Championship Results Division I Championship .......................... 2 2 Division I Championship 1997 Youngstown State won its fourth national title in the 1990s with a 10-9 victory over NCAA Division I Football McNeese State in Chattanooga, Tenn. Championship History 1999 Georgia Southern closed out the century with another national title, posting a 59-24 victory over Youngstown State. The Eagles won their fifth title, surpassing Youngstown State’s four championships and taking over the division lead in crowns. 1978 At the 72nd NCAA Convention (January 1978) in Atlanta, the membership voted to establish the Division I-AA Football Championship and a statistics program for the division. 2000 Georgia Southern rallied past Montana, 27-25, to claim back-to-back titles for the The format for the first I-AA championship, held in Wichita Falls, Texas, was a single-elimina- third time in its Division I-AA history. tion, four-team tournament. Florida A&M defeated Massachusetts, 35-28, in the title game. 2001 Montana won a defensive duel with Furman, 13-6, to claim its second title. The game was televised by ABC. 2002 Western Kentucky won its first Division I-AA championship with a 34-14 victory over 1981 The championship expanded to include eight teams in a single-elimination tourna- McNeese State, which lost in the final for the second time (1997 in 10-9 loss to Youngstown ment. State). Coach Jack Harbaugh, father of former Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts quarter- 1982 The championship expanded to include 12 teams. Eight teams played first-round back Jim Harbaugh, won his first NCAA title. games at campus sites, and the top four teams, seeded by the Division I-AA Football 2003 Delaware won its first NCAA crown since winning the 1979 Division II championship. Committee, received byes. The Blue Hens outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 149-23 and posted the 1986 The championship field expanded to its current format of 16 teams with each team first championship-game shutout with a 40-0 blanking of previously unbeaten Colgate. It playing a first-round game. was the first NCAA title for head coach and former Delaware linebacker K.C. Keeler, who had five second-place finishes at Division III Rowan. 1987 Louisiana-Monroe defeated Marshall, 43-42, in the closest game in championship history. 2004 James Madison was the second straight champion to come out of the Atlantic 10 Conference, after defeating Montana, 31-21. The 2003 champion was Delaware. The 1989 A then-record 25,725 fans watched Georgia Southern down Stephen F. Austin, Dukes also made history on their way to the championship game, becoming the first team 37-34, in the championship game at Allen E. Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Ga. to advance to the title contest with three straight wins on the road. James Madison won 1990 Georgia Southern won its fourth I-AA championship, adding to its titles in 1985, preliminary-round games at Lehigh, Furman and William and Mary. 1986 and 1989. 2005 Appalachian State made it championship number eight for the Southern Conference 1991 Youngstown State won its first national championship with a 25-17 victory over as the Mountaineers rallied from a 16-7 halftime deficit to defeat the University of Northern Marshall. Penguin head coach Jim Tressel joined his father, Lee, as the only father-son com- Iowa, 21-16. The two teams played in front of a crowd of 19,219. bination to win NCAA football titles. Lee Tressel won the 1978 Division III championship at 2006 Division I-AA is now known as the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and Baldwin-Wallace. Division I-A is now the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Since the NCAA does not sponsor 1992 A then-record crowd of 31,304 in Huntington, W.Va., saw Marshall return the favor a championship for the FBS, the tournament to determine an FCS winner is now called the with a 31-28 win over Youngstown State for its first I-AA title. Division I Football Championship. Appalachian State became the first repeat champion since 1993 The I-AA championship provided for a maximum field of 16 teams. Six member Georgia Southern in 1999 and 2000. The Mountaineers scored two fourth-quarter touch- conferences (Big Sky, Gateway, Ohio Valley, Southern, Southland and Yankee) were granted downs to break a 14-14 tie and take a 28-17 victory over Massachusetts in front of a crowd of automatic qualification for their respective winners. Youngstown State won its second I-AA 22,808, the highest attendance in the championship’s 10-year run in Chattanooga. title with a 17-5 victory over Marshall before a crowd of 29,218 in Huntington, W.Va. 2007 Appalachian State becomes the first team to win three straight Division I football 1994 Youngstown State won its third national title in four years with a 28-14 victory over championships with a 49-21 win over Delaware in the title game. The attendance of 23,010 Boise State. is the highest since the championship moved to Chattanooga. 1995 Montana won its first Division I-AA title before a championship record crowd of 2008 After knocking off three-time defending national champion Appalachian State in 32,106 in Huntington, W.Va. the quarterfinals, unseeded Richmond picked up its first Division I Football national cham- pionship with a 24-7 victory over Montana in the title game. Under first-year coach and 1996 Marshall, making its fifth visit to the championship game since 1991, won its second Richmond alumn Mike London, the Spiders took a 21-0 lead into halftime and never looked Division I-AA title with a 49-29 victory over defending champion Montana before 30,052 in back in finishing the season 13-3. Montana, making its second championship game appear- Huntington, W.Va. ance in the past five years and third in the past nine years, finished the year 14-2. Division I All-Time Championship Results Year Champion Coach Score Runner-Up Site Attendance 1978 Florida A&M Rudy Hubbard 35-28 Massachusetts Wichita Falls, Texas 13,604 1979 Eastern Ky. Roy Kidd 30-7 Lehigh Orlando, Fla. 5,200 1980 Boise St. Jim Criner 31-29 Eastern Ky. Sacramento, Calif. 8,157 1981 Idaho St. Dave Kragthorpe 34-23 Eastern Ky. Wichita Falls, Texas 11,002 1982 Eastern Ky. Roy Kidd 17-14 Delaware Wichita Falls, Texas 11,257 1983 Southern Ill. Rey Dempsey 43-7 Western Caro. Charleston, S.C. 15,950 1984 Montana St. Dave Arnold 19-6 Louisiana Tech Charleston, S.C. 9,125 1985 Ga. Southern Erk Russell 44-42 Furman Tacoma, Wash. 5,306 1986 Ga. Southern Erk Russell 48-21 Arkansas St. Tacoma, Wash. 4,419 1987 La.-Monroe Pat Collins 43-42 Marshall Pocatello, Idaho 11,513 1988 Furman Jimmy Satterfield 17-12 Ga. Southern Pocatello, Idaho 11,500 1989 Ga. Southern Erk Russell 37-34 * Stephen F. Austin Statesboro, Ga. 25,725 1990 Ga. Southern Tim Stowers 36-13 Nevada Statesboro, Ga. 23,204 1991 Youngstown St. Jim Tressel 25-17 Marshall Statesboro, Ga. 12,667 1992 Marshall Jim Donnan 31-28 Youngstown St. Huntington, W.Va. 31,304 1993 Youngstown St. Jim Tressel 17-5 Marshall Huntington, W.Va. 29,218 1994 Youngstown St. Jim Tressel 28-14 Boise St. Huntington, W.Va. 27,674 1995 Montana Don Read 22-20 Marshall Huntington, W.Va. 32,106 1996 Marshall Bob Pruett 49-29 Montana Huntington, W.Va. 30,052 1997 Youngstown St. Jim Tressel 10-9 McNeese St. Chattanooga, Tenn. 14,771 1998 Massachusetts Mark Whipple 55-43 Ga. Southern Chattanooga, Tenn. 17,501 1999 Ga. Southern Paul Johnson 59-24 Youngstown St. Chattanooga, Tenn. 20,052 2000 Ga. Southern Paul Johnson 27-25 Montana Chattanooga, Tenn. 17,156 2001 Montana Joe Glenn 13-6 Furman Chattanooga, Tenn. 12,698 2002 Western Ky. Jack Harbaugh 34-14 McNeese St. Chattanooga, Tenn. 12,360 2003 Delaware K.C. Keeler 40-0 Colgate Chattanooga, Tenn. 14,281 2004 James Madison Mickey Matthews 31-21 Montana Chattanooga, Tenn. 15,599 2005 Appalachian St. Jerry Moore 21-16 UNI Chattanooga, Tenn. 19,219 2006 Appalachian St. Jerry Moore 28-17 Massachusetts Chattanooga, Tenn. 22,808 2007 Appalachian St. Jerry Moore 49-21 Delaware Chattanooga, Tenn. 23,010 2008 Richmond Mike London 24-7 Montana Chattanooga, Tenn. 17,823 *Stephen F. Austin’s participation in 1989 Division I championship vacated. 3 TOUCHDOWN RECEPTIONS LONGEST PLAYS 2008 Division I 4—Tony DiMaggio, Rhode Island (35) vs. Akron (27), 11-30-85; Randy Moss, Marshall (49) vs. Montana (29), RUSH 90—Henry Fields, McNeese St. (38) vs. Idaho (21), Championship Results 12-21-96. 11-26-94, TD. Interceptions PASS (including RUN) FIRST ROUND 4—Greg Shipp, Southern Ill. (43) vs. Western Caro. (7), 90—Paul Singer 22 pass to Derek Swanson and 68 fumble James Madison 38, Wofford 35 12-17-83. recovery advancement by Steve Williams, Western Ill. Villanova 55, Colgate 28 YARDS GAINED ON Interception Returns (32) vs. Western Ky. (35), 11-26-88. Montana 31, Texas St. 13 117—Kevin Sullivan, Massachusetts (44) vs. Nevada (21), FIELD Goal Weber St. 49, Cal Poly 35 12-9-78. 56—Tony Zendejas, Nevada (27) vs. Idaho St. (20), Appalachian St. 37, South Carolina St. 21 YARDS GAINED ON PUNT Returns 11-26-83. Richmond 38, Eastern Ky. 10 121—Darren Sharper, William & Mary (45) vs. Jackson St. PUNT UNI 40, Maine 15 (6), 11-30-96. New Hampshire 29, Southern Ill. 20 88—Mike Cassidy, Rhode Island (20) vs. Montana St. (32), YARDS GAINED ON Kickoff Returns 12-8-84.