1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1978 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Duration August – November 1978
Playoff
Duration December 9–16, 1978
Championship date December 16, 1978
Championship site Pioneer Bowl
Memorial Stadium
Wichita Falls, TX
Champion Florida A&M Rattlers
Division I-AA football season

The 1978 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 1978 and concluded with the championship game on December 16 at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. This was the first season of Division I-AA football.[1]

The Florida A&M Rattlers won their first I-AA championship, defeating Massachusetts Minutemen 35–28 in the Pioneer Bowl.[2]

As of 2016, Florida A&M of 1978 remains the only team from an HBCU to play in the I-AA/FCS national championship game.

Conference changes and new programs

School1977 Conference1978 Conference
BucknellD-II IndependentI-AA Independent
LafayetteD-II IndependentI-AA Independent
LehighD-II IndependentI-AA Independent
NevadaD-II IndependentI-AA Independent
Northwestern StateD-I IndependentI-AA Independent
Portland StateD-II IndependentI-AA Independent

Conference standings

1978 Big Sky football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
#7 Northern Arizona $  6 –0     8 –2  
#7 Montana State  4 –2     8 –2  
Montana  4 –2     5 –6  
Boise State  3 –3     7 –4  
Weber State  2 –4     4 –7  
Idaho  2 –4     2 –9  
Idaho State  0 –6     2 –9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • No Big Sky teams were selected for I-AA playoffs.
Rankings from NCAA Poll
1978 MEAC football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
#6 South Carolina State $ 5 –0 –1  8 –2 –1
North Carolina A&T 4 –2 –0  6 –6 –0
Delaware State 3 –3 –0  3 –7 –0
Morgan State 2 –3 –1  4 –6 –1
Howard 2 –4 –0  4 –6 –0
Maryland Eastern Shore 2 –4 –0  3 –8 –0
North Carolina Central 2 –4 –0  3 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1978 Ohio Valley football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
#5 Western Kentucky $ 6 –0 –0  8 –2 –0
#8 Eastern Kentucky 5 –1 –0  8 –2 –0
Tennessee Tech 4 –2 –0  5 –6 –0
Austin Peay 3 –3 –0  6 –4 –0
Murray State 1 –5 –0  4 –7 –0
Morehead State 1 –5 –0  2 –6 –1
Middle Tennessee 1 –5 –0  1 –9 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
  • No Ohio Valley teams were selected for I-AA playoffs
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1978 SWAC football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Grambling State $ 5 –0 –1  9 –1 –1
#2 Jackson State ^ 5 –1 –0  10 –2 –0
Mississippi Valley State 3 –2 –1  6 –3 –1
Alcorn State 2 –3 –1  5 –4 –1
Southern 2 –4 –0  4 –7 –0
Texas Southern 1 –4 –1  3 –6 –1
Prairie View A&M 1 –5 –0  3 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1978 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
#4 UMass $^ 5 –0 –0  9 –4 –0
#7 Rhode Island 3 –2 –0  7 –3 –0
Connecticut 3 –2 –0  4 –7 –0
Boston University 2 –3 –0  6 –4 –0
New Hampshire 1 –3 –1  6 –4 –1
Maine 0 –4 –1  3 –7 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA I-AA Poll
1978 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
#1 Nevada ^  0 –0     11 –1  
#9 Lehigh  0 –0     8 –3  
Northeastern  0 –0     6 –5  
Bucknell  0 –0     5 –5  
Northwestern State  0 –0     5 –6  
Portland State  0 –0     5 –6  
Lafayette  0 –0     4 –7  
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll

Conference champions

Conference champions

Big Sky Conference – Northern Arizona
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina State
Ohio Valley Conference – Western Kentucky
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State
Yankee Conference – UMass

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket

Semifinals
Campus Sites
December 9 		Championship Game
Pioneer Bowl
Memorial Stadium
Wichita Falls, TX
December 17
      
Florida A&M 15
Jackson State* 10
Florida A&M 35
UMass 28
UMass 44
Nevada* 21

* Denotes host institution

References

  1. ↑ "Big schools win battle". St. Petersburg Independent. (Florida). Associated Press. January 13, 1978. p. 5C.
  2. ↑ "1978 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
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