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

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]

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
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 7 Boise State $^ 6 1 010 3 0
Idaho 4 3 06 5 0
Nevada 4 3 06 4 1
Idaho State* 4 4 06 5 0
Weber State* 4 4 04 7 0
Montana State 3 4 04 6 0
Northern Arizona 3 4 05 6 0
Montana 1 6 03 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
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. T–3 South Carolina State $ 5 0 010 1 0
North Carolina A&T 3 2 09 3 0
Howard 2 2 16 2 2
Bethune–Cookman 2 2 15 4 1
Florida A&M 2 3 05 6 0
Delaware State 0 5 02 9 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1980 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 Western Kentucky $ 6 1 09 1 0
No. T–3 Eastern Kentucky ^ 5 2 010 3 0
No. T–10 Murray State 5 2 09 2 0
Austin Peay 5 2 07 4 0
Akron 2 4 13 7 1
Morehead State 2 5 04 7 0
Middle Tennessee 2 5 02 8 0
Tennessee Tech 1 6 04 7 0
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1980 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 2 Grambling State +^ 5 1 010 2 0
Jackson State + 5 1 08 3 0
Alcorn State 3 3 06 4 0
Mississippi Valley State 3 3 05 5 0
Southern 3 3 04 6 1
Texas Southern 2 4 02 9 0
Prairie View A&M 0 6 02 8 0
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1980 Yankee Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 9 Boston University $ 5 0 09 2 0
No. T–10 UMass 4 1 07 3 0
No. T–10 Connecticut 3 2 07 3 0
New Hampshire 2 3 06 4 0
Maine 1 4 04 7 0
Rhode Island 0 5 02 9 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1980 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW 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

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 StadiumSacramento, 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.
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