1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season

Last updated

1979 NCAA Division I-AA season
NCAA 70s logo.svg
Regular season
Number of teams42
DurationAugust–November
Playoff
DurationDecember 8–December 15
Championship date December 15, 1979
Championship site Orlando Stadium
Orlando, Florida
Champion Eastern Kentucky
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
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1980 »

The 1979 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 1979, and concluded with the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 15, 1979, at Orlando Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The Eastern Kentucky Colonels won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Lehigh Engineers by a final score of 30−7. [1]

Contents

Conference changes and new programs

School1978 Conference1979 Conference
East Tennessee State Ohio Valley (I-AA) Southern (I-A)
Nevada I-AA Independent Big Sky

Conference standings

1979 Big Sky Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Boise State * 7 0 010 1 0
No. 9 Montana State $ 6 1 06 4 0
No. 5 Nevada ^ 5 2 08 4 0
No. T–10 Northern Arizona 3 4 07 4 0
Weber State 3 4 03 8 0
Idaho 2 5 04 7 0
Montana 2 5 03 7 0
Idaho State 0 7 00 11 0
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
  • * – Boise State was on probation
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA AP Poll
1979 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Morgan State $ 5 0 09 2 0
South Carolina State 4 1 08 3 0
North Carolina A&T 2 2 14 6 1
Howard 2 3 05 6 0
Delaware State 1 4 14 5 1
North Carolina Central 1 4 02 8 1
Maryland Eastern Shore 0 0 03 7 1
  • $ Conference champion
  • Maryland Eastern Shore games did not count as conference games in 1979
1979 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 2 Murray State $^ 6 0 09 2 1
No. 3 Eastern Kentucky ^ 5 1 011 2 0
Morehead State 3 2 15 4 1
Western Kentucky 3 3 05 5 0
Austin Peay 2 4 07 4 0
Middle Tennessee 1 5 01 9 0
Tennessee Tech 0 5 11 8 2
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1979 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 6 Alcorn State + 5 1 08 2 0
No. 1 Grambling State + 5 1 08 3 0
No. 8 Jackson State 4 2 08 3 0
No. T–10 Southern 4 2 07 4 0
Mississippi Valley State 2 4 04 5 0
Texas Southern 1 5 03 8 0
Prairie View A&M 0 6 00 11 0
  • + Conference co-champions
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1979 Yankee Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 7 Boston University + 4 1 08 1 1
UMass + 4 1 06 4 0
Connecticut 3 1 13 6 2
New Hampshire 2 2 15 4 2
Maine 1 4 01 9 1
Rhode Island 0 5 02 9 0
  • + Conference co-champions
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1979 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Lehigh ^   10 3 0
Florida A&M   7 4 0
Portland State   6 5 0
Lafayette   5 3 2
Bucknell   4 4 2
Northwestern State   3 6 0
Northeastern   3 7 0
  • ^ NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll

Conference champions

Conference champions

Big Sky Conference – Montana State
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Morgan State
Ohio Valley Conference – Murray State
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Alcorn State and Grambling State
Yankee Conference – Boston University and Massachusetts

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

The bracket consisted of three regional selections (West, East, and South) plus Eastern Kentucky as an at-large selection. [2]

Semifinals
December 8
Campus sites
National Championship Game
December 15
Orlando Stadium
Orlando, Florida
      
East Lehigh 28
South Murray State* 9
East Lehigh 7
AtLg Eastern Kentucky30
West Nevada 30
AtLg Eastern Kentucky * 33**

*Next to name denotes host institution
*Next to score denotes overtimes

See also

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References

  1. "1979 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  2. "Eastern Kentucky Gains Football Playoff Berth". The Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee. December 3, 1979. p. 36. Retrieved February 9, 2019 via newspapers.com.