| 1978 NCAA Division I-AA season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Regular season | |
| Number of teams | 43 |
| Duration | August–November |
| Playoff | |
| Duration | December 9–December 16 |
| Championship date | December 16, 1978 |
| Championship site | Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, Texas |
| Champion | Florida A&M |
| NCAA Division I-AA football seasons | |
| 1979» | |
The 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season was the first season of Division I-AA college football. Division I-AA was created in January 1978 when Division I was subdivided into Division I-A and Division I-AA for football only.[1] It was anticipated that 65 Division I football schools would transition to Division I-AA.[2] Instead, just eight programs (seven teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, which had just joined Division I a year before, plus independent Northwestern State) voluntarily opted for Division I-AA for the 1978 season. They were joined by 35 schools that had reclassified from Division II.
The season began in August 1978 and concluded with the Division I-AA Football Championship Game, played on December 16 at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Florida A&M Rattlers won the first I-AA championship, defeating the UMass Minutemen 35–28 in the Pioneer Bowl.[3] Florida A&M of 1978 remains the only HBCU program to play in (and win) the I-AA/FCS national championship game.
- ^ "Big schools win battle". St. Petersburg Independent. (Florida). Associated Press. January 13, 1978. p. 5C.
- ^ Underwood, John (January 23, 1978). "The NCAA splits its decision". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
- ^ "1978 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.