# 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 1997 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 1997, and concluded with the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 20, 1997, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Youngstown State Penguins won their fourth I-AA championship, defeating the McNeese State Cowboys by a score of 10−9.

## Conference changes and new programs

* Prior to the 1997 season, the Atlantic 10 Conference began to sponsor football at the Division I-AA level by taking over the football-only Yankee Conference, which had been a charter member of the subdivision. All 12 members (Boston University, Connecticut, Delaware, James Madison, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Rhode Island, Richmond, Villanova, and William & Mary) moved into the new conference.
| School | 1996 Conference | 1997 Conference |
| Arkansas–Pine Bluff | Independent (NAIA) | SWAC (I-AA) |
| Austin Peay | Ohio Valley | I-AA Independent |
| Jacksonville State | I-AA Independent | Southland |
| La Salle | New Program | I-AA Independent |
| Marshall | Southern (I-AA) | MAC (I-A) |
| Norfolk State | CIAA (D-II) | MEAC (I-AA) |
| South Florida | New Program | I-AA Independent |
| Towson State | I-AA Independent | Patriot |
| Wofford | I-AA Independent | Southern |
| Youngstown State | I-AA Independent | Gateway |

## Conference standings

1997 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings :
| 1997 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  New England Division New Hampshire x  5 –3  5 –6   Connecticut  4 –4  7 –4   Maine  4 –4  5 –6   Rhode Island  2 –6  2 –9   Boston University  1 –7  1 –10   UMass  1 –7  2 –9   Mid-Atlantic Division No. 1 Villanova x$^  8 –0  12 –1   No. 3 Delaware ^  7 –1  12 –2   No. 20 Northeastern  5 –3  8 –3   Richmond  4 –4  6 –5   William & Mary  4 –4  7 –4   James Madison  3 –5  5 –6   $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-champions^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll | 1997 Big Sky Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 6 E Washington $^  7 –1  12 –2   No. 11 Montana ^  6 –2  8 –4   Montana State  5 –3  6 –5   Northern Arizona  4 –4  6 –5   Weber State  4 –4  6 –5   Cal State Northridge  4 –4  4 –8   Portland State  3 –5  4 –7   Idaho State  2 –6  3 –8   Sacramento State  1 –7  1 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantCal State Northridge record includes two losses by forfeitRankings from The Sports Network poll | 1997 Gateway Football Conference standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 2 Western Illinois $^  6 –0  11 –2   Northern Iowa  5 –1  7 –4   No. 4 Youngstown State ^  4 –2  13 –2   Southwest Missouri State  3 –3  5 –6   Indiana State  2 –4  3 –8   Southern Illinois  1 –5  3 –8   Illinois State  0 –6  2 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll |
| 1997 Ivy League football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Harvard $  7 –0  9 –1   Dartmouth  6 –1  8 –2   Brown  4 –3  7 –3   Cornell  4 –3  6 –4   Princeton  3 –4  6 –4   Columbia  3 –4  4 –6   Yale  1 –6  2 –8   Penn *  0 –7  1 –9   $ – Conference champion * Standings reflect Penn's forfeit of five conference wins due to use of an ineligible player | 1997 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Georgetown $  8 –0  8 –3   Duquesne  6 –2  7 –3   St. John's  5 –3  8 –3   Fairfield  5 –3  7 –3   Siena  5 –3  6 –3   Marist  4 –4  6 –4   Canisius  2 –6  3 –7   Saint Peter's  1 –7  1 –9   Iona  0 –8  0 –10   $ – Conference champion | 1997 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 9 Hampton $^  7 –0  10 –2   No. 22 South Carolina State  5 –2  9 –2   No. 10 Florida A&M ^  5 –2  9 –3   Howard  4 –3  7 –4   North Carolina A&T  3 –4  7 –4   Morgan State  2 –5  3 –7   Bethune–Cookman  1 –6  4 –7   Delaware State  1 –6  3 –8   Norfolk State  0 –0  3 –7   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantNorfolk State games did not count as conference games.Rankings from The Sports Network poll |
| 1997 Northeast Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Robert Morris $  4 –0  8 –3   Monmouth  3 –1  5 –4   Wagner  2 –2  6 –4   Central Connecticut State  1 –3  5 –5   Saint Francis (PA)  0 –4  2 –9   $ – Conference champion | 1997 Ohio Valley Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 19 Eastern Kentucky $^  7 –0  8 –4   No. 16 Eastern Illinois  5 –2  8 –3   Murray State  5 –2  7 –4   Tennessee Tech  4 –3  6 –5   Tennessee State  4 –3  4 –7   Middle Tennessee  2 –5  4 –6   Southeast Missouri State  1 –6  4 –7   Tennessee–Martin  0 –7  1 –10   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll | 1997 Patriot League football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  Colgate $^  6 –0  7 –5   No. 24 Bucknell  5 –1  10 –1   Fordham  4 –2  5 –6   Holy Cross  2 –4  4 –7   Lehigh  2 –4  4 –7   Lafayette  2 –4  3 –8   Towson  0 –6  2 –8   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll |
| 1997 Pioneer Football League standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 23 Dayton $  5 –0  9 –1   San Diego  4 –1  8 –3   Drake  2 –3  8 –3   Butler  2 –3  6 –4   Valparaiso  2 –3  3 –7   Evansville  0 –5  2 –8   $ – Conference championRankings from The Sports Network poll | 1997 Southern Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 8 Georgia Southern $^  7 –1  10 –3   No. 15 Appalachian State  6 –2  7 –4   East Tennessee State  5 –3  7 –4   Furman  5 –3  7 –4   The Citadel  4 –4  6 –5   Chattanooga  4 –4  7 –4   Western Carolina  3 –5  3 –8   Wofford  2 –6  3 –7   VMI  0 –8  0 –11   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll | 1997 Southland Football League standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 7 McNeese State +^  6 –1  13 –2   No. 21 Northwestern State +^  6 –1  8 –4   No. 13 Stephen F. Austin  5 –2  8 –3   Sam Houston State  3 –4  5 –6   Nicholls State  3 –4  5 –6   Southwest Texas State  2 –5  5 –6   Troy State  2 –5  5 –6   Jacksonville State  1 –6  1 –10   + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll |
| 1997 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 12 Southern $  8 –0  11 –1   No. 14 Jackson State ^  7 –1  9 –3   Arkansas–Pine Bluff  6 –2  8 –3   Texas Southern  4 –4  5 –6   Alcorn State  4 –4  4 –7   Mississippi Valley State  3 –5  4 –6   Alabama State  2 –6  3 –8   Grambling State  2 –6  3 –8   Prairie View A&M  0 –8  0 –9   $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network Poll | 1997 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings vteConfOverall Team W L W L  No. 18 Cal Poly   –  10 –1   No. 5 Western Kentucky ^   –  10 –2   No. 17 Hofstra ^   –  9 –2   No. 25 Liberty   –  9 –2   Samford   –  7 –4   Morehead State   –  5 –4   South Florida   –  5 –6   Southern Utah   –  5 –6   Saint Mary's   –  4 –6   Davidson   –  3 –8   Buffalo   –  2 –9   La Salle   –  1 –8   Charleston Southern   –  1 –9   Austin Peay   –  0 –10   ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from The Sports Network poll |

## Conference champions

* Conference Champions
* Atlantic 10 Conference – Villanova
* Big Sky Conference – Eastern Washington
* Gateway Football Conference – Western Illinois
* Ivy League – Harvard
* Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Georgetown
* Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Hampton
* Northeast Conference – Robert Morris
* Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky
* Patriot League – Colgate
* Pioneer Football League – Dayton
* Southern Conference – Georgia Southern
* Southland Football League – McNeese State and Northwestern State
* Southwestern Athletic Conference – Southern

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

The NCAA departed from standard bracket structure—where, for example, the fourth and fifth seeds could meet in the second round—in order to place teams from the same conference in different halves of the bracket.
| First Round November 29 Campus sites | First Round November 29 Campus sites | First Round November 29 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 6 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 6 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 6 Campus sites | Semifinals December 13 Campus sites | Semifinals December 13 Campus sites | Semifinals December 13 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 | Villanova* | 49 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Colgate | 28 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Colgate | 28 | 1 | Villanova* | 34 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Youngstown State | 37 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Youngstown State* | 28 | 8 | Youngstown State | 37 | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Hampton | 13 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Hampton | 13 | | | | 8 | Youngstown State | 25 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Eastern Washington* | 14 | | | | |
| 5 | Western Kentucky* | 42 | | | | | | | 3 | Eastern Washington* | 14 | | | | |
| 12 | Eastern Kentucky | 14 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Eastern Kentucky | 14 | 5 | Western Kentucky | 21 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | Eastern Washington* | 38 | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Eastern Washington* | 40 | 3 | Eastern Washington* | 38 | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Northwestern State | 10 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Northwestern State | 10 | | | | | | | | 8 | Youngstown State | 10 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 6 | McNeese State | 9 |
| 4 | Delaware* | 24 | | | | | | | | | | | 6 | McNeese State | 9 |
| 13 | Hofstra | 14 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Hofstra | 14 | 4 | Delaware* | 16 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Georgia Southern | 7 | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Georgia Southern* | 52 | 7 | Georgia Southern | 7 | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Florida A&M | 37 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Florida A&M | 37 | | | | 4 | Delaware* | 21 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 6 | McNeese State | 23 | | | | |
| 6 | McNeese State* | 19 | | | | | | | 6 | McNeese State | 23 | | | | |
| 11 | Montana | 14 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Montana | 14 | 6 | McNeese State | 14 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Western Illinois* | 12 | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Western Illinois* | 31 | 2 | Western Illinois* | 12 | | | | | | | |
| 15 | Jackson State | 24 | | | | | | | | | | |
* Denotes host institution
Source: