1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

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

1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game Pioneer Bowl
Florida A&M Rattlers UMass Minutemen (11–1) (9–3) SIAC Yankee Conference 35 28 Head coach:  Rudy Hubbard Head coach:  Bob Pickett AP 3 AP 4 (tie)
1 2 3 4 Total Florida A&M 0 14 7 14 35 UMass 3 3 9 13 28
Date	December 16, 1978
Season	1978
Stadium	Memorial Stadium
Location	Wichita Falls, Texas
Attendance	13,604 [1]
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC Sports
Announcers	Bill Flemming (play-by-play), Frank Broyles (color) [2]
NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship   1979 >

The 1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Florida A&M Rattlers and the UMass Minutemen. The game was played on December 16, 1978, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The culminating game of the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Florida A&M, 35–28. ^[3]

This was the first season of I-AA play, and the first championship game for the newly formed division. The game was also known as the Pioneer Bowl, ^[4] a name that had been used starting in 1971 for various NCAA playoff games held in Wichita Falls.

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1978 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a four-team bracket.

Florida A&M Rattlers

See also: 1978 Florida A&M Rattlers football team

In 1978, Florida A&M was a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), a Division II conference. The university had successfully petitioned the NCAA for Division I classification (Division I-AA in football), which took effect on September 1, 1978. ^[5]

Florida A&M finished their regular season with a 9–1 record; their only loss was to Tennessee State. ^[6] Ranked third in the final AP Poll for I-AA, ^[7] and then having defeated Grambling State in the Orange Blossom Classic played on December 2, the Rattlers were the at-large selection to the four-team playoff. They defeated Jackson State, the South selection, by a score of 15–10 to reach the final.

UMass Minutemen

Main article: 1978 UMass Minutemen football team

UMass finished their regular season with an 8–3 record (5–0 in conference)—all of their losses were to Division I-A programs; Villanova, Harvard, and Rutgers. ^[8] Tied with Western Kentucky for fourth in the final AP Poll for I-AA, ^[7] the Minutemen were the East selection to the playoff. They defeated Nevada, the West selection, by a 44–21 score to reach the final.

Game summary

The game was played in a strong wind, estimated at 20–25 miles per hour (32–40 km/h). ^[9] It was a factor, especially with Florida A&M, as Sammy Knight punted six times for only 45 total yards; he also had two punts blocked. ^[9] UMass led early, going ahead 6–0 on two field goals. Florida A&M held a 14–6 lead at halftime, but trailed twice in the second half, as UMass had leads of 15–14 and 22–21. Two fourth quarter touchdowns by fullback Mike Solomon then provided Florida A&M with the winning margin. Florida A&M won without completing a pass from scrimmage, as quarterback Albert Chester went 0-for-7 with two interceptions; ^[10] he did successfully pass for a two-point conversion, and ran for two touchdowns.

Florida A&M placekicker Vince Coleman, who was 3-for-3 on extra points, would go on to play 13 seasons in Major League Baseball, most notably with the St. Louis Cardinals. ^[11]

Note: contemporary news reports listed attendance as 14,000 (estimated); ^{[10] [12]} NCAA records indicate 13,604. ^[1]

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP FAMU MASS 1 10:18 9 40 MASS 20-yard field goal by Sandro Vitiello 0 3 2 10:14 4 (-2) MASS 20-yard field goal by Vitiello 0 6 2 8:30 55 FAMU Albert Chester 1-yard touchdown run, Vince Coleman kick good 7 6 2 4:22 49 FAMU Chester 4-yard touchdown run, Coleman kick good 14 6 3 6:54 3 8 MASS Cliff Pedro 1-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass incomplete 14 12 3 1:57 37 MASS 29-yard field goal by Vitiello 14 15 3 2 71 FAMU Mike Solomon 65-yard touchdown run, Coleman kick good 21 15 4 12:56 3 13 MASS Pedro 9-yard touchdown reception from Mike McEvilly, Vitiello kick good 21 22 4 8:14 1 28 FAMU Solomon 28-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good (Emanuel White from Chester) 29 22 4 3:15 8 55 FAMU Solomon 20-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed 35 22 4 0:00 MASS Chris Kurtz 34-yard touchdown reception from McEvilly, 2-point pass failed 35 28 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 35 28

^{[13] [9] [10]}

Game statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rattlers	0	14	7	14	35
Minutemen	3	3	9	13	28

Florida A&M head coach Rudy Hubbard

Statistics	FAMU	MASS
First downs	20	11
Plays–yards	83–470	69–241
Rushes–yards	76–470	45–116
Passing yards	0	125
Passing: comp–att–int	0–7–2	8–24–1
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida A&M	Passing	Albert Chester	0–7, 2 INT
	Rushing	Mike Solomon	27 car, 207 yds, 3 TD
	Receiving	none	—
UMass	Passing	Mike McEvilly	8–24, 125 yds, 2 TD 1 INT
	Rushing	Hank Sareault	16 car, 71 yds
	Receiving	Chris Kurtz	2 rec, 46 yds, 1 TD

^{[10] [14] [12]}

See also

• 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings

References

1. "Division I Championship" (PDF). NCAA. 2013. p. 14. Retrieved May 11, 2019– via ncaa.org.
2. Richardson, Brian (December 17, 1978). "ABC still owes the Rattlers one". Tallahassee Democrat . Tallahassee, Florida. p. 5D. Retrieved May 13, 2019– via newspapers.com.
3. "UMass Toppled in Bowl, 35-28". The New York Times . AP. December 17, 1978. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
4. Climer, David (July 22, 1978). "I-AA Finals Set At Pioneer Bowl". The Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee. p. 20. Retrieved May 13, 2019– via newspapers.com.
5. 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.
6. "Florida A&M Rattlers 1978 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 13, 2019.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
7. "Reno gets playoff berth". Billings Gazette . Billings, Montana. AP. November 21, 1978. p. 1-B. Retrieved May 13, 2019– via newspapers.com.
8. "Massachusetts Minutemen 1978 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 13, 2019.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
9. Cooper, Barry (December 17, 1978). "FAMU (cont'd)". Tallahassee Democrat . Tallahassee, Florida. p. 7A. Retrieved May 13, 2019– via newspapers.com.
10. "A&M figures". Tallahassee Democrat . Tallahassee, Florida. December 17, 1978. p. 5D. Retrieved May 13, 2019– via newspapers.com.
11. Homer, Jody (May 12, 1985). "Cards' Rookie Looks Like a Steal". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved May 14, 2019.
12. Schmitz, Brian (December 17, 1978). "FAMU Rattlers Strike Back For I-AA Championship". Fort Lauderdale News . Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 10C. Retrieved May 13, 2019– via newspapers.com.
13. Cooper, Barry (December 17, 1978). "FAMU captures a national title". Tallahassee Democrat . Tallahassee, Florida. p. 1A. Retrieved May 13, 2019– via newspapers.com.
14. Schmitz, Brian (December 17, 1978). "FAMU Wins It All, 35-28". Fort Lauderdale News . Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 1C. Retrieved May 13, 2019– via newspapers.com.

Further reading

• Sharrock, Rory (June 22, 2018). "Rattler Redux: FAMU documentary celebrates 1978 championship". Tallahassee Democrat . Retrieved May 12, 2019.
• Sharrock, Rory (September 16, 2018). "FAMU's 1978 national title: The first and last of its kind". Tallahassee Democrat . Retrieved May 12, 2019.