1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 1980 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. The third season of I-AA football began in August 1980 and four teams were selected for the postseason, with the national semifinals played on December 13. The 1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was the Camellia Bowl played on December 20 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California.[1][2]

1980 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams45
DurationAugust–November
Playoff
DurationDecember 13–December 20
Championship dateDecember 20, 1980
Championship siteHughes Stadium,
Sacramento, California
ChampionBoise State
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons

In a game with multiple lead changes, the Boise State Broncos won their first (and only) I-AA championship, defeating the defending national champion Eastern Kentucky Colonels, 31−29.[3] With less than a minute to play, the Broncos drove eighty yards for the winning touchdown, a 14-yard pass from quarterback Joe Aliotti to tight end Duane Dlouhy with twelve seconds remaining.[4]

Conference changes and new programs
School1979 Conference1980 Conference
AkronMid-Continent (D-II)Ohio Valley (I-AA)
DelawareD-II IndependentI-AA Independent
James MadisonD-III IndependentI-AA Independent
Maryland Eastern ShoreMEACDropped Program
Nicholls StateD-II IndependentI-AA Independent
Southeastern LouisianaD-II IndependentI-AA Independent

Conference standings
1980 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 7 Boise State $^ 6 –1 –0  10 –3 –0
Idaho 4 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
Nevada 4 –3 –0  6 –4 –1
Idaho State* 4 –4 –0  6 –5 –0
Weber State* 4 –4 –0  4 –7 –0
Montana State 3 –4 –0  4 –6 –0
Northern Arizona 3 –4 –0  5 –6 –0
Montana 1 –6 –0  3 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
  • * – Idaho State and Weber State met twice in league play with each game counting as a half game.
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA AP Poll
1980 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. T–3 South Carolina State $ 5 –0 –0  10 –1 –0
North Carolina A&T 3 –2 –0  9 –3 –0
Howard 2 –2 –1  6 –2 –2
Bethune–Cookman 2 –2 –1  5 –4 –1
Florida A&M 2 –3 –0  5 –6 –0
Delaware State 0 –5 –0  2 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1980 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 5 Western Kentucky $ 6 –1 –0  9 –1 –0
No. T–3 Eastern Kentucky ^ 5 –2 –0  10 –3 –0
No. T–10 Murray State 5 –2 –0  9 –2 –0
Austin Peay 5 –2 –0  7 –4 –0
Akron 2 –4 –1  3 –7 –1
Morehead State 2 –5 –0  4 –7 –0
Middle Tennessee 2 –5 –0  2 –8 –0
Tennessee Tech 1 –6 –0  4 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1980 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 2 Grambling State +^ 5 –1 –0  10 –2 –0
Jackson State + 5 –1 –0  8 –3 –0
Alcorn State 3 –3 –0  6 –4 –0
Mississippi Valley State 3 –3 –0  5 –5 –0
Southern 3 –3 –0  4 –6 –1
Texas Southern 2 –4 –0  2 –9 –0
Prairie View A&M 0 –6 –0  2 –8 –0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1980 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 9 Boston University $ 5 –0 –0  9 –2 –0
No. T–10 UMass 4 –1 –0  7 –3 –0
No. T–10 Connecticut 3 –2 –0  7 –3 –0
New Hampshire 2 –3 –0  6 –4 –0
Maine 1 –4 –0  4 –7 –0
Rhode Island 0 –5 –0  2 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1980 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 1 Lehigh ^   –    9 –1 –2
No. 6 Delaware   –    9 –2 –0
Southeastern Louisiana   –    8 –2 –0
No. 8 Northwestern State   –    8 –3 –0
Portland State   –    8 –3 –0
Bucknell   –    6 –4 –0
James Madison   –    4 –6 –0
Lafayette   –    3 –7 –0
Nicholls State   –    2 –9 –0
Northeastern   –    2 –9 –0
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll

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

Big Sky Conference – Boise State
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina State
Ohio Valley Conference – Western Kentucky
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State and Jackson State
Yankee Conference – Boston University

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket

The bracket consisted of three regional selections (West, East, and South) plus Eastern Kentucky as an at-large selection.[5]

Semifinals
December 13
Campus Sites 		National Championship Game
December 20
Camellia Bowl
Hughes Stadium—Sacramento, CA
      
AtLg Eastern Kentucky 23
East Lehigh* 20
AtLg Eastern Kentucky 29
West Boise State 31
South Grambling State 9
West Boise State* 14

* Denotes host institution

References
  1. "Boise State moves into I-AA finals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. December 14, 1980. p. 7B.
  2. "Camellia: Who vs. who?". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 20, 1980. p. 24.
  3. "1980 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  4. "Broncos squeak by Colonels, take title". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 21, 1980. p. B2.
  5. Embry, Micahael (December 1, 1980). "Division I-AA playoffs set". Reno Gazette-Journal. Reno, Nevada. AP. p. 32. Retrieved February 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.