1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1988 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Duration	August – November 1988
Payton Award	Dave Meggett – RB (Towson State)
Playoff
Duration	November 26 – December 17, 1988
Championship date	December 17, 1988
Championship site	Holt Arena, Pocatello, Idaho
Champion	Furman Paladins
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
«1987 1989»

The 1988 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 Football Championship Subdivision level, began in August 1988, and concluded with the National Championship Game of the NCAA Division I Football Championship on December 17, 1988, at the Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho. The Furman Paladins won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Georgia Southern Eagles by a final score of 17−12.

Conference changes and new programs

School	1987 Conference	1988 Conference
Tennessee State	I-AA Independent	Ohio Valley
Youngstown State	Ohio Valley	I-AA Independent

Conference standings

1988 Big Sky Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Idaho $^ 7 – 1 – 0 11 – 2 – 0 No. 16 Montana ^ 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 No. 12 Boise State ^ 5 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 Nevada 4 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Northern Arizona 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Weber State 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Montana State 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Eastern Washington 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Idaho State 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 11 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll	1988 Colonial League football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Lafayette $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 1 No. 19 Holy Cross 3 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Lehigh 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Bucknell 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Colgate 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Davidson 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1988 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Western Illinois $^ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Southwest Missouri State 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Indiana State 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Northern Iowa 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Eastern Illinois 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Southern Illinois 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Illinois State 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1988 Ivy League football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Penn + 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Cornell + 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 1 Princeton 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Dartmouth 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Yale 3 – 3 – 1 3 – 6 – 1 Columbia 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Harvard 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Brown 0 – 6 – 1 0 – 9 – 1 + – Conference co-champions	1988 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Bethune–Cookman $ 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 No. 18 Florida A&M 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 1 Delaware State 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Howard 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 South Carolina State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 North Carolina A&T 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Morgan State 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Both Delaware State and Florida A&M received forfeit losses for the same game. Bethune–Cookman was awarded the conference title, although the MEAC website lists Bethune, Delaware State, and Florida A&M as co-champions. Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1988 Ohio Valley Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 Eastern Kentucky $^ 6 – 0 – 0 11 – 3 – 0 No. 17 Middle Tennessee 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Murray State 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Tennessee State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 1 Austin Peay 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Morehead State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Tennessee Tech 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1988 Southern Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Furman +^ 6 – 1 – 0 13 – 2 – 0 No. 6 Marshall +^ 6 – 1 – 0 11 – 2 – 0 No. 14 The Citadel ^ 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 Appalachian State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 1 Chattanooga 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 VMI 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 East Tennessee State 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Western Carolina 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1988 Southland Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 8 Northwestern State $^ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 3 – 0 No. 9 Stephen F. Austin ^ 5 – 1 – 0 10 – 3 – 0 No. 10 North Texas ^ 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 McNeese State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Northeast Louisiana 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 SW Texas State 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Sam Houston State 0 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1988 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 Jackson State $^ 7 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 2 No. 20 Grambling State 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Alabama State 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Alcorn State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Southern 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Prairie View A&M 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Mississippi Valley State 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Texas Southern 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 11 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1988 Yankee Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. T–10 UMass +^ 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 No. 15 Delaware +^ 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 5 – 0 Connecticut 4 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Maine 4 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 New Hampshire 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Villanova 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 1 Boston University 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Rhode Island 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Richmond 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1988 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Georgia Southern ^   –   10 – 2 – 0 No. 13 Western Kentucky ^   –   9 – 4 – 0 Liberty   –   8 – 3 – 0 Nicholls State   –   7 – 4 – 0 William & Mary   –   6 – 4 – 1 Towson   –   5 – 5 – 0 Arkansas State   –   5 – 6 – 0 James Madison   –   5 – 6 – 0 Louisiana Tech   –   4 – 7 – 0 Northeastern   –   4 – 7 – 0 Youngstown State   –   4 – 7 – 0 Lamar   –   3 – 8 – 0 ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Conference champions

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

Conference Champions

Big Sky Conference – Idaho Colonial League – Lafayette Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Western Illinois Ivy League – Cornell and Penn Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Bethune-Cookman, Delaware State, and Florida A&M Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky Southern Conference – Furman and Marshall Southland Conference – Northwestern State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Jackson State Yankee Conference – Delaware and Massachusetts

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket

	First Round November 26 Campus Sites				Quarterfinals December 3 Campus Sites				Semifinals December 10 Campus Sites				National Championship Game December 17 Minidome – Pocatello, Idaho
	Montana	19
	Idaho*	38
					Idaho*	38
					Northwestern State	30
	Northwestern State	22
	Boise State*	13
									Idaho	7
									Furman*	38
	Delaware	7
	Furman*	21
					Furman	13
					Marshall*	9
	North Texas	0
	Marshall*	7
													Furman	17
													Georgia Southern	12
	The Citadel	20
	Georgia Southern*	38
					Georgia Southern*	27
					Stephen F. Austin	6
	Jackson State	0
	Stephen F. Austin*	24
									Georgia Southern*	21**
									Eastern Kentucky	17
	Western Kentucky	35
	Western Illinois*	32
					Western Kentucky	24
					Eastern Kentucky*	41
	Massachusetts	17
	Eastern Kentucky*	28

* Next to team name denotes host institution

* Next to score denotes overtime periods