1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season


The 1988 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 1988, and concluded with the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 17, 1988, at Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho. The Furman Paladins won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Georgia Southern Eagles by a final score of 17−12.

Conference changes and new programs

Conference standings

Conference champions

Conference Champions

Big Sky Conference – Idaho
Colonial League – Lafayette
Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Western Illinois
Ivy League – Cornell and Penn
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Bethune-Cookman, Delaware State, and Florida A&M
Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky
Southern Conference – Furman and Marshall
Southland Conference – Northwestern State
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Jackson State
Yankee Conference – Delaware and Massachusetts

Postseason

The top four teams were seeded, and thus assured of home games in the first round.

NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket

* Next to team name denotes host institution
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