# 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 2002 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 2002, and concluded with the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 20, 2002, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers won their first I-AA championship, defeating the McNeese State Cowboys by a final score of 34−14.

## Conference changes and new programs

* Prior to the 2002 season, the Big South Conference began to sponsor football at the Division I-AA level.
| School | 2001 Conference | 2002 Conference |
| Cal State Northridge | I-AA Independent | Dropped Program |
| Charleston Southern | I-AA Independent | Big South |
| Elon | I-AA Independent | Big South |
| FIU | New Program | I-AA Independent |
| Gardner-Webb | D-II Independent | Big South |
| Liberty | I-AA Independent | Big South |
| St. John's (NY) | Northeast | MAAC |

## Conference standings

2002 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings :
| 2002 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 6 Maine $^  7 –2  11 –3   No. 11 Northeastern $^  7 –2  10 –3   No. 4 Villanova ^  6 –3  11 –4   UMass  6 –3  8 –4   William & Mary  5 –4  6 –5   Richmond  4 –5  4 –7   Delaware  4 –5  6 –6   Hofstra  4 –5  6 –6   James Madison  4 –6  5 –7   New Hampshire  2 –7  3 –8   Rhode Island  1 –8  3 –9   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll | 2002 Big Sky Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 7 Montana +^  5 –2  11 –3   No. 19 Montana State +^  5 –2  7 –6   No. 18 Idaho State +  5 –2  8 –3   Eastern Washington  3 –4  6 –5   Northern Arizona  3 –4  6 –5   Portland State  3 –4  6 –5   Sacramento State  3 –4  5 –8   Weber State  1 –6  3 –8   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll | 2002 Big South Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 22 Gardner–Webb $  3 –0  9 –1   Elon  2 –1  4 –7   Liberty  1 –2  2 –9   Charleston Southern  0 –3  4 –8   $ – Conference championRankings from The Sports Network poll |
| 2002 Gateway Football Conference standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 1 Western Kentucky +^  6 –1  12 –3   No. 5 Western Illinois +^  6 –1  11 –2   Youngstown State  4 –3  7 –4   Illinois State  4 –3  6 –5   Indiana State  3 –4  5 –7   Northern Iowa  2 –5  5 –6   Southern Illinois  2 –5  4 –8   Southwest Missouri State  1 –6  4 –7   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll | 2002 Ivy League football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 17 Penn $  7 –0  9 –1   Harvard  6 –1  7 –3   Princeton  4 –3  6 –4   Yale  4 –3  6 –4   Cornell  3 –4  4 –6   Dartmouth  2 –5  3 –7   Brown  2 –5  2 –8   Columbia  0 –7  1 –9   $ – Conference championRankings from The Sports Network poll | 2002 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Duquesne $  8 –0  11 –1   Marist  5 –3  7 –4   Saint Peter's  5 –3  6 –5   Fairfield  5 –3  5 –6   Iona  4 –4  5 –6   Siena  3 –5  3 –7   St. John's  2 –6  2 –8   Canisius  2 –6  2 –9   La Salle  2 –6  2 –9   $ – Conference champion |
| 2002 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 15 Bethune–Cookman $^  7 –1  11 –2   Florida A&M  5 –3  7 –5   Hampton  5 –3  7 –5   Morgan State  5 –3  7 –5   South Carolina State  4 –4  7 –5   Howard  4 –4  6 –5   Norfolk State  2 –6  5 –6   North Carolina A&T  2 –6  4 –8   Delaware State  2 –6  4 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll | 2002 Northeast Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Albany $  6 –1  8 –4   Stony Brook  5 –2  8 –2   Sacred Heart  5 –2  7 –3   Wagner  4 –3  7 –4   Central Connecticut State  3 –4  5 –6   Robert Morris  2 –5  3 –4   Monmouth  2 –5  2 –8   Saint Francis (PA)  1 –6  2 –8   $ – Conference champion | 2002 Ohio Valley Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 13 Eastern Illinois +^  5 –1  8 –4   No. 20 Murray State +^  5 –1  7 –5   No. 21 Eastern Kentucky  4 –2  8 –4   No. 24 Southeast Missouri State  4 –2  8 –4   Tennessee Tech  2 –4  5 –7   Tennessee State  1 –5  2 –10   Tennessee–Martin  0 –6  2 –10   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll |
| 2002 Patriot League football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 12 Fordham +^  6 –1  10 –3   No. 25 Colgate +  6 –1  9 –3   Lafayette  5 –2  7 –5   Lehigh  4 –3  8 –4   Towson  3 –4  6 –5   Georgetown  2 –5  5 –6   Holy Cross  2 –5  4 –8   Bucknell  0 –7  2 –9   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll | 2002 Pioneer Football League standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  North Division Dayton xy$  4 –0  11 –1   San Diego  3 –1  5 –5   Butler  2 –2  4 –6   Drake  1 –3  5 –6   Valparaiso  0 –4  1 –10   South Division Morehead State xy  3 –0  9 –3   Davidson  2 –1  7 –3   Austin Peay  1 –2  7 –5   Jacksonville  0 –3  3 –7   Championship: Dayton 28, Morehead State 0 $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-championsy – Championship game participant | 2002 Southern Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 3 Georgia Southern $^  7 –1  11 –3   No. 14 Wofford  6 –2  9 –3   No. 10 Appalachian State ^  6 –2  8 –4   No. 9 Furman ^  6 –2  8 –4   VMI  3 –5  6 –6   Western Carolina  3 –5  5 –6   East Tennessee State  2 –6  4 –8   Chattanooga  2 –6  2 –10   The Citadel  1 –7  3 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll |
| 2002 Southland Football League standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 2 McNeese State $^  6 –0  13 –2   No. 16 Northwestern State ^  4 –2  9 –4   No. 23 Nicholls State  3 –3  7 –4   Stephen F. Austin  3 –3  6 –5   Jacksonville State  2 –4  5 –6   Sam Houston State  2 –4  4 –7   Southwest Texas State  1 –5  4 –7   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll | 2002 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  East Division Alabama A&M xy  6 –1  8 –4   Jackson State  5 –2  7 –4   Alcorn State  3 –4  6 –5   Mississippi Valley State  3 –4  5 –6   Alabama State  2 –5  6 –6   West Division No. 8 Grambling State xy$  6 –1  11 –2   Southern  5 –2  6 –6   Texas Southern  3 –4  4 –7   Arkansas–Pine Bluff  2 –5  3 –8   Prairie View A&M  0 –7  1 –10   Championship: Grambling State 31, Alabama A&M 19 $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-championsy – Championship game participantRankings from The Sports Network Poll | 2002 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Saint Mary's   –  6 –6   FIU   –  5 –6   Samford   –  4 –7   Cal Poly   –  3 –8   Florida Atlantic   –  2 –9   Savannah State   –  1 –8   Southern Utah   –  1 –10   Morris Brown   –  1 –11 |

## Conference champions

* Conference Champions
* Atlantic 10 Conference – Maine and Northeastern
* Big Sky Conference – Idaho State, Montana, and Montana State
* Big South Conference – Gardner-Webb
* Gateway Football Conference – Western Illinois and Western Kentucky
* Ivy League – Penn
* Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Duquesne
* Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Bethune-Cookman
* Northeast Conference – Albany (NY)
* Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Illinois and Murray State
* Patriot League – Colgate and Fordham
* Pioneer Football League – Dayton
* Southern Conference – Georgia Southern
* Southland Football League – McNeese State
* Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State

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

The top four teams in the tournament were seeded; seeded teams were assured of hosting games in the first two rounds.
| First Round November 30 Campus sites | First Round November 30 Campus sites | First Round November 30 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 7 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 7 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 7 Campus sites | Semifinals December 14 Campus sites | Semifinals December 14 Campus sites | Semifinals December 14 Campus sites | National Championship Game December 20 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN | National Championship Game December 20 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN | National Championship Game December 20 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN |
| 1 | McNeese State* | 21 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Montana State | 14 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Montana State | 14 | 1 | McNeese State* | 24 | | | | | | |
| | | | | Montana | 20 | | | | | | |
| Montana* | Montana* | 45 | | Montana | 20 | | | | | | |
| Northwestern State | Northwestern State | 14 | | | | | | | | | |
| Northwestern State | Northwestern State | 14 | | | | 1 | McNeese State* | 39 | | | |
| | | | | | | | Villanova | 28 | | | |
| Villanova* | Villanova* | 45 | | | | | | | Villanova | 28 | | | |
| Furman | Furman | 38 | | | | | | | | | |
| Furman | Furman | 38 | Villanova* | Villanova* | 24 | | | | | | |
| | | | Fordham | Fordham | 10 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Northeastern* | 24 | Fordham | Fordham | 10 | | | | | | |
| | Fordham | 29 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Fordham | 29 | | | | | | | 1 | McNeese State | 14 |
| | | | | | | | | | | Western Kentucky | 34 |
| 3 | Georgia Southern* | 34 | | | | | | | | | | Western Kentucky | 34 |
| | Bethune–Cookman | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Bethune–Cookman | 0 | 3 | Georgia Southern* | 31 | | | | | | |
| | | | | Maine | 7 | | | | | | |
| Appalachian State* | Appalachian State* | 13 | | Maine | 7 | | | | | | |
| Maine | Maine | 14 | | | | | | | | | |
| Maine | Maine | 14 | | | | 3 | Georgia Southern* | 28 | | | |
| | | | | | | | Western Kentucky | 31 | | | |
| Western Kentucky* | Western Kentucky* | 59 | | | | | | | Western Kentucky | 31 | | | |
| Murray State | Murray State | 20 | | | | | | | | | |
| Murray State | Murray State | 20 | | Western Kentucky | 31 | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Western Illinois* | 28 | | | | | | |
| 2 | Western Illinois* | 48 | 2 | Western Illinois* | 28 | | | | | | |
| | Eastern Illinois | 9 | | | | | | | | | |
* Denotes host institution