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1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 1987 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 1987, and concluded with the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1987, at the Minidome in Pocatello, Idaho. The Northeast Louisiana Indians won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Marshall Thundering Herd by a score of 43–42.[1]

1987 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams87
DurationAugust–November
Payton AwardKenny Gamble (RB, Colgate)
Playoff
DurationNovember 28–December 19
Championship dateDecember 19, 1987
Championship siteMinidome
Pocatello, Idaho
ChampionNortheast Louisiana
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons

Conference changes and new programs

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  • The Gulf Star Conference folded after the 1986 season when four of its founding members, Northwestern State, Sam Houston State, Southwest Texas State, and Stephen F. Austin, joined the Southland Conference. The Gulf Star's remaining football member, Nicholls State, opted to become an Independent. Three former Southland Conference members, Arkansas State, Lamar, and Louisiana Tech, moved to D-IAA Independent status after joining the newly formed (non-football) American South Conference as charter members.
School 1986 Conference 1987 Conference
Akron Ohio Valley (I-AA) Independent (I-A)
Arkansas State Southland I-AA Independent
Davidson D-III Independent Colonial (I-AA)
Eastern Washington I-AA Independent Big Sky
Lamar Southland I-AA Independent
Louisiana Tech Southland I-AA Independent
Nicholls State Gulf Star I-AA Independent
Northwestern State Gulf Star Southland
Sam Houston State Gulf Star Southland
Southwest Texas State Gulf Star Southland
Stephen F. Austin Gulf Star Southland
Towson State D-II Independent I-AA Independent
Villanova Revived Program+ I-AA Independent

+ "unclassified" for 1985 (partial season) and 1986 (full season)

Conference standings

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1987 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Idaho $^ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 10 Weber State ^ 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 3 – 0
Montana 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Boise State 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Nevada 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Northern Arizona 4 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Idaho State 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 1
Eastern Washington 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Montana State 0 – 8 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll
1987 Colonial League football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Holy Cross $ 4 – 0 – 0 11 – 0 – 0
Lehigh 3 – 1 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
Colgate 2 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Lafayette 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Bucknell 1 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
Davidson 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1987 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Northern Iowa $^ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 4 – 0
Western Illinois 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Eastern Illinois 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
SW Missouri State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Indiana State 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Southern Illinois 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Illinois State 0 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1987 Ivy League football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Harvard $ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Brown 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Yale 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Princeton 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Cornell 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Penn 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Dartmouth 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Columbia 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1987 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 20 Delaware State $ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
No. 18 Howard 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
South Carolina State 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Bethune–Cookman 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
North Carolina A&T 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Morgan State 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
Florida A&M 0 – 0 – 0 5 – 5 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Florida A&M games did not count as conference games in 1987; records adjusted for Howard and Arkansas Pine–Bluff forfeits to Delaware State
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1987 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Eastern Kentucky +^ 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 15 Youngstown State +^ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Middle Tennessee 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Murray State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Tennessee Tech 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Morehead State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Austin Peay 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1987 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Appalachian State $^ 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 3 – 0
No. 14 Marshall ^ 4 – 2 – 0 10 – 5 – 0
Furman 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Chattanooga 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
VMI 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Western Carolina 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
East Tennessee State 2 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
The Citadel 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1987 Southland Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Northeast Louisiana $^ 6 – 0 – 0 13 – 2 – 0
No. 19 Sam Houston State 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 16 North Texas State ^ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Northwestern State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
SW Texas State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Stephen F. Austin 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 1
McNeese State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1987 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 Jackson State $^ 7 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 1
Southern 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Alcorn State 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Alabama State 4 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Grambling State 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Texas Southern 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Prairie View A&M 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Mississippi Valley State 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1987 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 13 Maine +^ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
No. 17 Richmond +^ 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Connecticut 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
New Hampshire 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Delaware 2 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
UMass 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Boston University 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Rhode Island 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1987 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Georgia Southern ^   –   9 – 4 – 0
No. 8 James Madison ^   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 12 Arkansas State ^   –   8 – 4 – 1
No. 11 Western Kentucky ^   –   7 – 4 – 0
Villanova   –   6 – 4 – 0
Northeastern   –   6 – 5 – 0
Nicholls State   –   5 – 5 – 1
William & Mary   –   5 – 6 – 0
Towson   –   4 – 6 – 0
Tennessee State   –   3 – 7 – 1
Lamar   –   3 – 8 – 0
Louisiana Tech   –   3 – 8 – 0
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Conference champions

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

Big Sky Conference – Idaho
Colonial League – Holy Cross
Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Northern Iowa
Ivy League – Harvard
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Howard
Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky and Youngstown State
Southern Conference – Appalachian State
Southland Conference – Northeast Louisiana
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Jackson State
Yankee Conference – Richmond

Postseason

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The playoff bracket of sixteen teams had four seeded teams; Appalachian State, Northeast Louisiana, Northern Iowa, and Idaho were first through fourth, respectively.[2] Undefeated and top-ranked Holy Cross,[3] featuring Heisman Trophy candidate Gordie Lockbaum, did not participate in the postseason, per the rules of their conference, the Colonial League[4] (known as the Patriot League since 1990).

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) conference champion Howard Bison (9–1) did not receive an invitation to the I-AA playoffs and filed a lawsuit against the NCAA and sought a temporary restraining order to delay the start of the playoffs.[5] The lawsuit asserted "unlawful and racially motivated reasons" for the team being passed over.[5] Two days later, the request for a temporary restraining order was rejected by federal judge John Garrett Penn.[6] Howard then advocated that they, plus three other teams, should be added to the second round of the playoffs; the proposal was rejected by the NCAA, who said that Howard had played a weak schedule.[7] In September 1989, MEAC stripped Howard of their 1987 conference championship, retroactively awarding it to Delaware State, after finding that Howard had used some players beyond their four years of NCAA eligibility.[8]

The I-AA playoff field remained at sixteen through the 2009 season, expanding to twenty in 2010 and 24 in 2013.

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

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First roundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsNational Championship Game
November 28 – Boone, NC
Richmond3
December 5 – Boone, NC
1Appalachian State*20
1Appalachian State*19
November 28 – Statesboro, GA
Georgia Southern0
Maine28
December 12 – Boone, NC
Georgia Southern*31*
1Appalachian State*10
November 28 – Moscow, ID
Marshall24
Weber State59
December 5 – Huntington, WV
4Idaho*30
Weber State23
November 28 – Huntington, WV
Marshall*51
James Madison12
December 19 – Pocatello, ID
Marshall*41
Marshall42
November 28 – Monroe, LA
2Northeast Louisiana43
North Texas State9
December 5 – Monroe, LA
2Northeast Louisiana*30
2Northeast Louisiana*33
November 28 – Richmond, KY
Eastern Kentucky32
Western Kentucky17
December 12 – Monroe, LA
Eastern Kentucky*40
2Northeast Louisiana*44**
November 28 – Cedar Falls, IA
3Northern Iowa41
Youngstown State28
December 5 – Cedar Falls, IA
3Northern Iowa*31
3Northern Iowa*49
November 28 – Jackson, MS
Arkansas State28
Arkansas State35
Jackson State*32

* Next to team name denotes host institution
* Next to score denotes overtime periods

References

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  1. ^ "1987 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  2. ^ "Southland foes meet in playoffs". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. November 23, 1987. p. B-1. Retrieved February 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Div. I-AA poll". The San Francisco Examiner. November 24, 1987. p. F-6. Retrieved February 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Lockbaum now waits to hear from pros". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. AP. November 21, 1987. p. 12. Retrieved February 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "Howard University files suit vs. NCAA". The Santa Fe New Mexican. AP. November 26, 1987. p. C-1. Retrieved February 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Judge Orders Playoffs In Division I-AA To Go On". St. Louis Post Dispatch. AP. November 28, 1997. p. 5C. Retrieved February 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Howard plans pursuing suit". Indianapolis News. December 1, 1987. p. B-6. Retrieved February 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "MEAC strips Howard of Division I-AA title". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. September 26, 1989. p. 2C. Retrieved February 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
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