1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1980 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	46 [1]
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 played in the Camellia Bowl on December 20 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. ^{[2] [3]}

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. ^[4] 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. ^[5]

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-II 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 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. ^[6]

	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. "Standings for the 1980 FCS Season" . Retrieved June 26, 2025.
2. "Boise State moves into I-AA finals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. December 14, 1980. p. 7B.
3. "Camellia: Who vs. who?". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 20, 1980. p. 24.
4. "1980 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
5. "Broncos squeak by Colonels, take title". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 21, 1980. p. B2.
6. 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.