1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
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I-AA National Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Date | December 19, 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Season | 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stadium | Finley Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Chattanooga, Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||||
Referee | John W. Keys (Big Sky) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 17,501 [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the UMass Minutemen. The game was played on December 19, 1998, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by UMass, 55–43. [3]
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1998 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket. [4]
UMass finished their regular season with an 8–3 record (6–2 in conference); two of their losses had been to rival Connecticut, [5] with one considered a non-conference game. Seeded 11th in the playoffs, the Minutemen defeated sixth-seed McNeese State, 14-seed Lehigh, and second-seed Northwestern State to reach the final. This was the second appearance for UMass in a Division I-AA championship game, having lost to Florida A&M in the 1978 inaugural title game.
Georgia Southern finished their regular season with an 11–0 record (8–0 in conference). [6] The Eagles, seeded first, defeated 16-seed Colgate, eighth-seed Connecticut, and fourth-seed Western Illinois to reach the final. This was the sixth appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having four prior wins (1985, 1986, 1989, 1990) and one prior loss (1988).
Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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No. 1 Eagles | 7 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 43 |
No. 11 Minutemen | 21 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 55 |
Statistics | GSU | UM |
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First downs | 26 | 23 |
Plays–yards | 86–595 | 77–462 |
Rushes–yards | 65–457 | 51–303 |
Passing yards | 138 | 159 |
Passing: comp–att–int | 10–21–1 | 18–26–0 |
Time of possession | 30:48 | 29:12 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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Georgia Southern | Passing | Greg Hill | 8–16, 111 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT |
Rushing | Greg Hill | 29 car, 228 yds, 2 TD | |
Receiving | Corey Joyner | 6 rec, 94 yds, 1 TD | |
UMass | Passing | Todd Bankhead | 17–25, 152 yds |
Rushing | Marcel Shipp | 35 car, 244 yds, 3 TD | |
Receiving | Jimmy Moore | 6 rec, 63 yds |
The 1990 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 1990, and concluded with the 1990 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 15, 1990, at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their fourth I-AA championship, defeating the Nevada Wolf Pack by a score of 36–13.
The 1998 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 1998, and concluded with the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1998, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The UMass Minutemen won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Georgia Southern Eagles by a score of 55−43.
The 1998 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team was coached by Mark Whipple and played its home games at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. 1998 was the most successful season in Minutemen history, as UMass won their first national championship in the NCAA DI-AA playoffs in Whipple's first year with the team. UMass entered the postseason as champions of the A-10, but were not expected to make a serious run for the title. They reached the final game ranked 12th in the nation, and were matched up with perennial powerhouse Georgia Southern, the top ranked team in the country. The Minutemen rushed out of the gates, scoring three touchdowns in the opening quarter, and won the shootout by a final score of 55–43. UMass finished the season with a record of 12–3 overall and 6–2 in conference play.
The 1998 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented the Georgia Southern University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by second-year head coach Paul Johnson, the Eagles compiled and overall record of 14–1 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the SoCon title. Georgia Southern advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated Colgate in the first round, Connecticut in the quarterfinals, and Western Illinois in the semifinals before falling to UMass in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia.
The 2006 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the UMass Minutemen and the Appalachian State Mountaineers. The game was played on December 15, 2006, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. This was the first season that the NCAA football classification formerly known as Division I-AA operated as the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The culminating game of the 2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season, it was won by Appalachian State, 28–17.
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 2000 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Montana Grizzlies. The game was played on December 16, 2000, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 27–25.
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 1995 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 16, 1995, at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The culminating game of the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Montana, 22–20.
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 1990 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Nevada Wolf Pack. The game was played on December 15, 1990, at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The culminating game of the 1990 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 36–13. It was the second consecutive Division I-AA title, and fourth overall, for Georgia Southern.
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 1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Furman Paladins. The game was played on December 17, 1988, at Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho. The culminating game of the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Furman, 17–12.
The 1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Arkansas State Indians and the Georgia Southern Eagles. The game was played on December 19, 1986, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The culminating game of the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 48–21. Georgia Southern, the defending champion from 1985, became the first program to win consecutive Division I-AA titles.
The 1985 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Furman Paladins and the Georgia Southern Eagles. The game was played on December 21, 1985, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The culminating game of the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 44–42.
The 1984 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Montana State Bobcats and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. The game was played on December 15, 1984, at Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. The culminating game of the 1984 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Montana State, 19–6.
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 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.