1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season


The 1983 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 1983, and concluded with the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 17, 1983, at Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. The Southern Illinois Salukis won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Western Carolina Catamounts by a final score of 43−7.

Conference changes and new programs

Conference standings

Conference champions

Conference champions

Big Sky Conference – Nevada
Ivy League – Harvard and Penn
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina State
Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky
Southern Conference – Furman
Southland Conference – North Texas State and Northeast Louisiana
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State
Yankee Conference – Boston University and Connecticut

Postseason

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

NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket

* indicates overtime period