2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season

2003 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	121
Duration	August–November
Payton Award	Jamaal Branch (RB, Colgate)
Buchanan Award	Jared Allen (DE, Idaho State)
Playoff
Duration	November 29–December 19
Championship date	December 19, 2003
Championship site	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee
Champion	Delaware
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
« 2002 2004 »

The 2003 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 2003, and concluded with the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 2003, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Colgate Raiders by a final score of 40−0. ^[1]

Conference changes and new programs

School	2002 Conference	2003 Conference
Canisius	MAAC	Dropped Program
Coastal Carolina	New Program	Big South
Elon	Big South	Southern
Fairfield	MAAC	Dropped Program
Jacksonville State	Southland	Ohio Valley
Morris Brown	I-AA Independent	Dropped Program
St. John's (NY)	MAAC	Dropped Program
Samford	I-AA Independent	Ohio Valley
Southeastern Louisiana	Revived Program	I-AA Independent
VMI	Southern	Big South

Conference standings

2003 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 1 Delaware +^   8 – 1     15 – 1   No. 11 UMass +^   8 – 1     10 – 3   No. 20 Northeastern   6 – 3     8 – 4   No. 25 Villanova   5 – 4     7 – 4   Maine   4 – 4     6 – 5   William & Mary   4 – 4     5 – 5   James Madison   4 – 5     6 – 6   New Hampshire   3 – 6     5 – 7   Rhode Island   3 – 6     4 – 8   Hofstra   2 – 6     2 – 10   Richmond   1 – 8     2 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2003 Big Sky Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 14 Montana +^   5 – 2     9 – 4   No. 10 Northern Arizona +^   5 – 2     9 – 4   No. 21 Montana State +^   5 – 2     7 – 6   No. 22 Idaho State   4 – 3     8 – 4   Weber State   4 – 3     8 – 4   Eastern Washington   3 – 4     6 – 5   Portland State   1 – 6     4 – 7   Sacramento State   1 – 6     2 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2003 Big South Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Gardner–Webb $   4 – 0     8 – 4   Liberty   3 – 1     6 – 6   VMI   2 – 2     6 – 6   Coastal Carolina   1 – 3     6 – 5   Charleston Southern   0 – 4     1 – 11   $ – Conference champion
2003 Gateway Football Conference standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 5 Northern Iowa +^   6 – 1     10 – 3   No. 9 Southern Illinois +^   6 – 1     10 – 2   No. 6 Western Illinois ^   5 – 2     9 – 4   No. 7 Western Kentucky ^   5 – 2     9 – 4   Illinois State   3 – 4     6 – 6   Youngstown State   2 – 5     5 – 7   Southwest Missouri State   1 – 6     4 – 7   Indiana State   0 – 7     3 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2003 Ivy League football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 12 Penn $   7 – 0     10 – 0   Harvard   4 – 3     7 – 3   Brown   4 – 3     5 – 5   Yale   4 – 3     6 – 4   Dartmouth   4 – 3     5 – 5   Columbia   3 – 4     4 – 6   Princeton   2 – 5     2 – 8   Cornell   0 – 7     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2003 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Duquesne $   5 – 0     8 – 3   Iona   4 – 1     6 – 5   Marist   2 – 3     4 – 6   La Salle   2 – 3     3 – 8   Saint Peter's   2 – 3     2 – 8   Siena   0 – 5     0 – 11   $ – Conference champion
2003 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 16 North Carolina A&T $^   7 – 1     10 – 3   No. 15 Bethune–Cookman ^   6 – 2     9 – 3   South Carolina State   5 – 2     8 – 4   Hampton   5 – 2     7 – 4   Morgan State   4 – 3     6 – 5   Florida A&M   3 – 4     6 – 6   Howard   2 – 5     4 – 7   Delaware State   1 – 6     1 – 10   Norfolk State   0 – 8     1 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2003 Northeast Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Monmouth +   6 – 1     10 – 2   Albany +   6 – 1     7 – 4   Robert Morris   4 – 3     6 – 4   Stony Brook   4 – 3     6 – 4   Sacred Heart   3 – 4     6 – 5   Wagner   3 – 4     6 – 5   Central Connecticut State   2 – 4     3 – 8   Saint Francis (PA)   0 – 7     1 – 9   + – Conference co-champions	2003 Ohio Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 18 Jacksonville State $^   7 – 1     8 – 4   Eastern Kentucky   6 – 2     7 – 5   Samford   5 – 3     7 – 4   Tennessee State   5 – 3     7 – 5   Southeast Missouri State   5 – 3     5 – 7   Murray State   3 – 5     4 – 8   Eastern Illinois   3 – 5     4 – 8   Tennessee Tech   1 – 7     2 – 9   Tennessee–Martin   1 – 7     2 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2003 Patriot League football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 2 Colgate $^   7 – 0     15 – 1   No. 23 Lehigh   6 – 1     8 – 3   Fordham   4 – 3     9 – 3   Bucknell   4 – 3     6 – 6   Towson   3 – 4     6 – 6   Lafayette   2 – 5     5 – 6   Georgetown   1 – 6     4 – 8   Holy Cross   1 – 6     1 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2003 Pioneer Football League standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   North Division Valparaiso xy$   3 – 1     8 – 4   San Diego x   3 – 1     8 – 2   Dayton   2 – 2     9 – 2   Drake   1 – 3     6 – 6   Butler   1 – 3     2 – 9   South Division Morehead State xy   3 – 0     8 – 3   Jacksonville   1 – 2     4 – 6   Austin Peay   1 – 2     4 – 7   Davidson   1 – 2     3 – 8   Championship: Valparaiso 54, Morehead State 42 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant	2003 Southern Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 3 Wofford $^   8 – 0     12 – 2   Appalachian State   6 – 2     7 – 4   No. 24 Georgia Southern   5 – 3     7 – 4   Furman   4 – 4     6 – 5   The Citadel   4 – 4     6 – 6   Western Carolina   3 – 5     4 – 7   Chattanooga   3 – 5     3 – 9   East Tennessee State   2 – 6     5 – 7   Elon   1 – 7     2 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll
2003 Southland Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 8 McNeese State $^   5 – 0     10 – 2   Stephen F. Austin   4 – 1     7 – 4   Northwestern State   2 – 3     7 – 5   Texas State   2 – 3     5 – 7   Sam Houston State   2 – 3     3 – 8   Nicholls State†   0 – 5     0 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant † – Nicholls State forfeited 5 wins, including 3 conference victories. Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2003 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   East Division Alabama State xy   5 – 2     8 – 5   Alcorn State x   5 – 2     7 – 5   Alabama A&M   4 – 3     8 – 4   Jackson State   2 – 5     2 – 10   Mississippi Valley State   1 – 6     2 – 9   West Division No. 13 Southern xy$   6 – 1     12 – 1   No. 17 Grambling State x   6 – 1     9 – 3   Texas Southern   3 – 4     5 – 6   Arkansas–Pine Bluff   3 – 4     4 – 7   Prairie View A&M   0 – 7     1 – 10   Championship: Southern 20, Alabama State 9 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from The Sports Network Poll	2003 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 4 Florida Atlantic ^   –     11 – 3   Cal Poly   –     7 – 4   Southeastern Louisiana   –     5 – 7   Southern Utah   –     4 – 7   Saint Mary's   –     1 – 11   FIU   –     0 – 10   Savannah State   –     0 – 12   ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Record adjusted for 2 vacated wins by FIU 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 UMass Big Sky Conference – Montana, Montana State, and Northern Arizona Big South Conference – Gardner-Webb Gateway Football Conference – Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois Ivy League – Penn Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Duquesne Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina A&T Northeast Conference – Albany (NY) and Monmouth Ohio Valley Conference – Jacksonville State Patriot League – Colgate Pioneer Football League – Valparaiso Southern Conference – Wofford Southland Conference – McNeese State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Southern

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

The top four teams in the tournament were seeded; ^[2] seeded teams were assured of hosting games in the first two rounds. ^[3]

	First Round November 29 Campus sites					Quarterfinals December 6 Campus sites					Semifinals December 13 Campus sites					National Championship Game December 19 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN
	1	McNeese State*	3
		Northern Arizona	35
						Northern Arizona*		25
						Florida Atlantic		48
	Bethune–Cookman*		24
	Florida Atlantic		32
												Florida Atlantic*	24
											4	Colgate	36
	4	Colgate *	19
		UMass	7
						4	Colgate*	28
							Western Illinois	27
	Montana*		40
	Western Illinois		43**
																4	Colgate	0
																2	Delaware	40
	3	Wofford *	31
		North Carolina A&T	0
						3	Wofford*	34
							Western Kentucky	17
	Western Kentucky *		45
	Jacksonville State		7
											3	Wofford	9
											2	Delaware*	24
	2	Delaware *	48
		Southern Illinois	7
						2	Delaware*	37
							Northern Iowa	7
	Northern Iowa *		35
	Montana State		14

*By team name denotes host institution
*By score denotes overtime period(s)

Awards and honors

Source: ^[4]

Walter Payton Award voting

The Walter Payton Award is given to the year's most outstanding player

Player	School	Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Total
Jamaal Branch	Colgate	RB	35	23	10	6	1	310
Bruce Eugene	Grambling State	QB	17	22	15	8	3	237
Andy Hall	Delaware	QB	17	18	13	9	5	219
Vick King	McNeese State	RB	4	8	6	3	6	82
Charles Anthony	Tennessee State	RB	5	4	5	5	8	74
Russ Michna	Western Illinois	QB	4	2	5	6	6	61
Efrem Hill	Samford	WR	3	1	7	7	4	58
Jason Murrietta	Northern Arizona	QB	0	0	6	15	10	58
Quincy Richard	Southern	RB	0	5	5	5	10	55
Rob Giancola	Valparaiso	QB	1	3	4	7	5	48
Allen Suber	Bethune–Cookman	QB	4	1	4	4	4	48
Alvin Cowan	Yale	QB	1	1	2	7	12	41
Kirwin Watson	Fordham	RB	0	0	3	6	9	30
Terrance Freeney	Northern Iowa	RB	1	1	3	2	4	26
Jermaine Austin	Georgia Southern	RB	0	2	1	2	2	17
Marcus Williams	Maine	RB	0	1	2	0	3	13
B.J. Sams	McNeese State	RB	0	0	3	0	0	3

References

1. "2003 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 16. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
2. Nelson, Marcus (November 24, 2003). "500 gather to watch announcement". The Palm Beach Post . p. 5C. Retrieved February 2, 2019– via newspapers.com.
3. Gordillo, Jim (November 23, 2003). "Selection Sunday primer for Division I-AA playoffs". The Southern Illinoisan . Carbondale, Illinois. p. 3B. Retrieved February 2, 2019– via newspapers.com.
4. "2003 I‑AA Payton, Robinson and Buchanan Award Voting". The Sports Network via Internet Archive. 2003. Retrieved January 7, 2026.