# 1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 1983 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 1983, and concluded with the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 17, 1983, at Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. The Southern Illinois Salukis won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Western Carolina Catamounts by a score of 43−7.

## Conference changes and new programs

* The eight members of the Mid-American Conference temporarily relegated to Division I-AA for the 1982 season returned to Division I-A in 1983.
| School | 1982 Conference | 1983 Conference |
| Ball State | MAC (I-AA) | MAC (I-A) |
| Bowling Green | MAC (I-AA) | MAC (I-A) |
| Eastern Michigan | MAC (I-AA) | MAC (I-A) |
| Kent State | MAC (I-AA) | MAC (I-A) |
| Miami (OH) | MAC (I-AA) | MAC (I-A) |
| North Texas State | I-AA Independent | Southland |
| Northern Illinois | MAC (I-AA) | MAC (I-A) |
| Ohio | MAC (I-AA) | MAC (I-A) |
| Western Michigan | MAC (I-AA) | MAC (I-A) |

## Conference standings

1983 Association of Mid-Continent Universities football standings :
| 1983 Association of Mid-Continent Universities football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 6 Eastern Illinois $^ 3 –0 –09 –3 –0 Southwest Missouri State 2 –1 –06 –5 –0 Northern Iowa 1 –2 –06 –5 –0 Western Illinois 0 –3 –03 –8 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll | 1983 Big Sky Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 11 Nevada* $^ 6 –1 –010 –4 –0 No. 12 Idaho State ^ 5 –2 –08 –4 –0 Idaho 4 –3 –08 –3 –0 Boise State 4 –3 –06 –5 –0 Weber State 3 –4 –06 –5 –0 Montana 3 –4 –04 –6 –0 Northern Arizona 2 –5 –04 –7 –0 Montana State 1 –6 –01 –10 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant * – Nevada was given a win on the Fremont Cannon after UNLV was forced to forfeit the game after an investigation found that ineligible players had participated in the 1983 and 1984 seasons. Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll | 1983 Ivy League football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Harvard + 5 –1 –16 –2 –2 Penn + 5 –1 –16 –3 –1 Brown 4 –2 –14 –5 –1 Dartmouth 4 –2 –14 –5 –1 Cornell 3 –3 –13 –6 –1 Princeton 2 –5 –04 –6 –0 Columbia 1 –5 –11 –7 –2 Yale 1 –6 –01 –9 –0 + – Conference co-champions |
| 1983 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 18 South Carolina State $ 4 –0 –07 –3 –0 Delaware State 3 –1 –07 –3 –1 Bethune–Cookman 1 –3 –04 –4 –1 North Carolina A&T 1 –3 –03 –7 –1 Howard 1 –3 –01 –9 –0 Florida A&M 0 –0 –07 –4 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantFlorida A&M games did not count as conference gamesRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll | 1983 Missouri Valley Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Tulsa $ 5 –0 –08 –3 –0 No. 1 Southern Illinois ^ 4 –1 –013 –1 –0 No. 5 Indiana State ^ 3 –2 –09 –4 –0 New Mexico State 3 –2 –05 –6 –0 Illinois State 2 –2 –16 –4 –1 Wichita State 3 –3 –03 –8 –0 Drake 1 –6 –01 –10 –0 West Texas State 0 –5 –10 –10 –1 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantThe conference was a hybrid of NCAA Division I-A and I-AA programs. New Mexico State, Tulsa, and Wichita State were I-A and the other teams were I-AA.Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll | 1983 Ohio Valley Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 8 Eastern Kentucky $^ 6 –1 –07 –2 –1 No. 16 Middle Tennessee 5 –2 –08 –2 –0 Akron 5 –2 –08 –3 –0 Murray State 4 –3 –07 –4 –0 Austin Peay 3 –4 –06 –5 –0 Youngstown State 2 –5 –04 –7 –0 Tennessee Tech 2 –5 –02 –8 –0 Morehead State 1 –6 –02 –9 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll |
| 1983 Southern Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 2 Furman $^ 6 –0 –110 –2 –1 No. 9 Western Carolina ^ 5 –0 –111 –3 –1 Chattanooga 5 –2 –07 –4 –0 Appalachian State 4 –3 –06 –5 –0 Marshall 3 –4 –04 –7 –0 VMI 1 –5 –02 –9 –0 The Citadel 1 –6 –03 –8 –0 East Tennessee State 1 –6 –03 –8 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll | 1983 Southland Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 13 Northeast Louisiana + 5 –1 –08 –3 –0 No. 4 North Texas State +^ 5 –1 –08 –4 –0 McNeese State 3 –3 –06 –5 –0 Arkansas State 3 –3 –05 –5 –1 UT Arlington 2 –4 –05 –6 –0 Louisiana Tech 2 –4 –04 –7 –0 Lamar 1 –5 –02 –9 –0 + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll | 1983 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 10 Grambling State $ 6 –0 –18 –1 –2 No. 15 Jackson State 5 –2 –08 –3 –0 Southern 5 –2 –07 –4 –0 No. 19 Mississippi Valley State 4 –2 –17 –2 –1 Alcorn State 4 –3 –07 –3 –0 Texas Southern 2 –5 –04 –6 –0 Alabama State 0 –6 –02 –9 –0 Prairie View A&M 0 –6 –00 –11 –0 $ – Conference championRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll |
| 1983 Yankee Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. T–13 Boston University +^ 4 –1 –09 –4 –0 Connecticut + 4 –1 –05 –6 –0 No. 20 New Hampshire 3 –2 –07 –3 –0 Rhode Island 2 –3 –06 –4 –0 UMass 2 –3 –03 –8 –0 Maine 0 –5 –04 –6 –0 + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll | 1983 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 3 Holy Cross ^   –  9 –1 –1 No. 17 Tennessee State   –  8 –2 –1 No. 7 Colgate ^   –  8 –3 –0 Lehigh   –  8 –3 –0 Lafayette   –  6 –4 –0 Northeastern   –  6 –4 –1 Southeastern Louisiana   –  6 –5 –0 William & Mary   –  6 –5 –0 Nicholls State   –  5 –6 –0 Bucknell   –  4 –5 –1 Delaware   –  4 –7 –0 Northwestern State   –  4 –7 –0 James Madison   –  3 –8 –0 Richmond   –  3 –8 –0 Western Kentucky   –  2 –8 –1 ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll |

## Conference champions

* Conference champions
* Big Sky Conference – Nevada
* Ivy League – Harvard and Penn
* Mid-Continent Conference – Eastern Illinois
* Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina State
* Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky
* Southern Conference – Furman
* Southland Conference – North Texas State and Northeast Louisiana
* Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State
* Yankee Conference – Boston University and Connecticut

## Postseason

The top four teams were seeded, and received first-round byes.

### NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

| First Round November 26 Campus sites | First Round November 26 Campus sites | First Round November 26 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 3 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 3 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 3 Campus sites | Semifinals December 10 Campus sites | Semifinals December 10 Campus sites | Semifinals December 10 Campus sites | National Championship Game December 17 Neutral Site | National Championship Game December 17 Neutral Site | National Championship Game December 17 Neutral Site |
| | | | (1) Southern Illinois | (1) Southern Illinois | 23 | | | | | | |
| Indiana State | Indiana State | 16** | Indiana State | Indiana State | 7 | | | | | | |
| Eastern Illinois | Eastern Illinois | 13 | | | | (1) Southern Illinois | (1) Southern Illinois | 23 | | | |
| | | | | | | Nevada | Nevada | 7 | | | |
| | | | (4) North Texas State | (4) North Texas State | 17 | | | | | | |
| Idaho State | Idaho State | 20 | Nevada | Nevada | 20* | | | | | | |
| Nevada | Nevada | 27 | | | | | | | (1) Southern Illinois | (1) Southern Illinois | 43 |
| | | | | | | | | | Western Carolina | Western Carolina | 7 |
| | | | (2) Holy Cross | (2) Holy Cross | 21 | | | | | | |
| Western Carolina | Western Carolina | 24 | Western Carolina | Western Carolina | 28 | | | | | | |
| Colgate | Colgate | 23 | | | | Western Carolina | Western Carolina | 14 | | | |
| | | | | | | (3) Furman | (3) Furman | 7 | | | |
| | | | (3) Furman | (3) Furman | 35 | | | | | | |
| Eastern Kentucky | Eastern Kentucky | 20 | Boston University | Boston University | 16 | | | | | | |
| Boston University | Boston University | 24 | | | | | | | | | |
* indicates overtime period