1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1997 NCAA Division I-AA season
1997 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	120
Duration	August–November
Payton Award	Brian Finneran (WR, Villanova)
Buchanan Award	Chris McNeil (DE, North Carolina A&T)
Playoff
Duration	November 29–December 20
Championship date	December 20, 1997
Championship site	Finley Stadium ; Chattanooga, Tennessee
Champion	Youngstown State
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
	« 1996 1998 »

Last updated December 26, 2024

The 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1997, and concluded with the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 20, 1997, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Youngstown State Penguins won their fourth I-AA championship, defeating the McNeese State Cowboys by a score of 10−9.^[1]

Conference changes and new programs

Prior to the 1997 season, the Atlantic 10 Conference began to sponsor football at the Division I-AA level by taking over the football-only Yankee Conference , which had been a charter member of the subdivision. All 12 members (Boston University, Connecticut, Delaware, James Madison, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Rhode Island, Richmond, Villanova, and William & Mary) moved into the new conference.

School	1996 Conference	1997 Conference
Arkansas–Pine Bluff	Independent (NAIA)	SWAC (I-AA)
Austin Peay	Ohio Valley	I-AA Independent
Jacksonville State	I-AA Independent	Southland
La Salle	New Program	I-AA Independent
Marshall	Southern (I-AA)	MAC (I-A)
Norfolk State	CIAA (D-II)	MEAC (I-AA)
South Florida	New Program	I-AA Independent
Towson State	I-AA Independent	Patriot
Wofford	I-AA Independent	Southern
Youngstown State	I-AA Independent	Gateway

Conference standings

1997 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
New England Division
New Hampshire x	5	–	3	5	–	6
Connecticut	4	–	4	7	–	4
Maine	4	–	4	5	–	6
Rhode Island	2	–	6	2	–	9
Boston University	1	–	7	1	–	10
UMass	1	–	7	2	–	9
Mid-Atlantic Division
No. 1 Villanova x$^	8	–	0	12	–	1
No. 3 Delaware ^	7	–	1	12	–	2
No. 20 Northeastern	5	–	3	8	–	3
Richmond	4	–	4	6	–	5
William & Mary	4	–	4	7	–	4
James Madison	3	–	5	5	–	6

$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1997 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 6 E Washington $^	7	–	1	12	–	2
No. 11 Montana ^	6	–	2	8	–	4
Montana State	5	–	3	6	–	5
Northern Arizona	4	–	4	6	–	5
Weber State	4	–	4	6	–	5
Cal State Northridge	4	–	4	4	–	8
Portland State	3	–	5	4	–	7
Idaho State	2	–	6	3	–	8
Sacramento State	1	–	7	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Cal State Northridge record includes two losses by forfeit Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1997 Gateway Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Western Illinois $^	6	–	0	11	–	2
Northern Iowa	5	–	1	7	–	4
No. 4 Youngstown State ^	4	–	2	13	–	2
Southwest Missouri State	3	–	3	5	–	6
Indiana State	2	–	4	3	–	8
Southern Illinois	1	–	5	3	–	8
Illinois State	0	–	6	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1997 Ivy League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Harvard $	7	–	0	9	–	1
Dartmouth	6	–	1	8	–	2
Brown	4	–	3	7	–	3
Cornell	4	–	3	6	–	4
Princeton	3	–	4	6	–	4
Columbia	3	–	4	4	–	6
Yale	1	–	6	2	–	8
Penn *	0	–	7	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion * Standings reflect Penn's forfeit of five conference wins due to use of an ineligible player

1997 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Georgetown $	8	–	0	8	–	3
Duquesne	6	–	2	7	–	3
St. John's	5	–	3	8	–	3
Fairfield	5	–	3	7	–	3
Siena	5	–	3	6	–	3
Marist	4	–	4	6	–	4
Canisius	2	–	6	3	–	7
Saint Peter's	1	–	7	1	–	9
Iona	0	–	8	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion

1997 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 9 Hampton $^	7	–	0	10	–	2
No. 22 South Carolina State	5	–	2	9	–	2
No. 10 Florida A&M ^	5	–	2	9	–	3
Howard	4	–	3	7	–	4
North Carolina A&T	3	–	4	7	–	4
Morgan State	2	–	5	3	–	7
Bethune–Cookman	1	–	6	4	–	7
Delaware State	1	–	6	3	–	8
Norfolk State	0	–	0	3	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Norfolk State games did not count as conference games. Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1997 Northeast Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Robert Morris $	4	–	0	8	–	3
Monmouth	3	–	1	5	–	4
Wagner	2	–	2	6	–	4
Central Connecticut State	1	–	3	5	–	5
Saint Francis (PA)	0	–	4	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion

1997 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 19 Eastern Kentucky $^	7	–	0	8	–	4
No. 16 Eastern Illinois	5	–	2	8	–	3
Murray State	5	–	2	7	–	4
Tennessee Tech	4	–	3	6	–	5
Tennessee State	4	–	3	4	–	7
Middle Tennessee	2	–	5	4	–	6
Southeast Missouri State	1	–	6	4	–	7
Tennessee–Martin	0	–	7	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1997 Patriot League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Colgate $^	6	–	0	7	–	5
No. 24 Bucknell	5	–	1	10	–	1
Fordham	4	–	2	5	–	6
Holy Cross	2	–	4	4	–	7
Lehigh	2	–	4	4	–	7
Lafayette	2	–	4	3	–	8
Towson	0	–	6	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1997 Pioneer Football League standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 23 Dayton $	5	–	0	9	–	1
San Diego	4	–	1	8	–	3
Drake	2	–	3	8	–	3
Butler	2	–	3	6	–	4
Valparaiso	2	–	3	3	–	7
Evansville	0	–	5	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1997 Southern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 8 Georgia Southern $^	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 15 Appalachian State	6	–	2	7	–	4
East Tennessee State	5	–	3	7	–	4
Furman	5	–	3	7	–	4
The Citadel	4	–	4	6	–	5
Chattanooga	4	–	4	7	–	4
Western Carolina	3	–	5	3	–	8
Wofford	2	–	6	3	–	7
VMI	0	–	8	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll

1997 Southland Football League standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 7 McNeese State +^	6	–	1	13	–	2
No. 21 Northwestern State +^	6	–	1	8	–	4
No. 13 Stephen F. Austin	5	–	2	8	–	3
Sam Houston State	3	–	4	5	–	6
Nicholls State	3	–	4	5	–	6
Southwest Texas State	2	–	5	5	–	6
Troy State	2	–	5	5	–	6
Jacksonville State	1	–	6	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1997 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 12 Southern $	8	–	0	11	–	1
No. 14 Jackson State ^	7	–	1	9	–	3
Arkansas–Pine Bluff	6	–	2	8	–	3
Texas Southern	4	–	4	5	–	6
Alcorn State	4	–	4	4	–	7
Mississippi Valley State	3	–	5	4	–	6
Alabama State	2	–	6	3	–	8
Grambling State	2	–	6	3	–	8
Prairie View A&M	0	–	8	0	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network Poll

1997 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 18 Cal Poly		–		10	–	1
No. 5 Western Kentucky ^		–		10	–	2
No. 17 Hofstra ^		–		9	–	2
No. 25 Liberty		–		9	–	2
Samford		–		7	–	4
Morehead State		–		5	–	4
South Florida		–		5	–	6
Southern Utah		–		5	–	6
Saint Mary's		–		4	–	6
Davidson		–		3	–	8
Buffalo		–		2	–	9
La Salle		–		1	–	8
Charleston Southern		–		1	–	9
Austin Peay		–		0	–	10

^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Conference champions

Conference Champions
Atlantic 10 Conference – Villanova Big Sky Conference – Eastern Washington Gateway Football Conference – Western Illinois Ivy League – Harvard Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Georgetown Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Hampton Northeast Conference – Robert Morris Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky Patriot League – Colgate Pioneer Football League – Dayton Southern Conference – Georgia Southern Southland Football League – McNeese State and Northwestern State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Southern

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

The NCAA departed from standard bracket structure—where, for example, the fourth and fifth seeds could meet in the second round—in order to place teams from the same conference in different halves of the bracket.^[2]

First Round November 29 Campus sites			Quarterfinals December 6 Campus sites			Semifinals December 13 Campus sites			National Championship Game December 20 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN

1	Villanova *	49

16	Colgate	28
			1	Villanova*	34

			8	Youngstown State	37
8	Youngstown State *	28

9	Hampton	13
						8	Youngstown State	25

						3	Eastern Washington*	14
5	Western Kentucky *	42

12	Eastern Kentucky	14
			5	Western Kentucky	21

			3	Eastern Washington*	38
3	Eastern Washington *	40

14	Northwestern State	10
									8	Youngstown State	10

									6	McNeese State	9
4	Delaware *	24

13	Hofstra	14
			4	Delaware*	16

			7	Georgia Southern	7
7	Georgia Southern *	52

10	Florida A&M	37
						4	Delaware*	21

						6	McNeese State	23
6	McNeese State *	19

11	Montana	14
			6	McNeese State	14

			2	Western Illinois*	12
2	Western Illinois *	31

15	Jackson State	24

*Denotes host institution
Source:^[3]

Related Research Articles

The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was called the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship, during the period when the FCS was known as NCAA Division I-AA.

The 1981 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 1981 and concluded with the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1981, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Idaho State Bengals won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in the Pioneer Bowl, 34−23.

The 1982 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 1982 and concluded with the 1982 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 18, 1982, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Eastern Kentucky Colonels won their second I-AA championship, defeating the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens in the Pioneer Bowl, 17−14.

The 1987 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 1987, and concluded with the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1987, at the Minidome in Pocatello, Idaho. The Northeast Louisiana Indians won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Marshall Thundering Herd by a score of 43–42.

The 1993 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 1993, and concluded with the 1993 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 18, 1993, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The Youngstown State Penguins won their second I-AA championship, defeating the Marshall Thundering Herd by a score of 17−5. It was the third consecutive year that Marshall and Youngstown State faced off in the I-AA title game.

The 1996 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 1996, and concluded with the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 21, 1996, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The Marshall Thundering Herd won their second I-AA championship, defeating the defending national champion Montana Grizzlies by a score of 49–29.

The 1978 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began in August 1978, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship in December 1978 at Lobo Stadium in Longview, Texas. The Eastern Illinois Panthers defeated the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens, 10–9, to win their first Division II national title.

The 2011 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens and the Eastern Washington Eagles. It was played on January 7, 2011, at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The culminating game of the 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season, it was won by Eastern Washington, 20–19.

The 2003 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens and the Colgate Raiders. The game was played on December 19, 2003, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Delaware, 40–0.

The 2002 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the McNeese State Cowboys. The game was played on December 20, 2002, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Western Kentucky, 34–14.

The 1999 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Youngstown State Penguins. The game was played on December 18, 1999, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 1999 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 59–24.

The 1997 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Youngstown State Penguins and the McNeese State Cowboys. The game was played on December 20, 1997, and was the first I-AA title game contested at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Youngstown State, 10–9.

The 1996 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Montana Grizzlies. The game was played on December 21, 1996, and was the last I-AA title game contested at Marshall University Stadium, now known as Joan C. Edwards Stadium, in Huntington, West Virginia. The culminating game of the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was a rematch of the prior season's final, and was won by Marshall, 49–29. It was also Marshall's final game in Division I-AA, now known as Division I FCS; the Herd would move to Division I-A the following July, joining the Mid-American Conference.

The 1994 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Youngstown State Penguins and the Boise State Broncos. The game was played on December 17, 1994, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The culminating game of the 1994 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Youngstown State, 28–14.

The 1992 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Youngstown State Penguins and the Marshall Thundering Herd. The game was played on December 19, 1992, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The culminating game of the 1992 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Marshall, 31–28. The game was a rematch of the prior season's championship game.

The 1991 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Youngstown State Penguins and the Marshall Thundering Herd. The game was played on December 21, 1991, at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The culminating game of the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Youngstown State, 25–17.

The 1989 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. The game was played on December 16, 1989, at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The culminating game of the 1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 37–34.

The 1982 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens. The game was played on December 18, 1982, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The culminating game of the 1982 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Eastern Kentucky, 17–14.

The 1981 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Idaho State Bengals. The game was played on December 19, 1981, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The culminating game of the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Idaho State, 34–23.

The 1991 Villanova Wildcats football team represented the Villanova University as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Andy Talley, the Wildcats played their home games at Villanova Stadium in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Villanova finished the season with an overall record of 10–2 and a conference mark of 7–1, sharing the Yankee Conference title with Delaware and New Hampshire. Villanova qualified for the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, losing to the eventual national champion, Youngstown State, in the first round.

References

↑ "1997 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 16. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
↑ Tomashek, Tom (November 24, 1997). "Delaware, Villanova could meet in the mountains". The News Journal . Wilmington, Delaware. p. C4. Retrieved February 8, 2019– via newspapers.com.
↑ "I-AA football playoffs". Missoulian . Missoula, Montana. November 24, 1997. p. D4. Retrieved February 8, 2019– via newspapers.com.

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[1] "1997 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 16. Retrieved December 29, 2013.

[2] Tomashek, Tom (November 24, 1997). "Delaware, Villanova could meet in the mountains". The News Journal . Wilmington, Delaware. p. C4. Retrieved February 8, 2019– via newspapers.com.

[3] "I-AA football playoffs". Missoulian . Missoula, Montana. November 24, 1997. p. D4. Retrieved February 8, 2019– via newspapers.com.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e NCAA football seasons
Pre-NCAA	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905
NCAA pre-divisional	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961
NCAA University Division	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division I	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
NCAA Division I-A/FBS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA College Division	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division II	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA Division III	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football playoff participants
Colgate Delaware Eastern Kentucky Eastern Washington Florida A&M Georgia Southern Hampton Hofstra Jackson State McNeese State Montana Northwestern State Villanova Western Illinois Western Kentucky Youngstown State
Champion – Youngstown State Penguins