1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1980 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	45
Duration	August–November
Playoff
Duration	December 13–December 20
Championship date	December 20, 1980
Championship site	Hughes Stadium, Sacramento, California
Champion	Boise State
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
« 1979 1981 »

The 1980 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. The third season of I-AA football began in August 1980 and four teams were selected for the postseason, with the national semifinals played on December 13. The 1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was the Camellia Bowl played on December 20 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. ^{[1] [2]}

In a game with multiple lead changes, the Boise State Broncos won their first (and only) I-AA championship, defeating the defending national champion Eastern Kentucky Colonels, 31−29. ^[3] With less than a minute to play, the Broncos drove eighty yards for the winning touchdown, a 14-yard pass from quarterback Joe Aliotti to tight end Duane Dlouhy with twelve seconds remaining. ^[4]

Conference changes and new programs

School	1979 Conference	1980 Conference
Akron	Mid-Continent (D-II)	Ohio Valley (I-AA)
Bethune–Cookman	SIAC (D-II)	MEAC (I-AA)
Delaware	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Florida A&M	I-AA Independent	MEAC (I-AA)
James Madison	D-III Independent	I-AA Independent
Maryland Eastern Shore	MEAC	Dropped Program
Nicholls State	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Southeastern Louisiana	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent

Conference standings

1980 Big Sky Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 Boise State $^ 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 3 – 0 Idaho 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Nevada 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 1 Idaho State* 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Weber State* 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Montana State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Northern Arizona 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Montana 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant * – Idaho State and Weber State met twice in league play with each game counting as a half game. Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA AP Poll	1980 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. T–3 South Carolina State $ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 North Carolina A&T 3 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 Howard 2 – 2 – 1 6 – 2 – 2 Bethune–Cookman 2 – 2 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Florida A&M 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Delaware State 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from Associated Press poll	1980 Ohio Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 Western Kentucky $ 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 No. T–10 Murray State 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 No. T–3 Eastern Kentucky ^ 5 – 2 – 0 10 – 3 – 0 Austin Peay 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Akron 2 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1 Morehead State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Middle Tennessee 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Tennessee Tech 1 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll
1980 Southern Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Furman $ 7 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 1 Chattanooga 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Appalachian State 4 – 2 – 1 6 – 4 – 1 The Citadel 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Western Carolina 2 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1 VMI 1 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1 East Tennessee State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Marshall 0 – 5 – 1 2 – 8 – 1 Davidson 0 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion This conference was a hybrid of I-A and I-AA programs. Davidson was classified as I-AA. [5] [6] The rest of the teams were I-A.	1980 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Grambling State +^ 5 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Jackson State + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Alcorn State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Mississippi Valley State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Southern 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 1 Texas Southern 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Prairie View A&M 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll	1980 Yankee Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 9 Boston University $ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 No. T–10 UMass 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 No. T–10 Connecticut 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 New Hampshire 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Maine 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Rhode Island 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from Associated Press poll	1980 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Lehigh ^   –   9 – 1 – 2 No. 6 Delaware   –   9 – 2 – 0 Southeastern Louisiana   –   8 – 2 – 0 No. 8 Northwestern State   –   8 – 3 – 0 Portland State   –   8 – 3 – 0 Bucknell   –   6 – 4 – 0 James Madison   –   4 – 6 – 0 Lafayette   –   3 – 7 – 0 Nicholls State   –   2 – 9 – 0 Northeastern   –   2 – 9 – 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 – Boise State Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina State Ohio Valley Conference – Western Kentucky Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State and Jackson State Yankee Conference – Boston University

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. ^[7]

	Semifinals December 13 Campus sites					National Championship Game December 20 Camellia Bowl Hughes Stadium—Sacramento, CA
	AtLg	Eastern Kentucky	23
	East	Lehigh*	20
						AtLg	Eastern Kentucky	29
						West	Boise State	31
	South	Grambling State	9
	West	Boise State *	14

*Denotes host institution

References

1. "Boise State moves into I-AA finals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. December 14, 1980. p. 7B.
2. "Camellia: Who vs. who?". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 20, 1980. p. 24.
3. "1980 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
4. "Broncos squeak by Colonels, take title". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 21, 1980. p. B2.
5. "Apps Blast E. Tennessee". Star-News. September 27, 1980. p. 37. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
6. "Western, ASU Debut With Victories". The Dispatch. September 8, 1980. p. 8. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
7. Embry, Micahael (December 1, 1980). "Division I-AA playoffs set". Reno Gazette-Journal . Reno, Nevada. AP. p. 32. Retrieved February 9, 2019– via newspapers.com.