1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1980 NCAA Division I-AA season
1980 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	45
Duration	August–November
Playoff
Duration	December 13–December 20
Championship date	December 20, 1980
Championship site	Hughes Stadium,; Sacramento, California
Champion	Boise State
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
	«1979 1981»

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

School	1979 Conference	1980 Conference
Akron	Mid-Continent (D-II)	Ohio Valley (I-AA)
Bethune–Cookman	SIAC (D-II)	MEAC (I-AA)
Delaware	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Florida A&M	I-AA Independent	MEAC (I-AA)
James Madison	D-III Independent	I-AA Independent
Maryland Eastern Shore	MEAC	Dropped Program
Nicholls State	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Southeastern Louisiana	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent

Conference standings

1980 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		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
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		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
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 5 Western Kentucky $	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
No. T–10 Murray State	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
No. T–3 Eastern Kentucky ^	5	–	2	–	0	10	–	3	–	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
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		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 champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll

1980 Yankee Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		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
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	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

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

^ "Boise State moves into I-AA finals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. December 14, 1980. p. 7B.
^ "Camellia: Who vs. who?". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 20, 1980. p. 24.
^ "1980 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
^ "Broncos squeak by Colonels, take title". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 21, 1980. p. B2.
^ 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.

[bsmiiaaf-1] "Boise State moves into I-AA finals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. December 14, 1980. p. 7B.

[camwvw-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.

[bsqbcl-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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