1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season was the first season of Division I-AA college football; Division I-AA was created in 1978 when Division I was subdivided into Division I-A and Division I-AA for football only.[1] With the exception of seven teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Division I teams from the 1977 season played in Division I-A during the 1978 season. The SWAC teams, along with five conferences and five other teams formerly in Division II, played in Division I-AA.

This article is about the first Division I-AA (now FCS) season. For the first Division I-A (now FBS) season, see 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season.

1978 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	41
Duration	August–November
Playoff
Duration	December 9–December 16
Championship date	December 16, 1978
Championship site	Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, Texas
Champion	Florida A&M
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
«1977 (Division I) 1979»

The Division I-AA season began in August 1978 and concluded with the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game played on December 16 at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Florida A&M Rattlers won the first I-AA championship, defeating the UMass Minutemen in the Pioneer Bowl, 35–28.[2] 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

School	1977 Conference	1978 Conference
Bucknell	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Lafayette	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Lehigh	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Nevada	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Northwestern State	D-I Independent	I-AA Independent
Portland State	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent

Conference standings

1978 Big Sky Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 7 Northern Arizona $ 6 – 0 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 No. T–9 Montana State 4 – 2 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Montana 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Boise State 3 – 3 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Weber State 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Idaho 2 – 4 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Idaho State 0 – 6 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA AP Poll	1978 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 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 Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. T–4 Western Kentucky $ 6 – 0 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 No. 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 Rankings from Associated Press poll
1978 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Grambling State $ 5 – 0 – 1     9 – 1 – 1 No. 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 ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll	1978 Yankee Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. T–4 UMass $^ 5 – 0 – 0     9 – 4 – 0 No. 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 ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll	1978 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 1 Nevada ^   –       11 – 1 – 0 No. 9 Lehigh   –       8 – 3 – 0 Northeastern   –       6 – 5 – 0 Bucknell   –       5 – 5 – 0 Northwestern State   –       5 – 6 – 0 Portland State   –       5 – 6 – 0 Lafayette   –       4 – 7 – 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 – 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

The bracket consisted of three regional selections (West, East, and South) plus an at-large team.[3] Florida A&M (FAMU) of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) was the at-large selection.[4] While the SIAC was a Division II conference, FAMU had successfully petitioned the NCAA for Division I classification (Division I-AA in football), which took effect on September 1, 1978.[5]

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

* Denotes host institution

See also

• 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings

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.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
3. Climer, David (July 22, 1978). "I-AA Finals Set At Pioneer Bowl". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 20. Retrieved February 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
4. "FAMU Gains I-AA Playoffs". Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. December 4, 1978. p. 19. Retrieved February 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
5. Cooper, Barry (August 31, 1978). "Florida A&M granted Division 1 status". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. p. 1B. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.