2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season

2000 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	121
Duration	August–November
Payton Award	Louis Ivory (RB, Furman) [1]
Buchanan Award	Edgerton Hartwell (LB, Western Illinois) [2]
Playoff
Duration	November 25–December 16
Championship date	December 16, 2000
Championship site	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee
Champion	Georgia Southern
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
« 1999 2001 »

The 2000 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 2000, and concluded with the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 16, 2000, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their sixth I-AA championship, defeating the Montana Grizzlies by a score of 27–25. ^[3]

Conference changes and new programs

School	1999 Conference	2000 Conference
Connecticut	Atlantic 10 (I-AA)	I-A Independent
Georgetown	MAAC	I-AA Independent
St. John's (NY)	I-AA Independent	Northeast

Conference standings

2000 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 3 Delaware +^   7 – 1     12 – 2   No. 6 Richmond +^   7 – 1     10 – 3   UMass   5 – 3     7 – 4   James Madison   4 – 4     6 – 5   New Hampshire   4 – 4     6 – 5   William & Mary   4 – 4     5 – 6   Maine   3 – 5     5 – 6   Villanova   3 – 5     5 – 6   Rhode Island   2 – 6     3 – 8   Northeastern   1 – 7     4 – 7   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2000 Big Sky Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 2 Montana $^   8 – 0     13 – 2   No. 15 Portland State ^   5 – 3     8 – 4   No. 18 Weber State   5 – 3     7 – 4   Sacramento State   5 – 3     7 – 4   Eastern Washington   5 – 3     6 – 5   Idaho State   4 – 4     6 – 5   Cal State Northridge   2 – 6     4 – 7   Northern Arizona   2 – 6     3 – 8   Montana State   0 – 8     0 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2000 Gateway Football Conference standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 12 Western Illinois $^   5 – 1     9 – 3   No. 11 Youngstown State ^   4 – 2     9 – 3   No. 24 Illinois State   4 – 2     7 – 4   No. 19 Northern Iowa   3 – 3     7 – 4   Southwest Missouri State   2 – 4     5 – 6   Southern Illinois   2 – 4     3 – 8   Indiana State   1 – 5     1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2000 Ivy League football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Penn $   6 – 1     7 – 3   Cornell   5 – 2     5 – 5   Yale   4 – 3     7 – 3   Harvard   4 – 3     5 – 5   Princeton   3 – 4     3 – 7   Columbia   1 – 6     3 – 7   Dartmouth   1 – 6     2 – 8   Brown *   4 – 3     7 – 3   $ – Conference champion * Ineligible for conference championship	2000 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Duquesne $   7 – 0     10 – 1   Fairfield   6 – 1     8 – 2   Marist   5 – 2     6 – 4   La Salle   4 – 3     7 – 4   Iona   3 – 4     4 – 7   Saint Peter's   2 – 5     4 – 7   Siena   1 – 6     1 – 9   Canisius   0 – 7     0 – 10   $ – Conference champion	2000 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 14 Florida A&M $^   7 – 1     9 – 3   No. 20 Bethune–Cookman   6 – 2     9 – 2   No. 21 North Carolina A&T   6 – 2     8 – 3   Delaware State   5 – 3     7 – 4   Hampton   5 – 3     7 – 4   Howard   3 – 5     3 – 8   Norfolk State   2 – 6     3 – 8   South Carolina State   2 – 6     3 – 8   Morgan State   0 – 8     1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2000 Northeast Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Robert Morris $   8 – 0     10 – 0   Sacred Heart   7 – 1     10 – 1   Wagner   6 – 2     6 – 5   Albany   5 – 3     5 – 6   Monmouth   4 – 4     5 – 6   Central Connecticut State   3 – 5     4 – 6   St. John's   2 – 6     5 – 6   Stony Brook   1 – 7     2 – 8   Saint Francis (PA)   0 – 8     0 – 11   $ – Conference champion	2000 Ohio Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 5 Western Kentucky $^   7 – 0     11 – 2   No. 17 Eastern Illinois ^   6 – 1     8 – 4   No. 22 Tennessee Tech   5 – 2     8 – 3   Murray State   4 – 3     6 – 5   Eastern Kentucky   3 – 4     6 – 5   Tennessee State   2 – 5     3 – 8   Southeast Missouri State   1 – 6     3 – 8   Tennessee–Martin   0 – 7     2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2000 Patriot League football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 8 Lehigh $^   6 – 0     12 – 1   Colgate   4 – 2     7 – 4   Holy Cross   4 – 2     7 – 4   Towson   3 – 3     7 – 4   Bucknell   2 – 4     6 – 5   Fordham   1 – 5     3 – 8   Lafayette   1 – 5     2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2000 Pioneer Football League standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Dayton +   3 – 1     8 – 3   Drake +   3 – 1     7 – 4   Valparaiso +   3 – 1     7 – 4   San Diego   1 – 3     4 – 6   Butler   0 – 4     2 – 8   + – Conference co-champions	2000 Southern Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 1 Georgia Southern $^   7 – 1     13 – 2   No. 4 Appalachian State ^   6 – 2     10 – 4   No. 10 Furman ^   6 – 2     9 – 3   No. 23 Wofford   5 – 3     7 – 4   East Tennessee State   4 – 4     6 – 5   Chattanooga   3 – 5     5 – 6   Western Carolina   3 – 5     4 – 7   The Citadel   1 – 7     2 – 9   VMI   1 – 7     2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll	2000 Southland Football League standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 9 Troy State $^   7 – 0     10 – 2   No. 16 McNeese State ^   5 – 2     8 – 4   No. 25 Southwest Texas State   5 – 2     7 – 4   Sam Houston State   4 – 3     7 – 4   Stephen F. Austin   3 – 4     6 – 5   Jacksonville State   2 – 5     4 – 6   Northwestern State   1 – 6     4 – 7   Nicholls State   1 – 6     2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Northwestern State forfeited conference wins over Troy State and Nicholls State. Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2000 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   East Division Alabama A&M xy   5 – 2     7 – 5   Alabama State x   5 – 2     6 – 5   Jackson State   4 – 3     7 – 4   Mississippi Valley State   1 – 6     2 – 9   Alcorn State   0 – 7     0 – 11   West Division No. 13 Grambling State xy$   6 – 1     10 – 2   Texas Southern   5 – 2     8 – 3   Arkansas–Pine Bluff   4 – 3     6 – 5   Southern   4 – 3     6 – 5   Prairie View A&M   1 – 6     1 – 10   Championship: Grambling State 14, Alabama A&M 6 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from The Sports Network Poll	2000 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Davidson   –     10 – 0   No. 7 Hofstra ^   –     9 – 4   Southern Utah   –     7 – 4   South Florida   –     7 – 4   Elon   –     7 – 4   Morehead State   –     6 – 3   Saint Mary's   –     6 – 5   Charleston Southern   –     5 – 6   Georgetown   –     5 – 6   Jacksonville   –     3 – 8   Samford   –     4 – 7   Cal Poly   –     3 – 8   Liberty   –     3 – 8   Austin Peay   –     2 – 9   ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Conference champions

See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons

Conference Champions

Atlantic 10 Conference – Delaware and Richmond Big Sky Conference – Montana Gateway Football Conference – Western Illinois Ivy League – Penn Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Duquesne Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Florida A&M Northeast Conference – Robert Morris Ohio Valley Conference – Western Kentucky Patriot League – Lehigh Pioneer Football League – Dayton and Valparaiso Southern Conference – Georgia Southern Southland Football League – Troy State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

	First Round November 25 Campus sites					Quarterfinals December 2 Campus sites					Semifinals December 9 Campus sites					National Championship Game December 16 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN
	1	Montana *	45
	16	Eastern Illinois	13
						1	Montana*	34
						8	Richmond	20
	8	Richmond *	10
	9	Youngstown State	3
											1	Montana*	19*
											13	Appalachian State	16
	5	Western Kentucky *	27
	12	Florida A&M	0
						5	Western Kentucky*	14
						13	Appalachian State	17
	4	Troy State*	30
	13	Appalachian State	33
																1	Montana	25
																3	Georgia Southern	27
	3	Georgia Southern *	42
	14	McNeese State	17
						3	Georgia Southern*	48
						11	Hofstra	20
	6	Furman*	24
	11	Hofstra	31
											3	Georgia Southern	27
											2	Delaware*	18
	7	Western Illinois*	7
	10	Lehigh	37
						10	Lehigh	22
						2	Delaware*	47
	2	Delaware *	49
	15	Portland State	14

*By team name denotes host institution
*By score denotes overtime
Source: ^[4]

References

1. "Walter Payton Award -- History (1987–2014)". The Sports Network . January 6, 2015. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
2. "Buck Buchanan Award -- History (1995–2014)". The Sports Network . January 6, 2015. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
3. "2000 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 16. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
4. "Division I-AA Football Playoff Bracket". The Montana Standard . Butte, Montana. November 20, 2000. p. B4. Retrieved February 6, 2019– via newspapers.com.