1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 1998 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 1998, and concluded with the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1998, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The UMass Minutemen won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Georgia Southern Eagles by a score of 55−43.

1998 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	121
Duration	August–November
Payton Award	Jerry Azumah (RB, New Hampshire)
Buchanan Award	James Milton (LB, Western Illinois)
Playoff
Duration	November 28–December 19
Championship date	December 19, 1998
Championship site	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee
Champion	UMass
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
«1997 1999»

Conference changes and new programs

School	1997 Conference	1998 Conference
Alabama A&M	SIAC (D-II)	SWAC
Boston University	Atlantic 10	Dropped Program
Evansville	Pioneer	Dropped Program
Jacksonville	New Program	I-AA Independent
Sacred Heart	Eastern (D-II)	Northeast

Conference standings

1998 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   New England Division No. 1 UMass x^   6 – 2     12 – 3   No. 9 Connecticut x^   6 – 2     10 – 3   Maine   3 – 5     6 – 5   New Hampshire   3 – 5     4 – 7   Rhode Island   2 – 6     3 – 8   Mid-Atlantic Division No. 10 Richmond x$^   7 – 1     9 – 3   No. 23 Delaware   4 – 4     7 – 4   Villanova   4 – 4     6 – 5   No. 17 William & Mary   4 – 4     7 – 4   Northeastern   3 – 5     5 – 6   James Madison   2 – 6     3 – 8   $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	1998 Big Sky Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 15 Montana $^   6 – 2     8 – 4   Cal State Northridge   5 – 3     7 – 4   No. 25 Montana State   5 – 3     7 – 4   Weber State   4 – 4     6 – 5   Eastern Washington   4 – 4     5 – 6   Portland State   4 – 4     5 – 6   Northern Arizona   3 – 5     6 – 5   Sacramento State   3 – 5     5 – 6   Idaho State   2 – 6     3 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	1998 Gateway Football Conference standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 4 Western Illinois $^   5 – 1     11 – 3   No. 16 Illinois State ^   4 – 2     8 – 4   Northern Iowa   3 – 3     7 – 4   Youngstown State   3 – 3     6 – 5   Southwest Missouri State   3 – 3     5 – 6   Indiana State   2 – 4     5 – 6   Southern Illinois   1 – 5     3 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1998 Ivy League football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Penn $   6 – 1     8 – 2   Brown   5 – 2     7 – 3   Yale   5 – 2     6 – 4   Princeton   4 – 3     5 – 5   Columbia   3 – 4     4 – 6   Harvard   3 – 4     4 – 6   Cornell   1 – 6     4 – 6   Dartmouth   1 – 6     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion	1998 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Fairfield +   7 – 1     9 – 2   Georgetown +   7 – 1     9 – 2   Duquesne   6 – 2     8 – 3   Marist   6 – 2     7 – 3   St. John's   4 – 4     6 – 5   Iona   2 – 6     4 – 6   Siena   2 – 6     3 – 6   Canisius   2 – 6     3 – 7   Saint Peter's   0 – 8     0 – 10   + – Conference co-champions	1998 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 5 Florida A&M +^   7 – 1     11 – 2   No. 11 Hampton +^   7 – 1     9 – 3   No. 18 Bethune–Cookman   6 – 2     8 – 3   North Carolina A&T   5 – 3     8 – 3   Howard   5 – 3     7 – 4   South Carolina State   3 – 5     5 – 6   Norfolk State   2 – 6     2 – 9   Morgan State   1 – 7     1 – 10   Delaware State   0 – 8     0 – 11   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1998 Northeast Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Monmouth +   4 – 1     5 – 5   Robert Morris +   4 – 1     4 – 6   Wagner   3 – 2     7 – 3   Central Connecticut State   3 – 2     4 – 6   Sacred Heart   1 – 4     2 – 8   Saint Francis (PA)   0 – 5     0 – 10   + – Conference co-champions	1998 Ohio Valley Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 12 Tennessee State $^   6 – 1     9 – 3   No. 24 Murray State   5 – 2     7 – 4   Middle Tennessee   5 – 2     5 – 5   Eastern Illinois   4 – 3     6 – 5   Eastern Kentucky   4 – 3     6 – 5   Tennessee Tech   2 – 5     4 – 7   Southeast Missouri State   2 – 5     3 – 8   Tennessee–Martin   0 – 7     0 – 11   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	1998 Patriot League football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 7 Lehigh $^   6 – 0     12 – 1   No. 21 Colgate ^   5 – 1     8 – 4   Bucknell   3 – 3     6 – 5   Lafayette   3 – 3     3 – 8   Fordham   2 – 4     4 – 7   Towson   1 – 5     5 – 6   Holy Cross   1 – 5     2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1998 Pioneer Football League standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Drake $   4 – 0     7 – 3   Dayton   3 – 1     6 – 4   Valparaiso   2 – 2     5 – 6   Butler   1 – 3     4 – 6   San Diego   0 – 4     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion	1998 Southern Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 2 Georgia Southern $^   8 – 0     14 – 1   No. 6 Appalachian State ^   6 – 2     10 – 3   Western Carolina   5 – 3     6 – 5   Chattanooga   4 – 4     5 – 6   The Citadel   4 – 4     5 – 6   East Tennessee State   3 – 5     4 – 7   Wofford   3 – 5     4 – 7   Furman   3 – 5     5 – 6   VMI   0 – 8     1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	1998 Southland Football League standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 3 Northwestern State $^   6 – 1     11 – 3   No. 8 McNeese State ^   5 – 2     9 – 3   No. 13 Troy State ^   5 – 2     8 – 4   Jacksonville State   4 – 3     7 – 4   Nicholls State   3 – 4     4 – 7   Southwest Texas State   2 – 5     4 – 7   Stephen F. Austin   2 – 5     3 – 8   Sam Houston State   1 – 6     3 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll
1998 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 14 Southern $   8 – 0     9 – 3   Jackson State   7 – 1     7 – 4   Arkansas–Pine Bluff   6 – 2     8 – 3   Texas Southern   4 – 4     6 – 5   Grambling State   4 – 4     5 – 6   Alabama State   3 – 5     5 – 6   Alcorn State   3 – 5     5 – 6   Mississippi Valley State   1 – 7     1 – 10   Prairie View A&M   0 – 8     1 – 10   Alabama A&M   0 – 0     5 – 6   $ – Conference champion Alabama A&M was transitioning from Division II and did not play a full SWAC schedule, so its games did not count in the official standings. Rankings from The Sports Network Poll	1998 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Morehead State   –     9 – 2   Davidson   –     8 – 2   No. 20 Hofstra   –     8 – 3   No. 22 South Florida   –     8 – 3   No. 19 Western Kentucky   –     7 – 4   Samford   –     6 – 5   Liberty   –     5 – 6   Southern Utah   –     5 – 6   Austin Peay   –     4 – 7   Buffalo   –     4 – 7   Jacksonville   –     4 – 5   La Salle   –     3 – 6   Cal Poly   –     3 – 8   Charleston Southern   –     3 – 8   Saint Mary's   –     2 – 8   Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Conference champions

See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons

Conference Champions

Atlantic 10 Conference – Richmond Big Sky Conference – Montana Gateway Football Conference – Western Illinois Ivy League – Penn Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Fairfield and Georgetown Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Florida A&M and Hampton Northeast Conference – Monmouth and Robert Morris Ohio Valley Conference – Tennessee State Patriot League – Lehigh Pioneer Football League – Drake Southern Conference – Georgia Southern Southland Football League – Northwestern State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Southern

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

	First Round November 28 Campus sites					Quarterfinals December 4–5 Campus sites					Semifinals December 12 Campus sites					National Championship Game December 19 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN
	1	Georgia Southern*	49
	16	Colgate	28
						1	Georgia Southern*	52
						8	Connecticut	30
	8	Connecticut*	42
	9	Hampton	34
											1	Georgia Southern*	42
											4	Western Illinois	14
	5	Florida A&M*	27
	12	Troy State	17
						5	Florida A&M	21
						4	Western Illinois*	24
	4	Western Illinois*	52
	13	Montana	9
																1	Georgia Southern	43
																11	UMass	55
	3	Richmond*	23
	14	Lehigh	24
						14	Lehigh	21
						11	UMass*	27
	6	McNeese State*	19
	11	UMass	21
											11	UMass	41
											2	Northwestern State*	31
	7	Appalachian State*	45
	10	Tennessee State	31
						7	Appalachian State	20
						2	Northwestern State*	31
	2	Northwestern State*	48
	15	Illinois State	28

* Denotes host institution
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