2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season


The 2002 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 2002, and concluded with the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 20, 2002, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers won their first I-AA championship, defeating the McNeese State Cowboys by a final score of 34−14.

Conference changes and new programs

Conference standings

Conference champions

Conference Champions

Atlantic 10 Conference – Maine and Northeastern
Big Sky Conference – Idaho State, Montana, and Montana State
Big South Conference – Gardner-Webb
Gateway Football Conference – Western Illinois and Western Kentucky
Ivy League – Penn
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Duquesne
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Bethune-Cookman
Northeast Conference – Albany
Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Illinois and Murray State
Patriot League – Colgate and Fordham
Pioneer Football League – Dayton
Southern Conference – Georgia Southern
Southland Football League – McNeese State
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket

The top four teams in the tournament were seeded; seeded teams were assured of hosting games in the first two rounds.
* Denotes host institution