1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1980 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams45
DurationAugust–November
Playoff
DurationDecember 13–December 20
Championship dateDecember 20, 1980
Championship siteHughes Stadium,
Sacramento, California
ChampionBoise State
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons

The 1980 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. The third season of I-AA football began in August 1980 and four teams were selected for the postseason, with the national semifinals played on December 13. The 1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was the Camellia Bowl played on December 20 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California.[1][2]

In a game with multiple lead changes, the Boise State Broncos won their first (and only) I-AA championship, defeating the defending national champion Eastern Kentucky Colonels, 31−29.[3] With less than a minute to play, the Broncos drove eighty yards for the winning touchdown, a 14-yard pass from quarterback Joe Aliotti to tight end Duane Dlouhy with twelve seconds remaining.[4]

  1. ^ "Boise State moves into I-AA finals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. December 14, 1980. p. 7B.
  2. ^ "Camellia: Who vs. who?". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 20, 1980. p. 24.
  3. ^ "1980 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  4. ^ "Broncos squeak by Colonels, take title". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 21, 1980. p. B2.