# 1990 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 1990 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 1990, and concluded with the 1990 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 15, 1990, at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their fourth I-AA championship, defeating the Nevada Wolf Pack by a score of 36–13.

## Notable changes

* The Colonial League adopted its present-day Patriot League name, and began to sponsor sports other than football.

### Conference changes

| School | 1989 Conference | 1990 Conference |
| Central Florida | D-II Independent | I-AA Independent |
| Fordham | I-AA Independent | Patriot |
| Lamar | I-AA Independent | Dropped Program |
| Prairie View A&M | SWAC | Dropped Program |

## Conference standings

1990 Big Sky Conference football standings :
| 1990 Big Sky Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 4 Nevada $^ 7 –1 –013 –2 –0 No. 13 Idaho ^ 6 –2 –09 –4 –0 No. 10 Boise State ^ 6 –2 –010 –4 –0 Montana 4 –4 –07 –4 –0 Northern Arizona 3 –5 –05 –6 –0 Weber State 3 –5 –05 –6 –0 Eastern Washington 3 –5 –05 –6 –0 Montana State 3 –5 –04 –7 –0 Idaho State 1 –7 –03 –8 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll | 1990 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 6 Southwest Missouri State +^ 5 –1 –09 –3 –0 No. 11 Northern Iowa +^ 5 –1 –08 –4 –0 Eastern Illinois 3 –3 –05 –6 –0 Illinois State 3 –3 –05 –6 –0 Western Illinois 3 –3 –03 –8 –0 Indiana State 1 –5 –04 –7 –0 Southern Illinois 1 –5 –02 –9 –0 + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll | 1990 Ivy League football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 17 Dartmouth + 6 –1 –07 –2 –1 Cornell + 6 –1 –07 –3 –0 Yale 5 –2 –06 –4 –0 Harvard 3 –4 –05 –5 –0 Penn 3 –4 –03 –7 –0 Princeton 2 –5 –03 –7 –0 Brown 2 –5 –02 –8 –0 Columbia 1 –6 –01 –9 –0 + – Conference co-championsRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll |
| 1990 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Florida A&M $ 6 –0 –07 –4 –0 No. T–19 North Carolina A&T 5 –1 –09 –2 –0 Delaware State 4 –2 –07 –3 –0 Howard 3 –3 –06 –5 –0 South Carolina State 2 –4 –04 –6 –0 Bethune–Cookman 1 –5 –04 –7 –0 Morgan State 0 –6 –01 –10 –0 $ – Conference championRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll | 1990 Ohio Valley Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 1 Middle Tennessee +^ 5 –1 –011 –2 –0 No. 5 Eastern Kentucky +^ 5 –1 –010 –2 –0 Tennessee State 4 –2 –07 –4 –0 Tennessee Tech 3 –3 –06 –5 –0 Morehead State 3 –3 –05 –6 –0 Murray State 1 –5 –02 –9 –0 Austin Peay 0 –6 –00 –11 –0 + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll | 1990 Patriot League football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 8 Holy Cross $ 5 –0 –09 –1 –1 Bucknell 3 –2 –07 –4 –0 Colgate 3 –2 –07 –4 –0 Lehigh 3 –2 –07 –4 –0 Lafayette 1 –4 –04 –7 –0 Fordham 0 –5 –01 –9 –0 $ – Conference championRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll |
| 1990 Southern Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 12 Furman $^ 6 –1 –09 –4 –0 Appalachian State 5 –2 –06 –5 –0 Chattanooga 4 –2 –06 –5 –0 No. 15 The Citadel ^ 4 –3 –07 –5 –0 Marshall 4 –3 –06 –5 –0 Western Carolina 2 –5 –03 –8 –0 VMI 1 –5 –04 –7 –0 East Tennessee State 1 –6 –02 –9 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll | 1990 Southland Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 14 Northeast Louisiana $^ 5 –1 –07 –5 –0 McNeese State 4 –2 –05 –6 –0 Southwest Texas State 3 –3 –06 –5 –0 Northwestern State 3 –3 –05 –6 –0 Sam Houston State 3 –3 –04 –7 –0 North Texas 2 –4 –06 –5 –0 Stephen F. Austin 1 –5 –01 –10 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll | 1990 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 16 Jackson State $^ 5 –1 –08 –4 –0 Alabama State 4 –2 –08 –2 –1 Grambling State 3 –3 –08 –3 –0 Mississippi Valley State 3 –3 –05 –6 –0 Southern 2 –4 –04 –7 –0 Texas Southern 2 –4 –04 –7 –0 Alcorn State 2 –4 –02 –7 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll |
| 1990 Yankee Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 9 UMass $^ 7 –1 –08 –2 –1 No. T–19 New Hampshire 5 –3 –07 –3 –1 Delaware 5 –3 –06 –5 –0 Connecticut 5 –3 –06 –5 –0 Villanova 5 –3 –06 –5 –0 Boston University 4 –4 –05 –6 –0 Maine 2 –6 –03 –8 –0 Rhode Island 2 –6 –05 –6 –0 Richmond 1 –7 –01 –10 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll | 1990 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 2 Youngstown State ^   –  11 –1 –0 No. 7 William & Mary ^   –  10 –2 –0 No. 3 Georgia Southern ^   –  9 –3 –0 No. 18 UCF ^   –  9 –3 –0 Liberty   –  7 –4 –0 Samford   –  6 –4 –1 James Madison   –  5 –6 –0 Nicholls State   –  5 –6 –0 Arkansas State   –  3 –7 –1 Western Kentucky   –  2 –8 –0 Towson   –  2 –9 –0 Northeastern   –  1 –10 –0 ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll |

## Conference champions

| Conference | Champion |
| Big Sky Conference | Nevada |
| Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference | Northern Iowa |
| Ivy League | Cornell and Dartmouth |
| Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference | Florida A&M |
| Ohio Valley Conference | Eastern Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State |
| Patriot League | Holy Cross |
| Southern Conference | Furman |
| Southland Conference | Northeast Louisiana |
| Southwestern Athletic Conference | Jackson State |
| Yankee Conference | Massachusetts |

## Postseason

The top four teams were seeded, and thus assured of home games in the opening round. The location of the final, the Georgia Southern Eagles' Paulson Stadium, had been predetermined via a three-year agreement the university reached with the NCAA in February 1989.

### NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

| First Round November 24 Campus sites | First Round November 24 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 1 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 1 Campus sites | Semifinals December 8 Campus sites | Semifinals December 8 Campus sites | | National Championship Game December 15 Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA | National Championship Game December 15 Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA |
| Jackson State | 7 | | | | | | | |
| (1) Middle Tennessee State* | 28 | | | | | | | |
| (1) Middle Tennessee State* | 28 | (1) Middle Tennessee State | 13 | | | | | |
| | | Boise State* | 20 | | | | | |
| Northern Iowa | 3 | Boise State* | 20 | | | | | |
| Boise State* | 20 | | | | | | | |
| Boise State* | 20 | | | Boise State | 52 | | | |
| | | | | (4) Nevada* | 59*** | | | |
| Northeast Louisiana | 14 | | | | | (4) Nevada* | 59*** | | | |
| (4) Nevada* | 27 | | | | | | | |
| (4) Nevada* | 27 | (4) Nevada* | 42*** | | | | | |
| | | Furman | 35 | | | | | |
| Furman | 45 | Furman | 35 | | | | | |
| Eastern Kentucky* | 17 | | | | | | | |
| Eastern Kentucky* | 17 | | | | | | (4) Nevada | 13 |
| | | | | | | | (3) Georgia Southern | 36 |
| UCF | 20 | | | | | | | | (3) Georgia Southern | 36 |
| (2) Youngstown State* | 17 | | | | | | | |
| (2) Youngstown State* | 17 | UCF* | 52 | | | | | |
| | | William & Mary | 38 | | | | | |
| UMass | 0 | William & Mary | 38 | | | | | |
| William & Mary* | 38 | | | | | | | |
| William & Mary* | 38 | | | UCF | 7 | | | |
| | | | | (3) Georgia Southern* | 44 | | | |
| The Citadel | 0 | | | | | (3) Georgia Southern* | 44 | | | |
| (3) Georgia Southern* | 31 | | | | | | | |
| (3) Georgia Southern* | 31 | (3) Georgia Southern* | 28 | | | | | |
| | | Idaho | 27 | | | | | |
| Idaho | 41 | Idaho | 27 | | | | | |
| Southwest Missouri State* | 35 | | | | | | | |
* By team name denotes host institution
* By score denotes overtime periods
Source: