1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1988 NCAA Division I-AA season
Duration	August – November 1988
Playoff
Duration	November 26 – December 17, 1988
Championship site	Holt Arena, Pocatello, ID
Champion	Furman Paladins
Payton Award	Dave Meggett – RB (Towson State)
Division I-AA football season
«1987 1989»

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 Football Championship Subdivision level, began in August 1988, and concluded with the National Championship Game of the NCAA Division I Football Championship on December 17, 1988, at the 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

School	1987 Conference	1988 Conference
Tennessee State	I-AA Independent	Ohio Valley
Youngstown State	Ohio Valley	I-AA Independent

Conference standings

Template:1988 Big Sky football standings	1988 Colonial League football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Lafayette $ 5 – 0 – 0     8 – 2 – 1 #19 Holy Cross 3 – 1 – 0     9 – 2 – 0 Lehigh 2 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Bucknell 2 – 3 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Colgate 2 – 3 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Davidson 0 – 4 – 0     0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from poll=The Sports Network poll	Template:1988 Ivy League football standings
Template:1988 Gateway football standings	Template:1988 MEAC football standings	Template:1988 Ohio Valley football standings
1988 Southern Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Furman +^ 6 – 1 – 0     13 – 2 – 0 Marshall +^ 6 – 1 – 0     11 – 2 – 0 The Citadel ^ 5 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Appalachian State 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 4 – 1 Chattanooga 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 VMI 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 East Tennessee State 1 – 6 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Western Carolina 1 – 6 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant	1988 Southland Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #8 Northwestern State $^ 6 – 0 – 0     10 – 3 – 0 #9 Stephen F. Austin ^ 5 – 1 – 0     10 – 3 – 0 #10 North Texas ^ 4 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 McNeese State 3 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Northeast Louisiana 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 SW Texas State 1 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Sam Houston State 0 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll	Template:1988 SWAC football standings
1988 Yankee Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Delaware +^ 6 – 2 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 #11 UMass +^ 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 #17 Connecticut 4 – 4 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Maine 4 – 4 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 #20 New Hampshire 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Villanova 4 – 4 – 0     5 – 5 – 1 Boston University 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Rhode Island 3 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Richmond 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA I-AA Poll	Template:1988 Division I-AA independent football standings

Conference champions

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

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

NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket

	First Round November 26 Campus Sites				Quarterfinals December 3 Campus Sites				Semifinals December 10 Campus Sites				National Championship Game December 17 Mini Dome – Pocatello, ID
	Montana	19
	Idaho*	38
					Idaho*	38
					Northwestern State	30
	Northwestern State	22
	Boise State*	13
									Idaho	7
									Furman*	38
	Delaware	7
	Furman*	21
					Furman	13
					Marshall*	9
	North Texas State	0
	Marshall*	7
													Furman	17
													Georgia Southern	12
	The Citadel	20
	Georgia Southern*	38
					Georgia Southern*	27
					Stephen F. Austin	6
	Jackson State	0
	Stephen F. Austin*	24
									Georgia Southern*	21**
									Eastern Kentucky	17
	Western Kentucky	35
	Western Illinois*	32
					Western Kentucky	24
					Eastern Kentucky*	41
	Massachusetts	17
	Eastern Kentucky*	28

* Next to team name denotes host institution

* Next to score denotes overtime periods