehead State Ohio Valley (D-II) Ohio Valley (I-AA)
Murray State Ohio Valley (D-II) Ohio Valley (I-AA)
New Hampshire Yankee (D-II) Yankee (I-AA)
Northeastern D-II Independent I-AA Independent
Nevada D-II Independent I-AA Independent
North Carolina A&T MEAC (D-II) MEAC (I-AA)
Northern Arizona Big Sky (D-II) Big Sky (I-AA)
Northwestern State D-I Independent I-AA Independent
Portland State D-II Independent I-AA Independent
Prairie View A&M SWAC (D-I) SWAC (I-AA)
Rhode Island Yankee (D-II) Yankee (I-AA)
South Carolina State MEAC (D-II) MEAC (I-AA)
Southern SWAC (D-I) SWAC (I-AA)
Tennessee Tech Ohio Valley (D-II) Ohio Valley (I-AA)
Texas Southern SWAC (D-I) SWAC (I-AA)
UMass Yankee (D-II) Yankee (I-AA)
Weber State Big Sky (D-II) Big Sky (I-AA)
Western Kentucky Ohio Valley (D-II) Ohio Valley (I-AA)
^ Idaho was previously in Division I for football, but also a member of the Big Sky Conference (D-II for football only)

Conference standings

1978 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Northern Arizona $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
No. T–9 Montana State 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Montana 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Boise State 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Weber State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Idaho 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Idaho State 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA AP Poll
1978 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 South Carolina State $ 5 – 0 – 1 8 – 2 – 1
North Carolina A&T 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 6 – 0
Delaware State 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Morgan State 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 6 – 1
Howard 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Maryland Eastern Shore 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
North Carolina Central 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • The conference was a hybrid of NCAA Division I-AA and II programs. Morgan State, Maryland-Eastern Shore, and North Carolina Central were classified as NCAA Division II for the 1978 season only. All the other teams were Division I-AA.[4][5][6]
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1978 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. T–4 Western Kentucky $ 7 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
No. 8 Eastern Kentucky 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Tennessee Tech 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Austin Peay 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Murray State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Morehead State 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 1
East Tennessee State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Middle Tennessee 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1978 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Grambling State $ 5 – 0 – 1 9 – 1 – 1
No. 2 Jackson State ^ 5 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
Mississippi Valley State 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1
Alcorn State 2 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Southern 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Texas Southern 1 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1
Prairie View A&M 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1978 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. T–4 UMass $^ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 4 – 0
No. 7 Rhode Island 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Connecticut 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Boston University 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
New Hampshire 1 – 3 – 1 6 – 4 – 1
Maine 0 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1978 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Florida A&M ^   –   12 – 1 – 0
No. 1 Nevada ^   –   11 – 1 – 0
No. 9 Lehigh   –   8 – 3 – 0
Northeastern   –   6 – 5 – 0
Bucknell   –   5 – 5 – 0
Northwestern State   –   5 – 6 – 0
Portland State   –   5 – 6 – 0
Lafayette   –   4 – 7 – 0
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll

Conference champions

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

Big Sky Conference – Northern Arizona
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina State
Ohio Valley Conference – Western Kentucky
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State
Yankee Conference – UMass

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

The bracket consisted of three regional selections (West, East, and South) plus an at-large team.[7] Florida A&M (FAMU) of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) was the at-large selection.[8] While the SIAC was a Division II conference, FAMU had successfully petitioned the NCAA for Division I classification (Division I-AA in football), which took effect on September 1, 1978.[9]

Semifinals
December 9
Campus sites 		National Championship Game
December 17
Pioneer Bowl
Memorial Stadium–Wichita Falls, TX
      
AtLg Florida A&M 15
South Jackson State* 10
AtLg Florida A&M 35
East UMass 28
East UMass 44
West Nevada* 21

* Denotes host institution

See also

References

  1. ^ "Big schools win battle". St. Petersburg Independent. (Florida). Associated Press. January 13, 1978. p. 5C.
  2. ^ Underwood, John (January 23, 1978). "The NCAA splits its decision". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  3. ^ "1978 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  4. ^ "Ncaa 1978".
  5. ^ "Ncaa 1978".
  6. ^ "Ncaa 1978".
  7. ^ Climer, David (July 22, 1978). "I-AA Finals Set At Pioneer Bowl". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 20. Retrieved February 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "FAMU Gains I-AA Playoffs". Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. December 4, 1978. p. 19. Retrieved February 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Cooper, Barry (August 31, 1978). "Florida A&M granted Division 1 status". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. p. 1B. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.