1984 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1984 NCAA Division I-AA season
1984 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	89
Duration	August–November
Playoff
Duration	November 24–December 15
Championship date	December 15, 1984
Championship site	Johnson Hagood Stadium; Charleston, South Carolina
Champion	Montana State
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
	«1983 1985»

The 1984 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, began in August 1984, and concluded with the 1984 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 15, 1984, at Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. The Montana State Bobcats won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs by a score of 19−6.^[1]

Conference changes and new programs

Prior to the season, the Gulf Star Conference was formed by three I-AA Independents and three reclassifying Division II institutions from Louisiana and Texas.

School	1983 Conference	1984 Conference
Eastern Washington	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Florida A&M	MEAC	I-AA Independent
Georgia Southern	Revived Program	I-AA Independent
Morgan State	D-II Independent	MEAC (I-AA)
Nicholls State	I-AA Independent	Gulf Star
Northwestern State	I-AA Independent	Gulf Star
Sam Houston State	Lone Star (D-II)	Gulf Star (I-AA)
Southeastern Louisiana	I-AA Independent	Gulf Star
Southwest Texas State	Lone Star (D-II)	Gulf Star (I-AA)
Stephen F. Austin	Lone Star (D-II)	Gulf Star (I-AA)

Conference standings

1984 Association of Mid-Continent Universities football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 18 Northern Iowa +	2	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Eastern Illinois +	2	–	1	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Southwest Missouri State	1	–	1	–	1	6	–	3	–	1
Western Illinois	0	–	2	–	1	6	–	4	–	1

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1984 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 Montana State $^	6	–	1	–	0	12	–	2	–	0
Nevada	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Boise State	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Idaho	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Idaho State	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Weber State	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Northern Arizona	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Montana	0	–	7	–	0	2	–	8	–	1

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll

1984 Gulf Star Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Northwestern State +	4	–	1	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Nicholls State +	4	–	1	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Sam Houston State	3	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Southwest Texas State	2	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Stephen F. Austin	1	–	3	–	1	7	–	3	–	1
Southeastern Louisiana	0	–	4	–	1	2	–	8	–	1

$ – Conference champion The conference was a hybrid of NCAA Division I-AA and Division II programs. Stephen F. Austin was classified NCAA Division II. All the other teams were Division I-AA.^[2]

1984 Ivy League football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Penn $	7	–	0	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Yale	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Harvard	5	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Brown	4	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Princeton	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Cornell	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Dartmouth	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Columbia	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1984 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Bethune–Cookman $	4	–	0	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Delaware State	3	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
South Carolina State	2	–	2	–	0	4	–	6	–	1
North Carolina A&T	1	–	3	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Howard	0	–	4	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Morgan State	0	–	0	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

$ – Conference champion Morgan State games did not count as conference games. Morgan State was NCAA Division II^[3]. All the other teams were classified as I-AA.

1984 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Tulsa $	5	–	0	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
No. 5 Indiana State ^	4	–	1	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Illinois State	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
West Texas State	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Wichita State	2	–	3	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Drake	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Southern Illinois	0	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant The conference was a hybrid of NCAA Division I-A and I-AA programs. Tulsa and Wichita State were I-A and the other teams were I-AA. Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1984 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 8 Eastern Kentucky $^	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
No. 7 Middle Tennessee ^	5	–	2	–	0	11	–	3	–	0
No. 13 Murray State	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Youngstown State	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Austin Peay	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Akron	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Morehead State	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Tennessee Tech	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1984 Southern Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 17 Chattanooga $^	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
No. 14 Western Carolina	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
The Citadel	4	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
No. 16 Furman	3	–	3	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
East Tennessee State	2	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Marshall	2	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Appalachian State	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
VMI	1	–	4	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1984 Southland Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 9 Louisiana Tech $^	5	–	1	–	0	10	–	5	–	0
No. 10 Arkansas State ^	4	–	1	–	1	8	–	4	–	1
UT Arlington	4	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana	3	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
No. 20 McNeese State	2	–	3	–	1	7	–	3	–	1
Lamar	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
North Texas State	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1984 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Alcorn State $^	7	–	0	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
No. 6 Mississippi Valley State ^	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Grambling State	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Southern	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Jackson State	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	1
Texas Southern	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Alabama State	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Prairie View A&M	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1984 Yankee Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 3 Rhode Island +^	4	–	1	–	0	10	–	3	–	0
No. 4 Boston University +^	4	–	1	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
No. 11 New Hampshire	3	–	2	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Maine	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Connecticut	1	–	4	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
UMass	1	–	4	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1984 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
Tennessee State		–		11	–	0	–	0
Georgia Southern		–		8	–	3	–	0
No. 15 Holy Cross		–		8	–	3	–	0
No. 19 Delaware		–		8	–	3	–	0
No. 12 Richmond ^		–		8	–	4	–	0
Eastern Washington		–		7	–	2	–	1
James Madison		–		6	–	5	–	0
William & Mary		–		6	–	5	–	0
Bucknell		–		5	–	5	–	0
Colgate		–		5	–	5	–	0
Lafayette		–		5	–	5	–	0
Lehigh		–		5	–	6	–	0
Florida A&M		–		3	–	6	–	1
Northeastern		–		3	–	7	–	0
Western Kentucky		–		2	–	9	–	0

^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Conference champions

Conference champions
Big Sky Conference – Montana State Gulf Star Conference – Nicholls State and Northwestern State Ivy League – Penn Mid-Continent Conference – Eastern Illinois and Northern Iowa Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Bethune-Cookman Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky Southern Conference – Chattanooga Southland Conference – Louisiana Tech Southwestern Athletic Conference – Alcorn State Yankee Conference – Boston University and Rhode Island

Postseason

The top four teams were seeded, and received first-round byes.^[4] Undefeated Tennessee State was disqualified from the postseason due to the use of ineligible players.^[5]

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

First Round November 24 Campus sites		Quarterfinals December 1 Campus sites		Semifinals December 8 Campus sites		National Championship Game December 15 Neutral Site

		(1) Alcorn State	21
Louisiana Tech	66	Louisiana Tech	44
Mississippi Valley State	19			Louisiana Tech	21
				Middle Tennessee	13
		(4) Indiana State	41
Eastern Kentucky	10	Middle Tennessee	42***
Middle Tennessee	27					Louisiana Tech	6
						(3) Montana State	19
		(2) Rhode Island	23
Richmond	35	Richmond	17
Boston University	33			(2) Rhode Island	20
				(3) Montana State	32
		(3) Montana State	31
Arkansas State	37	Arkansas State	14
Chattanooga	10

*indicates overtime period

References

^ "1984 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
^ "NCAA Statistics". Retrieved January 6, 2025.
^ "NCAA Statistics". Retrieved December 19, 2024.
^ "ISU gets first round bye". Palladium-Item. Richmond, Indiana. AP. November 19, 1984. p. A7. Retrieved May 5, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Top-rated Tennessee State finds 14 players ineligible". Alabama Journal. Montgomery, Alabama. November 19, 1984. p. 17. Retrieved May 5, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[1] "1984 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.

[2] "NCAA Statistics". Retrieved January 6, 2025.

[3] "NCAA Statistics". Retrieved December 19, 2024.

[4] "ISU gets first round bye". Palladium-Item. Richmond, Indiana. AP. November 19, 1984. p. A7. Retrieved May 5, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[5] "Top-rated Tennessee State finds 14 players ineligible". Alabama Journal. Montgomery, Alabama. November 19, 1984. p. 17. Retrieved May 5, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

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