1990 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1990 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	87
Duration	August–November
Payton Award	Walter Dean (RB, Grambling State)
Playoff
Duration	November 25–December 15
Championship date	December 15, 1990
Championship site	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, Georgia
Champion	Georgia Southern
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
«1989 1991»

The 1990 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 1990, and concluded with the 1990 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 15, 1990, at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their fourth I-AA championship, defeating the Nevada Wolf Pack by a score of 36–13.

Notable changes

• The Colonial League adopted its present-day Patriot League name, and began to sponsor sports other than football.

Conference changes

School	1989 Conference	1990 Conference
Central Florida	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Fordham	I-AA Independent	Patriot
Lamar	I-AA Independent	Dropped Program
Prairie View A&M	SWAC	Dropped Program

Conference standings

1990 Big Sky Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Nevada $^ 7 – 1 – 0 13 – 2 – 0 No. 13 Idaho ^ 6 – 2 – 0 9 – 4 – 0 No. 10 Boise State ^ 6 – 2 – 0 10 – 4 – 0 Montana 4 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Northern Arizona 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Weber State 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Eastern Washington 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Montana State 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Idaho State 1 – 7 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll	1990 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 Southwest Missouri State +^ 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 No. 11 Northern Iowa +^ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 Eastern Illinois 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Illinois State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Western Illinois 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Indiana State 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Southern Illinois 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1990 Ivy League football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 17 Dartmouth + 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 1 Cornell + 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Yale 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Harvard 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Penn 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Princeton 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Brown 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Columbia 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1990 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Florida A&M $ 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 No. T–19 North Carolina A&T 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Delaware State 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Howard 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 South Carolina State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Bethune–Cookman 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Morgan State 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1990 Ohio Valley Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Middle Tennessee +^ 5 – 1 – 0 11 – 2 – 0 No. 5 Eastern Kentucky +^ 5 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Tennessee State 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Tennessee Tech 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Morehead State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Murray State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Austin Peay 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 11 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1990 Patriot League football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 8 Holy Cross $ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 1 Bucknell 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Colgate 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Lehigh 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Lafayette 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Fordham 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1990 Southern Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 12 Furman $^ 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 4 – 0 Appalachian State 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Chattanooga 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 No. 15 The Citadel ^ 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 5 – 0 Marshall 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Western Carolina 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 VMI 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 East Tennessee State 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1990 Southland Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 14 Northeast Louisiana $^ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 5 – 0 McNeese State 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Southwest Texas State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Northwestern State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Sam Houston State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 North Texas 2 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Stephen F. Austin 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1990 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 16 Jackson State $^ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 Alabama State 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 1 Grambling State 3 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Mississippi Valley State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Southern 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Texas Southern 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Alcorn State 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1990 Yankee Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 9 UMass $^ 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 1 No. T–19 New Hampshire 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 1 Delaware 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Connecticut 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Villanova 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Boston University 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Maine 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Rhode Island 2 – 6 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Richmond 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1990 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Youngstown State ^   –   11 – 1 – 0 No. 7 William & Mary ^   –   10 – 2 – 0 No. 3 Georgia Southern ^   –   9 – 3 – 0 No. 18 UCF ^   –   9 – 3 – 0 Liberty   –   7 – 4 – 0 Samford   –   6 – 4 – 1 James Madison   –   5 – 6 – 0 Nicholls State   –   5 – 6 – 0 Arkansas State   –   3 – 7 – 1 Western Kentucky   –   2 – 8 – 0 Towson   –   2 – 9 – 0 Northeastern   –   1 – 10 – 0 ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Conference champions

See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons

Conference	Champion
Big Sky Conference	Nevada
Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference	Northern Iowa
Ivy League	Cornell and Dartmouth
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	Florida A&M
Ohio Valley Conference	Eastern Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State
Patriot League	Holy Cross
Southern Conference	Furman
Southland Conference	Northeast Louisiana
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Jackson State
Yankee Conference	Massachusetts

Postseason

The top four teams were seeded, and thus assured of home games in the opening round. The location of the final, the Georgia Southern Eagles' Paulson Stadium, had been predetermined via a three-year agreement the university reached with the NCAA in February 1989.

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

	First Round November 24 Campus sites				Quarterfinals December 1 Campus sites				Semifinals December 8 Campus sites				National Championship Game December 15 Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA
	Jackson State	7
	(1) Middle Tennessee State*	28
					(1) Middle Tennessee State	13
					Boise State*	20
	Northern Iowa	3
	Boise State*	20
									Boise State	52
									(4) Nevada*	59***
	Northeast Louisiana	14
	(4) Nevada*	27
					(4) Nevada*	42***
					Furman	35
	Furman	45
	Eastern Kentucky*	17
													(4) Nevada	13
													(3) Georgia Southern	36
	UCF	20
	(2) Youngstown State*	17
					UCF*	52
					William & Mary	38
	UMass	0
	William & Mary*	38
									UCF	7
									(3) Georgia Southern*	44
	The Citadel	0
	(3) Georgia Southern*	31
					(3) Georgia Southern*	28
					Idaho	27
	Idaho	41
	Southwest Missouri State*	35

* By team name denotes host institution
* By score denotes overtime periods
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