1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1978 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Duration	August – November 1978
Playoff
Duration	December 9–16, 1978
Championship date	December 16, 1973
Championship site	Pioneer Bowl Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, TX
Champion	Florida A&M Rattlers
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
«1977 (Division I) 1979»

The 1978 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 1978 and concluded with the championship game on December 16 at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. This was the first season of Division I-AA football.

The Florida A&M Rattlers won their first I-AA championship, defeating Massachusetts Minutemen 35–28 in the Pioneer Bowl.

As of 2015, Florida A&M of 1978 remains the only team from an HBCU to play in the I-AA/FCS national championship game.

Conference changes and new programs

School	1977 Conference	1978 Conference
Bucknell	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Lafayette	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Lehigh	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Nevada	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Northwestern State	D-I Independent	I-AA Independent
Portland State	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent

Conference standings

1978 Big Sky Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 Northern Arizona $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. T–9 Montana State 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Montana 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Boise State 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Weber State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Idaho 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Idaho State 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA AP Poll	1978 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 South Carolina State $ 5 – 0 – 1 8 – 2 – 1 North Carolina A&T 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 6 – 0 Delaware State 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Morgan State 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 6 – 1 Howard 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Maryland Eastern Shore 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 North Carolina Central 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion The conference was a hybrid of NCAA Division I-AA and Division II programs. Morgan State, Maryland-Eastern Shore, and North Carolina Central were classified as NCAA Division II. All the other teams were Division I-AA. Rankings from Associated Press poll	1978 Ohio Valley Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. T–4 Western Kentucky $ 7 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 8 Eastern Kentucky 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Tennessee Tech 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Austin Peay 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Murray State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Morehead State 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 East Tennessee State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Middle Tennessee 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from Associated Press poll
1978 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Grambling State $ 5 – 0 – 1 9 – 1 – 1 No. 2 Jackson State ^ 5 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Mississippi Valley State 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Alcorn State 2 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Southern 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Texas Southern 1 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1 Prairie View A&M 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant The conference was a hybrid of NCAA Division I-AA and II programs. Mississippi Valley State was classified as NCAA Division II for the 1978 season. All the other teams were Division I-AA. Rankings from Associated Press poll	1978 Yankee Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. T–4 UMass $^ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 4 – 0 No. 7 Rhode Island 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Connecticut 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Boston University 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 New Hampshire 1 – 3 – 1 6 – 4 – 1 Maine 0 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll	1978 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Florida A&M ^   –   12 – 1 – 0 No. 1 Nevada ^   –   11 – 1 – 0 No. 9 Lehigh   –   8 – 3 – 0 Northeastern   –   6 – 5 – 0 Bucknell   –   5 – 5 – 0 Northwestern State   –   5 – 6 – 0 Portland State   –   5 – 6 – 0 Lafayette   –   4 – 7 – 0 ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll

Conference champions

See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons

Conference champions
Big Sky Conference – Northern Arizona Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina State Ohio Valley Conference – Western Kentucky Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State Yankee Conference – UMass

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket

	Semifinals Campus Sites December 9					Championship Game Pioneer Bowl Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, TX December 17
	Florida A&M		15
	Jackson State*		10
						Florida A&M		35
						UMass		28
	UMass		44
	Nevada-Reno*		21

* Denotes host institution