1982 NCAA Division I-AA football season

Conference changes and new programs

Upon the expiration of the four-year limit for compliance with Division I-A football criteria (set in January 1978), 41 NCAA Division I-A teams were reclassified from Division I-A to Division I-AA:

• Ivy League — all eight members. Yale met the requirements to stay in I-A, but voluntarily chose to downgrade to I-AA to remain with the rest of the Ivy League.
• Southern Conference — all eight members
• Southland Conference — five members. McNeese State and Southwestern Louisiana met the requirements to remain in I-A; McNeese State voluntarily chose to downgrade to I-AA to remain with the rest of the Southland, while Southwestern Louisiana remained in Division I-A as an Independent.
• Missouri Valley Conference — five members, with New Mexico State, Tulsa, and Wichita State remaining in I-A but also remaining in the conference. This was the onset of a four-year period in which the MVC functioned as a hybrid I-A/I-AA conference.
• Mid-American Conference — eight members, with only Central Michigan and Toledo maintaining I-A status. Several of the demoted schools appealed the demotion, with the result that all eight MAC members involuntarily reclassified to I-AA for 1982 were returned to I-A as of 1983.
• Independent Cincinnati was reclassified to I-AA along with the MAC schools but filed an injunction against the NCAA to postpone their demotion until after the 1982 season, and was successful in remaining in I-A. The successful appeals of Cincinnati (effective 1982) and the MAC schools (effective 1983) meant that 40 Division I-A members joined I-AA in 1982, of which 32 remained in 1983.

Conference standings

Conference champions

Postseason

The playoffs expanded from eight to twelve teams this season; four years later, in 1986, the field was expanded to sixteen teams.

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

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

November 27 Campus sites December 4 Campus sites December 11 Campus sites December 18 Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, Texas

| RD1-seed1 = | RD1-team1 = Idaho* | RD1-score1 = 21 | RD1-seed2 = | RD1-team2 = Montana | RD1-score2 =7

| RD1-seed3 = | RD1-team3 = Eastern Illinois* | RD1-score3 = 16 | RD1-seed4 = | RD1-team4 = Jackson State | RD1-score4 =13

| RD1-seed5 = | RD1-team5 = Furman* | RD1-score5 =0 | RD1-seed6 = | RD1-team6 = South Carolina State | RD1-score6 = 17

| RD1-seed7 = | RD1-team7 = Colgate* | RD1-score7 = 21 | RD1-seed8 = | RD1-team8 = Boston University | RD1-score8 =7

| RD2-seed1 = | RD2-team1 = (1) Eastern Kentucky* | RD2-score1 = 38 | RD2-seed2 = | RD2-team2 = Idaho | RD2-score2 =30

| RD2-seed3 = | RD2-team3 = (4) Tennessee State* | RD2-score3 = 20 | RD2-seed4 = | RD2-team4 = Eastern Illinois | RD2-score4 =19

| RD2-seed5 = | RD2-team5 = (2) Louisiana Tech* | RD2-score5 = 38 | RD2-seed6 = | RD2-team6 = South Carolina State | RD2-score6 =3

| RD2-seed7 = | RD2-team7 = (3) Delaware* | RD2-score7 = 20 | RD2-seed8 = | RD2-team8 = Colgate | RD2-score8 =13

| RD3-seed1 = | RD3-team1 = (1) Eastern Kentucky* | RD3-score1 = 13 | RD3-seed2 = | RD3-team2 = (4) Tennessee State | RD3-score2 =7

| RD3-seed3 = | RD3-team3 = (2) Louisiana Tech* | RD3-score3 =0 | RD3-seed4 = | RD3-team4 = (3) Delaware | RD3-score4 = 17

| RD4-seed1 = | RD4-team1 = (1) Eastern Kentucky | RD4-score1 = 17 | RD4-seed2 = | RD4-team2 = (3) Delaware | RD4-score2 =14

• Next to team name denotes host institution

References

References

1. "1982 NCAA Division I Football Championship".
2. (December 19, 1982). "Breaks seal Colonels' win". Eugene Register-Guard.
3. (December 19, 1982). "E. Kentucky 17, Delaware 14". Beaver County Times.
4. "The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts on August 28, 1982 · 32".
5. "The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio on August 27, 1982 · Page 19".
6. "The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio on September 24, 1982 · Page 23".
7. (November 22, 1982). "Blue Hens Get Berth; Earn Opening Bye". [[The Daily Times (Salisbury, Maryland).
8. (November 27, 1982). "Playoffs, NCAA Div. I-AA". [[Detroit Free Press]].