1982 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

1982 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
1982 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
I-AA National Championship Game; Pioneer Bowl
Eastern Kentucky Colonels	Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
(12–0)	(12–1)
Ohio Valley	Independent
17	14
Head coach: ; Roy Kidd	Head coach: ; Tubby Raymond
NCAA	Seed
1	1
NCAA	Seed
3	3
Date	December 18, 1982
Season	1982
Stadium	Memorial Stadium
Location	Wichita Falls, Texas
Attendance	11,257
United States TV coverage
Network	CBS Sports
Announcers	Lindsey Nelson (play-by-play), Steve Davis (color)
NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship
< 1981	1983 >

The 1982 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens. The game was played on December 18, 1982, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The culminating game of the 1982 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Eastern Kentucky, 17–14.^[3]

The game was also known as the Pioneer Bowl,^[4] a name that had been used starting in 1971 for various NCAA playoff games held in Wichita Falls. The Colonels, making their fourth consecutive appearance in the I-AA championship game, became the first program to capture two I-AA titles, having previously won in 1979.

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1982 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 12-team bracket.^[5]

Eastern Kentucky Colonels

Eastern Kentucky finished their regular season with an undefeated 10–0 record (7–0 in conference).^[6] Ranked first in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll^[7] and seeded first in the tournament, the Colonels received a first-round bye then defeated Idaho and fourth-seed Tennessee State to reach the final. This was the fourth appearance for Eastern Kentucky in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1979 and having lost in 1980 and 1981.

Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens

Delaware finished their regular season with a 10–1 record; its only loss was an away game at Temple.^[8] Ranked third in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll^[7] and seeded third in the tournament, the Fightin' Blue Hens received a first-round bye then defeated Colgate and second-seed Louisiana Tech to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Delaware in a Division I-AA championship game, though the team had recently been the 1979 Division II champion before moving up to Division I-AA in 1980.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	EKU	DEL
2	9:40				EKU	Delaware FG attempt blocked by Gus Parks, Richard Bell returned 77 yards for touchdown, Jamie Lovett kick good	7	0
2	3:10		33		EKU	37-yard field goal by Lovett	10	0
3	13:28	4	21		EKU	Nick Yeast 1-yard touchdown run, Lovett kick good	17	0
4	9:35	1	20		DEL	Mark Steimer 20-yard touchdown reception from Kelvin Phelan, 2-point run by Rick Titus failed†	17	6
4	5:38	3	55		DEL	Tim Sager 5-yard touchdown reception from Rick Scully, 2-point pass good (Steimer from Scully)	17	14
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							17	14

† Delaware's attempt to kick the extra point was blocked, but Eastern Kentucky was ruled offside on the play. Delaware then attempted a two-point conversion, with the ball being snapped 1+1⁄2 yards from the end zone.
^[1]^[9]^[10]

Game statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	0	10	7	0	17
Fightin' Blue Hens	0	0	0	14	14

Statistics	EKU	DEL
First downs	13	18
Plays–yards	63–270	73–351
Rushes–yards	50–209	41–160
Passing yards	61	191
Passing: comp–att–int	6–13–1	13–32–0
Time of possession	31:41	28:19

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Eastern Kentucky	Passing	Tuck Woolum	6–13, 61 yds, 1 INT
	Rushing	Terrence Thompson	24 car, 112 yds
	Receiving	Steve Bird	3 rec, 28 yds
Delaware	Passing	Rick Scully	12–31, 171 yds, 1 TD
	Rushing	Cliff Clement	7 car, 42 yds
	Receiving	Cliff Clement	5 rec, 60 yds

^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Freeman, Denne H. (December 19, 1982). "Eastern Kentucky wins Div. I-AA title". The Times and Democrat. Orangeburg, South Carolina. AP. p. 4b. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Hens bid for first I-AA football title". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. December 18, 1982. p. A1. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Eastern Kentucky Wins Title". The New York Times. UPI. December 19, 1982. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via nytimes.com.
^ "Eastern Kentucky vs. Delaware". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. December 18, 1982. p. B 11. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Blue Hens Get Berth; Earn Opening Bye". The Daily Times. Salisbury, Maryland. AP. November 22, 1982. p. 10. Retrieved February 6, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Eastern Kentucky Colonels 1982 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 9, 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ ^a ^b "Div. I-AA TOP 20". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. AP. November 25, 1982. p. 2B. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens 1982 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 9, 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Sutton, Stan (December 19, 1982). "Title was no easy Kidd's stuff". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. p. A 20. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "EKU 17, Delaware 14". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. December 19, 1982. p. D10. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

External links

100 Years of Eastern Kentucky University Football - Part 4 (1982) via YouTube
FCS Top Championship Game Moments - Rick Titus (72-yard punt) via YouTube

[TDbox-1] Freeman, Denne H. (December 19, 1982). "Eastern Kentucky wins Div. I-AA title". The Times and Democrat. Orangeburg, South Carolina. AP. p. 4b. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[2] "Hens bid for first I-AA football title". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. December 18, 1982. p. A1. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[3] "Eastern Kentucky Wins Title". The New York Times. UPI. December 19, 1982. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via nytimes.com.

[4] "Eastern Kentucky vs. Delaware". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. December 18, 1982. p. B 11. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[5] "Blue Hens Get Berth; Earn Opening Bye". The Daily Times. Salisbury, Maryland. AP. November 22, 1982. p. 10. Retrieved February 6, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[6] "Eastern Kentucky Colonels 1982 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 9, 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}

[NCAApoll-7] "Div. I-AA TOP 20". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. AP. November 25, 1982. p. 2B. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[8] "Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens 1982 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 9, 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}

[9] Sutton, Stan (December 19, 1982). "Title was no easy Kidd's stuff". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. p. A 20. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

[10] "EKU 17, Delaware 14". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. December 19, 1982. p. D10. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.

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v t e Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
Venues	Frazer Field (1913–1946) Wilmington Park (1940–1952) Delaware Stadium (1952–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games 1974 Grantland Rice Bowl Delaware State: Route 1 Rivalry James Madison Lehigh Villanova: Battle of the Blue West Chester William & Mary
Culture & lore	YoUDee "The Delaware Fight Song" Marching Band Winged football helmet
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 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 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 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
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Eastern Kentucky Colonels football
Venues	Hanger Stadium (1938–1968) Roy Kidd Stadium (1969–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games 1955 Tangerine Bowl 1967 Grantland Rice Bowl Morehead State: Old Hawg Rifle Western Kentucky: Battle of the Bluegrass
Culture & lore	The Colonel "Rally Maroon and White" Marching Colonels
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901–1908 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 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 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
National championship seasons in bold

v t e NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
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 2011* 2012* 2013* 2014* 2015* 2016* 2017* 2018* 2019* 2020* 2021† 2022* 2023* 2024*
Games through 2009 were played in December. Subsequent games have been played in January (*) or May (†).