2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season

2002 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Duration August – November 2002
Playoff
Duration November 30 – December 20, 2002
Championship date December 20, 2002
Championship site Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN
Champion Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Payton Award Tony Romo – QB (Eastern Illinois)
Buchanan Award Rashean Mathis – FS (Bethune-Cookman)
Division I-AA football season

The 2002 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 Football Championship Subdivision level, began in August 2002, and concluded with the National Championship Game of the NCAA Division I Football Championship on December 20, 2002, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers won their first I-AA championship, defeating the McNeese State Cowboys by a final score of 34−14[1]

Conference changes and new programs

School2001 Conference2002 Conference
Charleston SouthernI-AA IndependentBig South
ElonI-AA IndependentBig South
FIUNew ProgramI-AA Independent
Gardner-WebbD-II IndependentBig South
LibertyI-AA IndependentBig South
Savannah StateD-II IndependentI-AA Independent
Troy StateI-AA IndependentI-A Independent

Conference standings

2002 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
#6 Maine $^  7 –2     11 –3  
#11 Northeastern $^  7 –2     10 –3  
#4 Villanova ^  6 –3     11 –4  
UMass  6 –3     8 –4  
William & Mary  5 –4     6 –5  
Richmond  4 –5     4 –7  
Delaware  4 –5     6 –6  
Hofstra  4 –5     6 –6  
James Madison  4 –6     5 –7  
New Hampshire  2 –7     3 –8  
Rhode Island  1 –8     3 –9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll
2002 Big Sky football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
#7 Montana $^  5 –2     11 –3  
#19 Montana State $^  5 –2     7 –6  
#18 Idaho State $  5 –2     8 –3  
Eastern Washington  3 –4     6 –5  
Northern Arizona  3 –4     6 –5  
Portland State  3 –4     6 –5  
Sacramento State  3 –4     5 –8  
Weber State  1 –6     3 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll
2002 Big South football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
#22 Gardner–Webb $  3 –0     9 –1  
Elon  2 –1     4 –7  
Liberty  1 –2     2 –9  
Charleston Southern  0 –3     4 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2002 Gateway Football Conference standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
#1 Western Kentucky +^  6 –1     12 –3  
#5 Western Illinois +^  6 –1     11 –2  
Youngstown State  4 –3     7 –4  
Illinois State  4 –3     6 –5  
Indiana State  3 –4     5 –7  
Northern Iowa  2 –5     5 –6  
Southern Illinois  2 –5     4 –8  
SW Missouri State  1 –6     4 –7  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2002 Ivy League football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
#17 Penn $  7 –0     9 –1  
Harvard  6 –1     7 –3  
Princeton  4 –3     6 –4  
Yale  4 –3     6 –4  
Cornell  3 –4     4 –6  
Dartmouth  2 –5     3 –7  
Brown  2 –5     2 –8  
Columbia  0 –7     1 –9  
  • $ – Conference champion
2002 MAAC football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Duquesne $  8 –0     11 –1  
Marist  5 –3     7 –4  
Saint Peter's  5 –3     6 –5  
Fairfield  5 –3     5 –6  
Iona  4 –4     5 –6  
Siena  3 –5     3 –7  
St. John's  2 –6     2 –8  
Canisius  2 –6     2 –9  
La Salle  2 –6     2 –9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2002 MEAC football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
#15 Bethune-Cookman $^  7 –1     11 –2  
Florida A&M  5 –3     7 –5  
Hampton  5 –3     7 –5  
Morgan State  5 –3     7 –5  
South Carolina State  4 –4     7 –5  
Howard  4 –4     6 –5  
Norfolk State  2 –6     5 –6  
North Carolina A&T  2 –6     4 –8  
Delaware State  2 –6     4 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2002 NEC football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Albany (NY) $  6 –1     8 –4  
Stony Brook  5 –2     8 –2  
Sacred Heart  5 –2     7 –3  
Wagner  4 –3     7 –4  
CCSU  3 –4     5 –6  
Robert Morris  2 –5     3 –4  
Monmouth  2 –5     2 –8  
Saint Francis (PA)  1 –6     2 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
2002 Ohio Valley football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
#13 Eastern Illinois +^  5 –1     8 –4  
#20 Murray State +^  5 –1     7 –5  
#21 Eastern Kentucky  4 –2     8 –4  
#24 Southeast Missouri State  4 –2     8 –4  
Tennessee Tech  2 –4     5 –7  
Tennessee State  1 –5     2 –10  
UT Martin  0 –6     2 –10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2002 Patriot League football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
#12 Fordham +^  6 –1     10 –3  
#25 Colgate +  6 –1     9 –3  
Lafayette  5 –2     7 –5  
Lehigh  4 –3     8 –4  
Towson  3 –4     6 –5  
Georgetown  2 –5     5 –6  
Holy Cross  2 –5     4 –8  
Bucknell  0 –7     2 –9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2002 Pioneer Football League football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Dayton $  6 –0     11 –1  
Morehead State  5 –1     9 –3  
San Diego  4 –1     5 –5  
Davidson  3 –1     7 –3  
Austin Peay  3 –3     7 –5  
Butler  2 –4     4 –6  
Drake  1 –3     5 –6  
Jacksonville  0 –4     3 –7  
Valparaiso  0 –7     1 –10  
  • $ – Conference champion
2002 Southern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
#3 Georgia Southern $^  7 –1     11 –3  
#14 Wofford  6 –2     9 –3  
#10 Appalachian State ^  6 –2     8 –4  
#9 Furman ^  6 –2     8 –4  
VMI  3 –5     6 –6  
Western Carolina  3 –5     5 –6  
East Tennessee State  2 –6     4 –8  
Chattanooga  2 –6     2 –10  
The Citadel  1 –7     3 –9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll
2002 Southland Football League standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
#2 McNeese State $^ 6 –0 –0  13 –2 –0
#16 Northwestern State ^ 4 –2 –0  9 –4 –0
#23 Nicholls State 3 –3 –0  7 –4 –0
Stephen F. Austin 3 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
Jacksonville State 2 –4 –0  5 –5 –0
Sam Houston State 2 –4 –0  4 –7 –0
Texas State 1 –5 –0  4 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
  • Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll
2002 SWAC football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East
Alabama A&M x  6 –1     8 –4  
Jackson State  5 –2     7 –4  
Alcorn State  3 –4     6 –5  
Mississippi Valley State  3 –4     5 –6  
Alabama State  2 –5     6 –6  
West
#8 Grambling State x$  6 –1     11 –2  
Southern  5 –2     6 –6  
Texas Southern  3 –4     4 –7  
Arkansas–Pine Bluff  2 –5     3 –8  
Prairie View A&M  0 –7     1 –10  
Championship: Grambling State 31, Alabama A&M 19
December 14, 2002
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
2002 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Saint Mary's  0 –0     6 –6  
FIU  0 –0     5 –6  
Samford  0 –0     4 –7  
Cal Poly  0 –0     3 –8  
Florida Atlantic  0 –0     2 –9  
Savannah State  0 –0     1 –8  
Southern Utah  0 –0     1 –10  
Morris Brown  0 –0     1 –11  

Conference champions

Conference Champions

Atlantic 10 Conference – Maine and Northeastern
Big Sky Conference – Idaho State, Montana, and Montana State
Big South Conference – Gardner-Webb
Gateway Football Conference – Western Illinois and Western Kentucky
Ivy League – Penn
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Duquesne
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Bethune-Cookman
Northeast Conference – Albany (NY)
Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Illinois and Murray State
Patriot League – Colgate and Fordham
Pioneer Football League – Dayton
Southern Conference – Georgia Southern
Southland Football League – McNeese State
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket

First Round
November 30
Campus Sites 		Quarterfinals
December 7
Campus Sites 		Semifinals
December 14
Campus Sites 		National Championship Game
December 20
Finley Stadium
Chattanooga, TN
        
McNeese State* 21
Montana State 14
McNeese State* 24
Montana 20
Montana* 45
Northwestern State 14
McNeese State* 39
Villanova 28
Villanova* 45
Furman 38
Villanova* 24
Fordham 10
Northeastern* 24
Fordham 29
McNeese State 14
Western Kentucky 34
Georgia Southern* 34
Bethune-Cookman 0
Georgia Southern* 31
Maine 7
Appalachian State* 13
Maine 14
Georgia Southern* 28
Western Kentucky 31
Western Kentucky* 59
Murray State 20
Western Kentucky 31
Western Illinois* 28
Western Illinois* 48
Eastern Illinois 9

* Denotes host institution

References

  1. ↑ "2002 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 16. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
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