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 (NCAA) 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.[1]

2002 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Duration	August–November
Payton Award	Tony Romo (QB, Eastern Illinois)
Buchanan Award	Rashean Mathis (FC, Bethune-Cookman)
Playoff
Duration	November 30–December 20
Championship date	December 20, 2002
Championship site	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee
Champion	Western Kentucky
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
«2001 2003»

Conference changes and new programs

School	2001 Conference	2002 Conference
Charleston Southern	I-AA Independent	Big South
Elon	I-AA Independent	Big South
FIU	New Program	I-AA Independent
Gardner-Webb	D-II Independent	Big South
Liberty	I-AA Independent	Big South
Savannah State	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Troy State	I-AA Independent	I-A Independent

Conference standings

2002 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 6 Maine $^   7 – 2         11 – 3   No. 11 Northeastern $^   7 – 2         10 – 3   No. 4 Villanova ^   6 – 3         11 – 4   UMass   6 – 3         8 – 4   William & Mary   5 – 4         6 – 5   Richmond   4 – 5         4 – 7   Delaware   4 – 5         6 – 6   Hofstra   4 – 5         6 – 6   James Madison   4 – 6         5 – 7   New Hampshire   2 – 7         3 – 8   Rhode Island   1 – 8         3 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2002 Big Sky Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 7 Montana +^   5 – 2         11 – 3   No. 19 Montana State +^   5 – 2         7 – 6   No. 18 Idaho State +   5 – 2         8 – 3   Eastern Washington   3 – 4         6 – 5   Northern Arizona   3 – 4         6 – 5   Portland State   3 – 4         6 – 5   Sacramento State   3 – 4         5 – 8   Weber State   1 – 6         3 – 8   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2002 Big South Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 22 Gardner–Webb $   3 – 0         9 – 1   Elon   2 – 1         4 – 7   Liberty   1 – 2         2 – 9   Charleston Southern   0 – 3         4 – 8   $ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2002 Gateway Football Conference standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 1 Western Kentucky +^   6 – 1         12 – 3   No. 5 Western Illinois +^   6 – 1         11 – 2   Youngstown State   4 – 3         7 – 4   Illinois State   4 – 3         6 – 5   Indiana State   3 – 4         5 – 7   Northern Iowa   2 – 5         5 – 6   Southern Illinois   2 – 5         4 – 8   SW Missouri State   1 – 6         4 – 7   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2002 Ivy League football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 17 Penn $   7 – 0         9 – 1   Harvard   6 – 1         7 – 3   Princeton   4 – 3         6 – 4   Yale   4 – 3         6 – 4   Cornell   3 – 4         4 – 6   Dartmouth   2 – 5         3 – 7   Brown   2 – 5         2 – 8   Columbia   0 – 7         1 – 9   $ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2002 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Duquesne $   8 – 0         11 – 1   Marist   5 – 3         7 – 4   Saint Peter's   5 – 3         6 – 5   Fairfield   5 – 3         5 – 6   Iona   4 – 4         5 – 6   Siena   3 – 5         3 – 7   St. John's   2 – 6         2 – 8   Canisius   2 – 6         2 – 9   La Salle   2 – 6         2 – 9   $ – Conference champion
2002 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 15 Bethune-Cookman $^   7 – 1         11 – 2   Florida A&M   5 – 3         7 – 5   Hampton   5 – 3         7 – 5   Morgan State   5 – 3         7 – 5   South Carolina State   4 – 4         7 – 5   Howard   4 – 4         6 – 5   Norfolk State   2 – 6         5 – 6   North Carolina A&T   2 – 6         4 – 8   Delaware State   2 – 6         4 – 8   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2002 Northeast Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Albany $   6 – 1         8 – 4   Stony Brook   5 – 2         8 – 2   Sacred Heart   5 – 2         7 – 3   Wagner   4 – 3         7 – 4   Central Connecticut   3 – 4         5 – 6   Robert Morris   2 – 5         3 – 4   Monmouth   2 – 5         2 – 8   Saint Francis (PA)   1 – 6         2 – 8   $ – Conference champion	2002 Ohio Valley Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 13 Eastern Illinois +^   5 – 1         8 – 4   No. 20 Murray State +^   5 – 1         7 – 5   No. 21 Eastern Kentucky   4 – 2         8 – 4   No. 24 Southeast Missouri State   4 – 2         8 – 4   Tennessee Tech   2 – 4         5 – 7   Tennessee State   1 – 5         2 – 10   Tennessee–Martin   0 – 6         2 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2002 Patriot League football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 12 Fordham +^   6 – 1         10 – 3   No. 25 Colgate +   6 – 1         9 – 3   Lafayette   5 – 2         7 – 5   Lehigh   4 – 3         8 – 4   Towson   3 – 4         6 – 5   Georgetown   2 – 5         5 – 6   Holy Cross   2 – 5         4 – 8   Bucknell   0 – 7         2 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2002 Pioneer Football League standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   North Division Dayton $   4 – 0         11 – 1   San Diego   3 – 1         5 – 5   Butler   2 – 2         4 – 6   Drake   1 – 3         5 – 6   Valparaiso   0 – 4         1 – 10   South Division Morehead State   3 – 0         9 – 3   Davidson   2 – 1         7 – 3   Austin Peay   1 – 2         7 – 5   Jacksonville   0 – 3         3 – 7   $ – Conference champion	2002 Southern Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 3 Georgia Southern $^   7 – 1         11 – 3   No. 14 Wofford   6 – 2         9 – 3   No. 10 Appalachian State ^   6 – 2         8 – 4   No. 9 Furman ^   6 – 2         8 – 4   VMI   3 – 5         6 – 6   Western Carolina   3 – 5         5 – 6   East Tennessee State   2 – 6         4 – 8   Chattanooga   2 – 6         2 – 10   The Citadel   1 – 7         3 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll
2002 Southland Football League standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 2 McNeese State $^   6 – 0         13 – 2   No. 16 Northwestern State ^   4 – 2         9 – 4   No. 23 Nicholls State   3 – 3         7 – 4   Stephen F. Austin   3 – 3         6 – 5   Jacksonville State   2 – 4         5 – 5   Sam Houston State   2 – 4         4 – 7   Southwest Texas State   1 – 5         4 – 7   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll	2002 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Alabama A&M x   6 – 1         8 – 4   Jackson State   5 – 2         7 – 4   Alcorn State   3 – 4         6 – 5   Mississippi Valley State   3 – 4         5 – 6   Alabama State   2 – 5         6 – 6   West No. 8 Grambling State x$   6 – 1         11 – 2   Southern   5 – 2         6 – 6   Texas Southern   3 – 4         4 – 7   Arkansas–Pine Bluff   2 – 5         3 – 8   Prairie View A&M   0 – 7         1 – 10   Championship: Grambling State 31, Alabama A&M 19 December 14, 2002 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions	2002 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Saint Mary's   0 – 0         6 – 6   FIU   0 – 0         5 – 6   Samford   0 – 0         4 – 7   Cal Poly   0 – 0         3 – 8   Florida Atlantic   0 – 0         2 – 9   Savannah State   0 – 0         1 – 8   Southern Utah   0 – 0         1 – 10   Morris Brown   0 – 0         1 – 11

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 (NY) 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;[2] seeded teams were assured of hosting games in the first two rounds.[3][4]

	First Round November 30 Campus Sites					Quarterfinals December 7 Campus Sites					Semifinals December 14 Campus Sites					National Championship Game December 20 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN
	1	McNeese State*	21
		Montana State	14
						1	McNeese State*	24
							Montana	20
	Montana*		45
	Northwestern State		14
											1	McNeese State*	39
												Villanova	28
	Villanova*		45
	Furman		38
						Villanova*		24
						Fordham		10
	4	Northeastern*	24
		Fordham	29
																1	McNeese State	14
																	Western Kentucky	34
	3	Georgia Southern*	34
		Bethune-Cookman	0
						3	Georgia Southern*	31
							Maine	7
	Appalachian State*		13
	Maine		14
											3	Georgia Southern*	28
												Western Kentucky	31
	Western Kentucky*		59
	Murray State		20
							Western Kentucky	31
						2	Western Illinois*	28
	2	Western Illinois*	48
		Eastern Illinois	9

* Denotes host institution

References

1. "2002 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 16. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
2. Nielsen, Brian (November 25, 2002). "Eastern to go to Western in I-AA playoff matchup". Journal Gazette. Mattoon, Illinois. p. B5. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
3. Kasper, Jon (November 12, 2001). "NCAA changes format for playoff pairings". Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. p. D1. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
4. Kasper, Jon (November 12, 2001). "NCAA changes format for playoff pairings (cont'd)". Missoulian. Missoula, Montana. p. D6. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.