# 1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 1979 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 1979, and concluded with the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 15, 1979, at Orlando Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The Eastern Kentucky Colonels won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Lehigh Engineers by a final score of 30−7.

## Conference changes and new programs

| School | 1978 Conference | 1979 Conference |
| East Tennessee State | Ohio Valley (I-AA) | Southern (I-A) |
| Nevada | I-AA Independent | Big Sky |

## Conference standings

1979 Big Sky Conference football standings :
| 1979 Big Sky Conference football standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T Boise State * 7 –0 –010 –1 –0 No. 9 Montana State $ 6 –1 –06 –4 –0 No. 5 Nevada ^ 5 –2 –08 –4 –0 No. T–10 Northern Arizona 3 –4 –07 –4 –0 Weber State 3 –4 –03 –8 –0 Idaho 2 –5 –04 –7 –0 Montana 2 –5 –03 –7 –0 Idaho State 0 –7 –00 –11 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant * – Boise State was on probation Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA AP Poll | 1979 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T Morgan State $ 5 –0 –09 –2 –0 South Carolina State 4 –1 –08 –3 –0 North Carolina A&T 2 –2 –14 –6 –1 Howard 2 –3 –05 –6 –0 Delaware State 1 –4 –14 –5 –1 North Carolina Central 1 –4 –02 –8 –1 Maryland Eastern Shore 0 –0 –03 –7 –1 $ – Conference championMaryland Eastern Shore games did not count as conference games in 1979 | 1979 Ohio Valley Conference football standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T No. 2 Murray State $^ 6 –0 –09 –2 –1 No. 3 Eastern Kentucky ^ 5 –1 –011 –2 –0 Morehead State 3 –2 –15 –4 –1 Western Kentucky 3 –3 –05 –5 –0 Austin Peay 2 –4 –07 –4 –0 Middle Tennessee 1 –5 –01 –9 –0 Tennessee Tech 0 –5 –11 –8 –2 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from Associated Press poll |
| 1979 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T No. 6 Alcorn State + 5 –1 –08 –2 –0 No. 1 Grambling State + 5 –1 –08 –3 –0 No. 8 Jackson State 4 –2 –08 –3 –0 No. T–10 Southern 4 –2 –07 –4 –0 Mississippi Valley State 2 –4 –04 –5 –0 Texas Southern 1 –5 –03 –8 –0 Prairie View A&M 0 –6 –00 –11 –0 + – Conference co-championsThis conference was a hybrid of NCAA Division I-AA and Division II and programs. Prairie View and Mississippi Valley State were Division II. All the other teams were I-AA.Rankings from Associated Press poll | 1979 Yankee Conference football standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T No. 7 Boston University + 4 –1 –08 –1 –1 UMass + 4 –1 –06 –4 –0 Connecticut 3 –1 –13 –6 –2 New Hampshire 2 –2 –15 –4 –2 Maine 1 –4 –01 –9 –1 Rhode Island 0 –5 –02 –9 –0 + – Conference co-championsRankings from Associated Press poll | 1979 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings vteConf.Overall TeamW L TW L T No. 4 Lehigh ^   –  10 –3 –0 Florida A&M   –  7 –4 –0 Portland State   –  6 –5 –0 Lafayette   –  5 –3 –2 Bucknell   –  4 –4 –2 Northwestern State   –  3 –6 –0 Northeastern   –  3 –7 –0 ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participantRankings from Associated Press poll |

## Conference champions

* Conference champions
* Big Sky Conference – Montana State
* Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Morgan State
* Ohio Valley Conference – Murray State
* Southwestern Athletic Conference – Alcorn State and Grambling State
* Yankee Conference – Boston University and Massachusetts

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

The bracket consisted of three regional selections (West, East, and South) plus Eastern Kentucky as an at-large selection.
| Semifinals December 8 Campus sites | Semifinals December 8 Campus sites | Semifinals December 8 Campus sites | National Championship Game December 15 Orlando Stadium Orlando, Florida | National Championship Game December 15 Orlando Stadium Orlando, Florida | National Championship Game December 15 Orlando Stadium Orlando, Florida |
| East | Lehigh | 28 | | | |
| South | Murray State* | 9 | | | |
| South | Murray State* | 9 | East | Lehigh | 7 |
| | | | AtLg | Eastern Kentucky | 30 |
| West | Nevada | 30 | AtLg | Eastern Kentucky | 30 |
| AtLg | Eastern Kentucky* | 33** | | | |
* Next to name denotes host institution
* Next to score denotes overtimes