1984 NCAA Division I-AA season

Regular season
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 six I-AA Independent and Division II teams from Louisiana and Texas. The league would continue for three seasons before being absorbed by the Southland Conference in 1987.

School	1983 Conference	1984 Conference
Eastern Washington	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Florida A&M	MEAC	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
Idaho	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Boise State	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 co-champions

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.

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 ^	3	–	1	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Illinois State	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Wichita State	2	–	2	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Drake	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
West Texas State	1	–	3	–	0	3	–	8	–	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
Davidson	0	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	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
Texas–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 Div 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 Ivy League – Penn 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.^[2] Undefeated Tennessee State was disqualified from the postseason due to the use of ineligible players.^[3]

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.
^ "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.

v t e 1984 NCAA Division I-AA football playoff participants
Alcorn State Arkansas State Boston U Chattanooga Eastern Kentucky Indiana State Louisiana Tech Middle Tennessee State Mississippi Valley State Montana State Rhode Island Richmond
Champion – Montana State Bobcats

v t e NCAA football seasons
Pre-NCAA	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
NCAA pre-divisional	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	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division I	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 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
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 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
NCAA College Division	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
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 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
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 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022