1997 NCAA Division I-AA season

Regular season
Number of teams	120
Duration	August–November
Payton Award	Brian Finneran (WR, Villanova)
Buchanan Award	Chris McNeil (DE, North Carolina A&T)
Playoff
Duration	November 29–December 20
Championship date	December 20, 1997
Championship site	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee
Champion	Youngstown State
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
«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 (NCAA) at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1997, and concluded with the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game 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 score of 10−9.^[1]

Conference changes and new programs

Prior to the 1997 season, the Atlantic 10 Conference began to sponsor football at the Division I-AA level by taking over the football-only Yankee Conference, which had been a charter member of the subdivision. 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
Arkansas–Pine Bluff	Independent (NAIA)	SWAC (I-AA)
Austin Peay	Ohio Valley	I-AA Independent
Jacksonville State	I-AA Independent	Southland
La Salle	New Program	I-AA Independent
Marshall	Southern (I-AA)	MAC (I-A)
Norfolk State	CIAA (D-II)	MEAC (I-AA)
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
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
New England Division
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 Division
No. 1 Villanova x$^	8	–	0	12	–	1
No. 3 Delaware ^	7	–	1	12	–	2
No. 20 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 ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1997 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 6 E Washington $^	7	–	1	12	–	2
No. 11 Montana ^	6	–	2	8	–	4
Montana State	5	–	3	6	–	5
Northern Arizona	4	–	4	6	–	5
Weber State	4	–	4	6	–	5
Cal State Northridge	4	–	4	4	–	8
Portland State	3	–	5	4	–	7
Idaho State	2	–	6	3	–	8
Sacramento State	1	–	7	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Cal State Northridge record includes two losses by forfeit Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1997 Gateway Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Western Illinois $^	6	–	0	11	–	2
Northern Iowa	5	–	1	7	–	4
No. 4 Youngstown State ^	4	–	2	13	–	2
Southwest Missouri State	3	–	3	5	–	6
Indiana State	2	–	4	3	–	8
Southern Illinois	1	–	5	3	–	8
Illinois State	0	–	6	2	–	9

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

1997 Ivy League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Harvard $	7	–	0	9	–	1
Dartmouth	6	–	1	8	–	2
Brown	4	–	3	7	–	3
Cornell	4	–	3	6	–	4
Princeton	3	–	4	6	–	4
Columbia	3	–	4	4	–	6
Yale	1	–	6	2	–	8
Penn *	0	–	7	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion * Standings reflect Penn's forfeit of five conference wins due to use of an ineligible player

1997 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Georgetown $	8	–	0	8	–	3
Duquesne	6	–	2	7	–	3
St. John's	5	–	3	8	–	3
Fairfield	5	–	3	7	–	3
Siena	5	–	3	6	–	3
Marist	4	–	4	6	–	4
Canisius	2	–	6	3	–	7
Saint Peter's	1	–	7	1	–	9
Iona	0	–	8	0	–	10

$ – Conference champion

1997 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 9 Hampton $^	7	–	0	10	–	2
No. 22 South Carolina State	5	–	2	9	–	2
No. 10 Florida A&M ^	5	–	2	9	–	3
Howard	4	–	3	7	–	4
North Carolina A&T	3	–	4	7	–	4
Morgan State	2	–	5	3	–	7
Bethune–Cookman	1	–	6	4	–	7
Delaware State	1	–	6	3	–	8
Norfolk State	0	–	0	3	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Norfolk State games did not count as conference games. Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1997 Northeast Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Robert Morris $	4	–	0	8	–	3
Monmouth	3	–	1	5	–	4
Wagner	2	–	2	6	–	4
Central Connecticut	1	–	3	5	–	5
Saint Francis (PA)	0	–	4	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion

1997 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 19 Eastern Kentucky $^	7	–	0	8	–	4
No. 16 Eastern Illinois	5	–	2	8	–	3
Murray State	5	–	2	7	–	4
Tennessee Tech	4	–	3	6	–	5
Tennessee State	4	–	3	4	–	7
Middle Tennessee	2	–	5	4	–	6
Southeast Missouri State	1	–	6	4	–	7
Tennessee–Martin	0	–	7	1	–	10

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

1997 Patriot League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Colgate $^	6	–	0	7	–	5
No. 24 Bucknell	5	–	1	10	–	1
Fordham	4	–	2	5	–	6
Holy Cross	2	–	4	4	–	7
Lehigh	2	–	4	4	–	7
Lafayette	2	–	4	3	–	8
Towson	0	–	6	2	–	8

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

1997 Pioneer Football League standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 23 Dayton $	5	–	0	9	–	1
San Diego	4	–	1	8	–	3
Drake	2	–	3	8	–	3
Butler	2	–	3	6	–	4
Valparaiso	2	–	3	3	–	7
Evansville	0	–	5	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1997 Southern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 8 Georgia Southern $^	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 15 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 ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll

1997 Southland Football League standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 7 McNeese State +^	6	–	1	13	–	2
No. 21 Northwestern State +^	6	–	1	8	–	4
No. 13 Stephen F. Austin	5	–	2	8	–	3
Sam Houston State	3	–	4	5	–	6
Nicholls State	3	–	4	5	–	6
Southwest Texas State	2	–	5	5	–	6
Troy State	2	–	5	5	–	6
Jacksonville State	1	–	6	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1997 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 12 Southern $	8	–	0	11	–	1
No. 14 Jackson State ^	7	–	1	9	–	3
Arkansas–Pine Bluff	6	–	2	8	–	3
Texas Southern	4	–	4	5	–	6
Alcorn State	4	–	4	4	–	7
Mississippi Valley State	3	–	5	4	–	6
Alabama State	2	–	6	3	–	8
Grambling State	2	–	6	3	–	8
Prairie View A&M	0	–	8	0	–	9

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

1997 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 18 Cal Poly		–		10	–	1
No. 5 Western Kentucky ^		–		10	–	2
No. 17 Hofstra ^		–		9	–	2
No. 25 Liberty		–		9	–	2
Samford		–		7	–	4
Morehead State		–		5	–	4
South Florida		–		5	–	6
Southern Utah		–		5	–	6
Saint Mary's		–		4	–	6
Davidson		–		3	–	8
Buffalo		–		2	–	9
La Salle		–		1	–	8
Charleston Southern		–		1	–	9
Austin Peay		–		0	–	10

^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings 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

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

The NCAA departed from standard bracket structure—where, for example, the fourth and fifth seeds could meet in the second round—in order to place teams from the same conference in different halves of the bracket.^[2]

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

1	Villanova*	49

16	Colgate	28
			1	Villanova*	34

			8	Youngstown State	37
8	Youngstown State*	28

9	Hampton	13
						8	Youngstown State	25

						3	Eastern Washington*	14
5	Western Kentucky*	42

12	Eastern Kentucky	14
			5	Western Kentucky	21

			3	Eastern Washington*	38
3	Eastern Washington*	40

14	Northwestern State	10
									8	Youngstown State	10

									6	McNeese State	9
4	Delaware*	24

13	Hofstra	14
			4	Delaware*	16

			7	Georgia Southern	7
7	Georgia Southern*	52

10	Florida A&M	37
						4	Delaware*	21

						6	McNeese State	23
6	McNeese State*	19

11	Montana	14
			6	McNeese State	14

			2	Western Illinois*	12
2	Western Illinois*	31

15	Jackson State	24

* Denotes host institution
Source:^[3]

References

^ "1997 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 16. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
^ Tomashek, Tom (November 24, 1997). "Delaware, Villanova could meet in the mountains". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. p. C4. Retrieved February 8, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "I-AA football playoffs". Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. November 24, 1997. p. D4. Retrieved February 8, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

v t e 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

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 2023 2024
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 2023 2024
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 2023 2024
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 2023 2024