# 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1998, and concluded with the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1998, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The UMass Minutemen won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Georgia Southern Eagles by a score of 55−43.

## Conference changes and new programs

| School | 1997 Conference | 1998 Conference |
| Boston University | Atlantic 10 | Dropped Program |
| Evansville | Pioneer | Dropped Program |
| Jacksonville | New Program | I-AA Independent |
| Sacred Heart | Eastern (D-II) | Northeast |

## Conference standings

1998 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings :
| 1998 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  New England Division No. 1 UMass x^  6 –2  12 –3   No. 9 Connecticut x^  6 –2  10 –3   Maine  3 –5  6 –5   New Hampshire  3 –5  4 –7   Rhode Island  2 –6  3 –8   Mid-Atlantic Division No. 10 Richmond x$^  7 –1  9 –3   No. 23 Delaware  4 –4  7 –4   Villanova  4 –4  6 –5   No. 17 William & Mary  4 –4  7 –4   Northeastern  3 –5  5 –6   James Madison  2 –6  3 –8   $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-champions^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll | 1998 Big Sky Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 15 Montana $^  6 –2  8 –4   Cal State Northridge  5 –3  7 –4   No. 25 Montana State  5 –3  7 –4   Weber State  4 –4  6 –5   Eastern Washington  4 –4  5 –6   Portland State  4 –4  5 –6   Northern Arizona  3 –5  6 –5   Sacramento State  3 –5  5 –6   Idaho State  2 –6  3 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll | 1998 Gateway Football Conference standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 4 Western Illinois $^  5 –1  11 –3   No. 16 Illinois State ^  4 –2  8 –4   Northern Iowa  3 –3  7 –4   Youngstown State  3 –3  6 –5   Southwest Missouri State  3 –3  5 –6   Indiana State  2 –4  5 –6   Southern Illinois  1 –5  3 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll |
| 1998 Ivy League football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Penn $  6 –1  8 –2   Brown  5 –2  7 –3   Yale  5 –2  6 –4   Princeton  4 –3  5 –5   Columbia  3 –4  4 –6   Harvard  3 –4  4 –6   Cornell  1 –6  4 –6   Dartmouth  1 –6  2 –8   $ – Conference champion | 1998 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Fairfield +  7 –1  9 –2   Georgetown +  7 –1  9 –2   Duquesne  6 –2  8 –3   Marist  6 –2  7 –3   St. John's  4 –4  6 –5   Iona  2 –6  4 –6   Siena  2 –6  3 –6   Canisius  2 –6  3 –7   Saint Peter's  0 –8  0 –10   + – Conference co-champions | 1998 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 5 Florida A&M +^  7 –1  11 –2   No. 11 Hampton +^  7 –1  9 –3   No. 18 Bethune–Cookman  6 –2  8 –3   North Carolina A&T  5 –3  8 –3   Howard  5 –3  7 –4   South Carolina State  3 –5  5 –6   Norfolk State  2 –6  2 –9   Morgan State  1 –7  1 –10   Delaware State  0 –8  0 –11   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll |
| 1998 Northeast Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Monmouth +  4 –1  5 –5   Robert Morris +  4 –1  4 –6   Wagner  3 –2  7 –3   Central Connecticut State  3 –2  4 –6   Sacred Heart  1 –4  2 –8   Saint Francis (PA)  0 –5  0 –10   + – Conference co-champions | 1998 Ohio Valley Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 12 Tennessee State $^  6 –1  9 –3   No. 24 Murray State  5 –2  7 –4   Middle Tennessee  5 –2  5 –5   Eastern Illinois  4 –3  6 –5   Eastern Kentucky  4 –3  6 –5   Tennessee Tech  2 –5  4 –7   Southeast Missouri State  2 –5  3 –8   Tennessee–Martin  0 –7  0 –11   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll | 1998 Patriot League football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 7 Lehigh $^  6 –0  12 –1   No. 21 Colgate ^  5 –1  8 –4   Bucknell  3 –3  6 –5   Lafayette  3 –3  3 –8   Fordham  2 –4  4 –7   Towson  1 –5  5 –6   Holy Cross  1 –5  2 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll |
| 1998 Pioneer Football League standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Drake $  4 –0  7 –3   Dayton  3 –1  6 –4   Valparaiso  2 –2  5 –6   Butler  1 –3  4 –6   San Diego  0 –4  2 –8   $ – Conference champion | 1998 Southern Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 2 Georgia Southern $^  8 –0  14 –1   No. 6 Appalachian State ^  6 –2  10 –3   Western Carolina  5 –3  6 –5   Chattanooga  4 –4  5 –6   The Citadel  4 –4  5 –6   East Tennessee State  3 –5  4 –7   Wofford  3 –5  4 –7   Furman  3 –5  5 –6   VMI  0 –8  1 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll | 1998 Southland Football League standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 3 Northwestern State $^  6 –1  11 –3   No. 8 McNeese State ^  5 –2  9 –3   No. 13 Troy State ^  5 –2  8 –4   Jacksonville State  4 –3  7 –4   Nicholls State  3 –4  4 –7   Southwest Texas State  2 –5  4 –7   Stephen F. Austin  2 –5  3 –8   Sam Houston State  1 –6  3 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll |
| 1998 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 14 Southern $  8 –0  9 –3   Jackson State  7 –1  7 –4   Arkansas–Pine Bluff  6 –2  8 –3   Texas Southern  4 –4  6 –5   Grambling State  4 –4  5 –6   Alabama State  3 –5  5 –6   Alcorn State  3 –5  5 –6   Mississippi Valley State  1 –7  1 –10   Prairie View A&M  0 –8  1 –10   $ – Conference championAlabama A&M was an affiliate member, so its games did not count in the official standings.Rankings from The Sports Network Poll | 1998 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Morehead State   –  9 –2   Davidson   –  8 –2   No. 20 Hofstra   –  8 –3   No. 22 South Florida   –  8 –3   No. 19 Western Kentucky   –  7 –4   Samford   –  6 –5   Liberty   –  5 –6   Southern Utah   –  5 –6   Austin Peay   –  4 –7   Buffalo   –  4 –7   Jacksonville   –  4 –5   La Salle   –  3 –6   Cal Poly   –  3 –8   Charleston Southern   –  3 –8   Saint Mary's   –  2 –8   Rankings from The Sports Network poll |

## Conference champions

* Conference Champions
* Atlantic 10 Conference – Richmond
* Big Sky Conference – Montana
* Gateway Football Conference – Western Illinois
* Ivy League – Penn
* Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Fairfield and Georgetown
* Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Florida A&M and Hampton
* Northeast Conference – Monmouth and Robert Morris
* Ohio Valley Conference – Tennessee State
* Patriot League – Lehigh
* Pioneer Football League – Drake
* Southern Conference – Georgia Southern
* Southland Football League – Northwestern State
* Southwestern Athletic Conference – Southern

## Postseason
### NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

| First Round November 28 Campus sites | First Round November 28 Campus sites | First Round November 28 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 4–5 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 4–5 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 4–5 Campus sites | Semifinals December 12 Campus sites | Semifinals December 12 Campus sites | Semifinals December 12 Campus sites | | National Championship Game December 19 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN | National Championship Game December 19 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN | National Championship Game December 19 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN |
| 1 | Georgia Southern* | 49 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Colgate | 28 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Colgate | 28 | 1 | Georgia Southern* | 52 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Connecticut | 30 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Connecticut* | 42 | 8 | Connecticut | 30 | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Hampton | 34 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Hampton | 34 | | | | 1 | Georgia Southern* | 42 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Western Illinois | 14 | | | | |
| 5 | Florida A&M* | 27 | | | | | | | 4 | Western Illinois | 14 | | | | |
| 12 | Troy State | 17 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Troy State | 17 | 5 | Florida A&M | 21 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Western Illinois* | 24 | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Western Illinois* | 52 | 4 | Western Illinois* | 24 | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Montana | 9 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Montana | 9 | | | | | | | | 1 | Georgia Southern | 43 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 11 | UMass | 55 |
| 3 | Richmond* | 23 | | | | | | | | | | | 11 | UMass | 55 |
| 14 | Lehigh | 24 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Lehigh | 24 | 14 | Lehigh | 21 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 11 | UMass* | 27 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | McNeese State* | 19 | 11 | UMass* | 27 | | | | | | | |
| 11 | UMass | 21 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | UMass | 21 | | | | 11 | UMass | 41 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | Northwestern State* | 31 | | | | |
| 7 | Appalachian State* | 45 | | | | | | | 2 | Northwestern State* | 31 | | | | |
| 10 | Tennessee State | 31 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Tennessee State | 31 | 7 | Appalachian State | 20 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Northwestern State* | 31 | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Northwestern State* | 48 | 2 | Northwestern State* | 31 | | | | | | | |
| 15 | Illinois State | 28 | | | | | | | | | | |
* Denotes host institution
Source: