2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season

2000 NCAA Division I-AA season
2000 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	121
Duration	August–November
Payton Award	Louis Ivory (RB, Furman)
Buchanan Award	Edgerton Hartwell (LB, Western Illinois)
Playoff
Duration	November 25–December 16
Championship date	December 16, 2000
Championship site	Finley Stadium; Chattanooga, Tennessee
Champion	Georgia Southern
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
	«1999 2001»

The 2000 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 2000, and concluded with the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 16, 2000, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their sixth I-AA championship, defeating the Montana Grizzlies by a score of 27–25.^[3]

Conference changes and new programs

2000 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 3 Delaware +^	7	–	1	12	–	2
No. 6 Richmond +^	7	–	1	10	–	3
UMass	5	–	3	7	–	4
James Madison	4	–	4	6	–	5
New Hampshire	4	–	4	6	–	5
William & Mary	4	–	4	5	–	6
Maine	3	–	5	5	–	6
Villanova	3	–	5	5	–	6
Rhode Island	2	–	6	3	–	8
Northeastern	1	–	7	4	–	7

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2000 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Montana $^	8	–	0	13	–	2
No. 15 Portland State ^	5	–	3	8	–	4
No. 18 Weber State	5	–	3	7	–	4
Sacramento State	5	–	3	7	–	4
Eastern Washington	5	–	3	6	–	5
Idaho State	4	–	4	6	–	5
Cal State Northridge	2	–	6	4	–	7
Northern Arizona	2	–	6	3	–	8
Montana State	0	–	8	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2000 Gateway Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 12 Western Illinois $^	5	–	1	9	–	3
No. 11 Youngstown State ^	4	–	2	9	–	3
No. 24 Illinois State	4	–	2	7	–	4
No. 19 Northern Iowa	3	–	3	7	–	4
Southwest Missouri State	2	–	4	5	–	6
Southern Illinois	2	–	4	3	–	8
Indiana State	1	–	5	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2000 Ivy League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Penn $	6	–	1	7	–	3
Cornell	5	–	2	5	–	5
Yale	4	–	3	7	–	3
Harvard	4	–	3	5	–	5
Princeton	3	–	4	3	–	7
Columbia	1	–	6	3	–	7
Dartmouth	1	–	6	2	–	8
Brown *	4	–	3	7	–	3

$ – Conference champion * Ineligible for conference championship

2000 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 14 Florida A&M $^	7	–	1	9	–	3
No. 20 Bethune–Cookman	6	–	2	9	–	2
No. 21 North Carolina A&T	6	–	2	8	–	3
Delaware State	5	–	3	7	–	4
Hampton	5	–	3	7	–	4
Howard	3	–	5	3	–	8
Norfolk State	2	–	6	3	–	8
South Carolina State	2	–	6	3	–	8
Morgan State	0	–	8	1	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2000 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 5 Western Kentucky $^	7	–	0	11	–	2
No. 17 Eastern Illinois ^	6	–	1	8	–	4
No. 22 Tennessee Tech	5	–	2	8	–	3
Murray State	4	–	3	6	–	5
Eastern Kentucky	3	–	4	6	–	5
Tennessee State	2	–	5	3	–	8
Southeast Missouri State	1	–	6	3	–	8
Tennessee–Martin	0	–	7	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2000 Patriot League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 8 Lehigh $^	6	–	0	12	–	1
Colgate	4	–	2	7	–	4
Holy Cross	4	–	2	7	–	4
Towson	3	–	3	7	–	4
Bucknell	2	–	4	6	–	5
Fordham	1	–	5	3	–	8
Lafayette	1	–	5	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2000 Southern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Georgia Southern $^	7	–	1	13	–	2
No. 4 Appalachian State ^	6	–	2	10	–	4
No. 10 Furman ^	6	–	2	9	–	3
No. 23 Wofford	5	–	3	7	–	4
East Tennessee State	4	–	4	6	–	5
Chattanooga	3	–	5	5	–	6
Western Carolina	3	–	5	4	–	7
The Citadel	1	–	7	2	–	9
VMI	1	–	7	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll

2000 Southland Football League standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 9 Troy State $^	7	–	0	10	–	2
No. 16 McNeese State ^	5	–	2	8	–	4
No. 25 Southwest Texas State	5	–	2	7	–	4
Sam Houston State	4	–	3	7	–	4
Stephen F. Austin	3	–	4	6	–	5
Jacksonville State	2	–	5	4	–	6
Northwestern State	1	–	6	4	–	7
Nicholls State	1	–	6	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Northwestern State forfeited conference wins over Troy State and Nicholls State. Rankings from The Sports Network poll

2000 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Alabama A&M xy	5	–	2	7	–	5
Alabama State x	5	–	2	6	–	5
Jackson State	4	–	3	7	–	4
Mississippi Valley State	1	–	6	2	–	9
Alcorn State	0	–	7	0	–	11
West Division
No. 13 Grambling State xy$	6	–	1	10	–	2
Texas Southern	5	–	2	8	–	3
Arkansas–Pine Bluff	4	–	3	6	–	5
Southern	4	–	3	6	–	5
Prairie View A&M	1	–	6	1	–	10
Championship: Grambling State 14, Alabama A&M 6
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from The Sports Network Poll

2000 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Davidson		–		10	–	0
No. 7 Hofstra ^		–		9	–	4
Southern Utah		–		7	–	4
South Florida		–		7	–	4
Elon		–		7	–	4
Morehead State		–		6	–	3
Saint Mary's		–		6	–	5
Charleston Southern		–		5	–	6
Georgetown		–		5	–	6
Jacksonville		–		3	–	8
Samford		–		4	–	7
Cal Poly		–		3	–	8
Liberty		–		3	–	8
Austin Peay		–		2	–	9

^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Conference Champions
Atlantic 10 Conference – Delaware and Richmond Big Sky Conference – Montana Gateway Football Conference – Western Illinois Ivy League – Penn Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Duquesne Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Florida A&M Northeast Conference – Robert Morris Ohio Valley Conference – Western Kentucky Patriot League – Lehigh Pioneer Football League – Dayton and Valparaiso Southern Conference – Georgia Southern Southland Football League – Troy State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State

First Round November 25 Campus sites			Quarterfinals December 2 Campus sites			Semifinals December 9 Campus sites			National Championship Game December 16 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN

1	Montana*	45

16	Eastern Illinois	13
			1	Montana*	34

			8	Richmond	20
8	Richmond*	10

9	Youngstown State	3
						1	Montana*	19*

						13	Appalachian State	16
5	Western Kentucky*	27

12	Florida A&M	0
			5	Western Kentucky*	14

			13	Appalachian State	17
4	Troy State*	30

13	Appalachian State	33
									1	Montana	25

									3	Georgia Southern	27
3	Georgia Southern*	42

14	McNeese State	17
			3	Georgia Southern*	48

			11	Hofstra	20
6	Furman*	24

11	Hofstra	31
						3	Georgia Southern	27

						2	Delaware*	18
7	Western Illinois*	7

10	Lehigh	37
			10	Lehigh	22

			2	Delaware*	47
2	Delaware*	49

15	Portland State	14

* By team name denotes host institution
* By score denotes overtime
Source:^[4]

^ "Walter Payton Award -- History (1987–2014)". The Sports Network. January 6, 2015. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
^ "Buck Buchanan Award -- History (1995–2014)". The Sports Network. January 6, 2015. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
^ "2000 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 16. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
^ "Division I-AA Football Playoff Bracket". The Montana Standard. Butte, Montana. November 20, 2000. p. B4. Retrieved February 6, 2019 – via newspapers.com.