1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season

American college football season

1988 NCAA Division I-AA season

Regular season
Number of teams| 88
Duration| August–November
Payton Award| Dave Meggett (RB, Towson State)
Playoff
Duration| November 26–December 17
Championship date| December 17, 1988
Championship site| Holt Arena
Pocatello, Idaho
Champion| Furman
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-AA level, began in August 1988, and concluded with the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 17, 1988, at Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho. The Furman Paladins won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Georgia Southern Eagles by a score of 17−12.[1]

## Conference changes and new programs

[edit]

School | 1987 Conference | 1988 Conference

|
|

Liberty | D-II Independent | I-AA Independent
Tennessee State | I-AA Independent | Ohio Valley
Villanova | I-AA Independent | Yankee
Youngstown State | Ohio Valley | I-AA Independent

## Conference standings

[edit]

1988 Big Sky Conference football standings |

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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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 |

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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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 |

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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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 |

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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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 |

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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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.[2]

Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1988 Ohio Valley Conference football standings |

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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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 |

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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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 |

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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|
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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 |

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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|
|
|

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 |

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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|
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|

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 |

* v
* t
* e

| 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

The top four teams were seeded, and thus assured of home games in the first round.[3]

### NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

[edit]

| First Round
November 26
Campus sites | | | Quarterfinals
December 3
Campus sites | | | Semifinals
December 10
Campus sites | | | National Championship Game
December 17
Holt Arena
Pocatello, Idaho |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

|  |  | | |  |  | | |  |  | | |  |  |
| Montana | 19 | | | |
| (1) Idaho* | 38 |
| | (1) Idaho* | 38 |
|  |
| | | Northwestern State | 30 |
| Northwestern State | 22 |

| Boise State* | 13 |
| | (1) Idaho | 7 |
|  |
| | | (4) Furman* | 38 |
| Delaware | 7 | |

| (4) Furman* | 21 |
| | (4) Furman | 13 |
|  |
| | | Marshall* | 9 |
| North Texas | 0 |

| Marshall* | 7 |
| | (4) Furman | 17 |
|  |
| | | (2) Georgia Southern | 12 |
| The Citadel | 20 | | |

| (2) Georgia Southern* | 38 |
| | (2) Georgia Southern* | 27 |
|  |
| | | Stephen F. Austin | 6 |
| Jackson State | 0 |

| Stephen F. Austin* | 24 |
| | (2) Georgia Southern* | 21 |
|  |
| | | Eastern Kentucky | 17 |
| Western Kentucky | 35 | |

| (3) Western Illinois* | 32 |
| | Western Kentucky | 24 |
|  |
| | | Eastern Kentucky* | 41 |
| UMass | 17 |

| Eastern Kentucky* | 28 |

* Next to team name denotes host institution
Source:[1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "1988 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
2. ^ https://meacsports.com/sports/2012/7/13/205502278.aspx
3. ^ Hardesty, Abe (November 21, 1988). "Citadel, Furman get I-AA berths". The Greenville News. Greenville, South Carolina. p. 5D. Retrieved April 27, 2019 - via newspapers.com.

* v
* t
* e

1988 NCAA Division I-AA football playoff participants

* Boise State
* The Citadel
* Delaware
* Eastern Kentucky
* Furman
* Georgia Southern
* Idaho
* Jackson State
* Marshall
* Montana
* North Texas
* Northwestern State
* Stephen F. Austin
* UMass
* Western Illinois
* Western Kentucky

Champion – Furman Paladins

* v
* t
* e

NCAA football seasons

Pre-NCAA|

* 1869
* 1870
* 1871
* 1872
* 1873
* 1874
* 1875
* 1876
* 1877
* 1878
* 1879
* 1880
* 1881
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* 1883
* 1884
* 1885
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* 1887
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* 1889
* 1890
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* 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
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NCAA University Division|

* 1962
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* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972

NCAA Division I|

* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977

NCAA Division I-A/FBS|

* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
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* 1982
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* 1984
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* 1987
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* 2015
* 2016
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* 2020
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* 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
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* 2013
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* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

NCAA College Division|

* 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
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* 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
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* v
* t
* e

1988–89 NCAA Division I championships

* Baseball
* Men's basketball
* Women's basketball
* Cross country
* Men's fencing
* Women's fencing
* Field hockey
* Football (I-A)
* Football (I-AA)
* Men's golf
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* Men's gymnastics
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* Men's ice hockey
* Indoor track and field
* Men's lacrosse
* Women's lacrosse
* Outdoor track and field
* Rifle
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* Men's soccer
* Women's soccer
* Softball
* Men's swimming and diving
* Women's swimming and diving
* Men's tennis
* Women's tennis
* Men's volleyball
* Women's volleyball
* Men's water polo
* Wrestling

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number