1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1997 NCAA Division I-AA season
Duration	August – November 1997
Playoff
Duration	November 29 – December 20, 1997
Championship site	Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN
Champion	Youngstown State Penguins
Payton Award	Brian Finneran – WR (Villanova)
Buchanan Award	Chris McNeil – DE (North Carolina A&T)
Division I-AA football season
«1996 1998»

The 1997 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 1997, and concluded with the National Championship Game of the NCAA Division I Football Championship on December 20, 1997, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Youngstown State Penguins won their fourth I-AA championship, defeating the McNeese State Cowboys by a final score of 10−9^[1]

Conference changes and new programs

Due to rule changes regarding conference sports sponsorships, the membership of the old Yankee Conference shifted to the Atlantic 10 Conference prior to the 1997 season. All 12 members (Boston University, Connecticut, Delaware, James Madison, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Rhode Island, Richmond, Villanova, and William & Mary) moved into the new conference.

School	1996 Conference	1997 Conference
Austin Peay	Ohio Valley	I-AA Independent
Marshall	Southern (I-AA)	MAC (I-A)
Norfolk State	CIAA (D-II)	I-AA Independent
South Florida	New Program	I-AA Independent
Towson State	I-AA Independent	Patriot
Wofford	I-AA Independent	Southern
Youngstown State	I-AA Independent	Gateway

Conference standings

1997 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
New England
New Hampshire x		5	–	3		5	–	6
Connecticut		4	–	4		7	–	4
Maine		4	–	4		5	–	6
Rhode Island		2	–	6		2	–	9
Boston University		1	–	7		1	–	10
UMass		1	–	7		2	–	9
Mid–Atlantic
#1 Villanova x$^		8	–	0		12	–	1
#3 Delaware ^		7	–	1		12	–	2
#24 Northeastern		5	–	3		8	–	3
Richmond		4	–	4		6	–	5
William & Mary		4	–	4		7	–	4
James Madison		3	–	5		5	–	6

$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I–AA Poll

1997 Southern Conference football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#8 Georgia Southern $^		7	–	1		10	–	3
#22 Appalachian State		6	–	2		7	–	4
East Tennessee State		5	–	3		7	–	4
Furman		5	–	3		7	–	4
The Citadel		4	–	4		6	–	5
Chattanooga		4	–	4		7	–	4
Western Carolina		3	–	5		3	–	8
Wofford		2	–	6		3	–	7
VMI		0	–	8		0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll

1997 Southland Football League standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#2 McNeese State $^	6	–	1	–	0	13	–	2	–	0
#17 Northwestern State ^	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
#18 Stephen F. Austin	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Sam Houston State	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Nicholls State	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Southwest Texas State	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Troy State	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Jacksonville State	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll

Conference champions

Conference Champions
Atlantic 10 Conference – Villanova Big Sky Conference – Eastern Washington Gateway Football Conference – Western Illinois Ivy League – Harvard Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Georgetown Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Hampton Northeast Conference – Robert Morris Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky Patriot League – Colgate Pioneer Football League – Dayton Southern Conference – Georgia Southern Southland Football League – McNeese State and Northwestern State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Southern

Postseason

Playoff Bracket

First Round November 29 Campus Sites		Quarterfinals December 6 Campus Sites		Semifinals December 13 Campus Sites		National Championship Game December 20 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN


Villanova*	49

Colgate	28
		Villanova*	34

		Youngstown State	37
Youngstown State*	28

Hampton	13
				Youngstown State	25

				Eastern Washington*	14
Western Kentucky*	42

Eastern Kentucky	14
		Western Kentucky	21

		Eastern Washington*	38
Eastern Washington*	40

Northwestern State	10
						Youngstown State	10

						McNeese State	9
Delaware*	24

Hofstra	14
		Delaware*	16

		Georgia Southern	7
Georgia Southern*	52

Florida A&M	37
				Delaware*	21

				McNeese State	23
McNeese State*	19

Montana	14
		McNeese State	14

		Western Illinois*	12
Western Illinois*	31

Jackson State	24

* Denotes host institution

References

↑ "1997 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 16. Retrieved December 29, 2013.

1997 NCAA Division I-AA football playoff participants

Colgate Delaware Eastern Kentucky Eastern Washington Florida A&M Georgia Southern Hampton Hofstra Jackson State McNeese State Montana Northwestern State Villanova Western Illinois Western Kentucky Youngstown State

Champion – Youngstown State Penguins

NCAA football seasons

Pre-regulation	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905

IAAUS/NCAA	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955

NCAA University Division/ Division I	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977

NCAA Division I-A/FBS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

NCAA Division II	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

NCAA Division III	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

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