1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|American college football season}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

| image = NCAA logo.svg

| number_of_teams = 45

| regular_season = August–November

| playoffs = December 13–December 20

| nc_date = [[1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game|December 20, 1980]]

| championship = [[Charles C. Hughes Stadium|Hughes Stadium]],<br>[[Sacramento, California]]

| champions = [[1980 Boise State Broncos football team|Boise State]]

The '''1980 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. The third season of I-AA football began in August 1980 and four teams were selected for the postseason, with the national semifinals played on December 13. The [[1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game]] was the [[Camellia Bowl (1961–1980)|Camellia Bowl]] played on December 20 at [[Charles C. Hughes Stadium|Hughes Stadium]] in [[Sacramento, California]].<ref name=bsmiiaaf>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tYNfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=szAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4696%2C5743393 |newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune |agency=Associated Press |title=Boise State moves into I-AA finals |date=December 14, 1980 |page=7B}}</ref><ref name=camwvw>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=P8opAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Xe4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7132%2C2027263 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |agency=Associated Press |title=Camellia: ''Who vs. who?'' |date=December 20, 1980 |page=24}}</ref>

In a game with multiple lead changes, the [[1980 Boise State Broncos football team|Boise State Broncos]] won their first (and only) I-AA championship, defeating the defending national champion [[1980 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team|Eastern Kentucky Colonels]], 31−29.<ref>{{cite web |title=1980 NCAA Division I Football Championship |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_champs_records/2012/d1/2012FCSfbchamp.pdf |website=NCAA.org |access-date=December 29, 2013 |page=14}}</ref> With less than a minute to play, the Broncos drove eighty yards for the winning touchdown, a 14-yard pass from quarterback Joe Aliotti to tight end Duane Dlouhy with twelve seconds remaining.<ref name=bsqbcl>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QMopAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Xe4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5841%2C2707528 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |agency=Associated Press |title=Broncos squeak by Colonels, take title |date=December 21, 1980 |page=B2}}</ref>

|- style="text-align:center;"

| [[Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football|Bethune–Cookman]] || [[Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference|SIAC]] (D-II) || [[Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference|MEAC]] (I-AA)

|- style="text-align:center;"

| [[Florida A&M Rattlers football|Florida A&M]] || [[NCAA Division I FCS independent schools|I-AA Independent]] || [[Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference|MEAC]] (I-AA)

|- style="text-align:center;"

| [[Morgan State Bears football|Morgan State]] || [[Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference|MEAC]] (I-AA)|| [[NCAA Division II independent schools|D-II Independent]]

|- style="text-align:center;"

| [[North Carolina Central Eagles football|North Carolina Central]] || [[Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference|MEAC]] (I-AA)|| [[Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association|CIAA]] (D-II)

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1980 Big Sky Conference football standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1980 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1980 Ohio Valley Conference football standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1980 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1980 Yankee Conference football standings}}

|valign="top" width=25em|{{1980 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings}}

===NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket===

The [[bracket (tournament)|bracket]] consisted of three regional selections (West, East, and South) plus [[Eastern Kentucky Colonels football|Eastern Kentucky]] as an [[At-large bid|at-large]] selection.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28226987/division_iaa_playoffs_set/ |title=Division I-AA playoffs set |first=Micahael |last=Embry |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |newspaper=[[Reno Gazette-Journal]] |location=[[Reno, Nevada]] |page=32 |date=December 1, 1980 |access-date=February 9, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

{{4TeamBracket

| RD1='''Semifinals'''<br>''December 13<br>Campus sites''

| RD2='''[[1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game|National Championship Game]]'''<br>''December 20''<br>[[Camellia Bowl (1961–80)|Camellia Bowl]]<br>[[Charles C. Hughes Stadium|Hughes Stadium]]—[[Sacramento, California|Sacramento, CA]]

| RD1-seed1= AtLg

| RD1-team1= '''[[1980 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team|Eastern Kentucky]]'''

| RD1-score1= '''23'''

| RD1-seed2= East

| RD1-team2= [[1980 Lehigh Engineers football team|Lehigh]]*

| RD1-seed3= South

| RD1-team3= [[1980 Grambling State Tigers football team|Grambling State]]

| RD1-seed4= West

| RD1-score4= '''14'''

| RD2-seed1= AtLg

| RD2-seed2= West

| RD2-team2= '''Boise State'''

| RD2-score2= '''31'''

[[Category:1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season| ]]