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2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season
American college football season
American college football season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| year | 2002 |
| image | NCAA logo.svg |
| number_of_teams | 123 |
| regular_season | August–November |
| playoffs | November 30–December 20 |
| nc_date | December 20, 2002 |
| championship | Finley Stadium |
| Chattanooga, Tennessee | |
| champions | Western Kentucky |
| payton | Tony Romo (QB, Eastern Illinois) |
| buchanan | Rashean Mathis (FC, Bethune-Cookman) |
Chattanooga, Tennessee
The 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I-AA level, began in August 2002, and concluded with the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 20, 2002, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers won their first I-AA championship, defeating the McNeese State Cowboys by a final score of 34−14.
Conference changes and new programs
- Prior to the 2002 season, the Big South Conference began to sponsor football at the Division I-AA level.
| School | 2001 Conference | 2002 Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Cal State Northridge | I-AA Independent | Dropped Program |
| Charleston Southern | I-AA Independent | Big South |
| Elon | I-AA Independent | Big South |
| FIU | New Program | I-AA Independent |
| Gardner-Webb | D-II Independent | Big South |
| Liberty | I-AA Independent | Big South |
| St. John's (NY) | Northeast | MAAC |
Conference standings
Conference champions
| Conference Champions |
|---|
Postseason
NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket
The top four teams in the tournament were seeded; seeded teams were assured of hosting games in the first two rounds. November 30 Campus sites December 7 Campus sites December 14 Campus sites December 20 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN
|RD1-team01=McNeese State* |RD1-score01=21 |RD1-seed01=1 |RD1-seed02= |RD1-team02=Montana State |RD1-score02=14
|RD1-team03=Montana* |RD1-score03=45 |RD1-seed03= |RD1-seed04= |RD1-team04=Northwestern State |RD1-score04=14
|RD1-team05=Villanova* |RD1-score05=45 |RD1-seed05= |RD1-seed06= |RD1-team06=Furman |RD1-score06=38
|RD1-team07=Northeastern* |RD1-score07=24 |RD1-seed07=4 |RD1-seed08= |RD1-team08=Fordham |RD1-score08=29
|RD1-team09=Georgia Southern* |RD1-score09=34 |RD1-seed09=3 |RD1-seed10= |RD1-team10=Bethune–Cookman |RD1-score10=0
|RD1-team11=Appalachian State* |RD1-score11=13 |RD1-seed11= |RD1-seed12= |RD1-team12=Maine |RD1-score12=14
|RD1-team13=Western Kentucky* |RD1-score13=59 |RD1-seed13= |RD1-seed14= |RD1-team14= |RD1-score14=20
|RD1-team15=Western Illinois* |RD1-score15=48 |RD1-seed15=2 |RD1-seed16= |RD1-team16=Eastern Illinois |RD1-score16=9
|RD2-team01=McNeese State* |RD2-score01=24 |RD2-seed01=1 |RD2-seed02= |RD2-team02=Montana |RD2-score02=20
|RD2-team03=Villanova* |RD2-score03=24 |RD2-seed03= |RD2-seed04= |RD2-team04=Fordham |RD2-score04=10
|RD2-team05=Georgia Southern* |RD2-score05=31 |RD2-seed05=3 |RD2-seed06= |RD2-team06=Maine |RD2-score06=7
|RD2-team07=Western Kentucky |RD2-score07=31 |RD2-seed07= |RD2-seed08=2 |RD2-team08=Western Illinois* |RD2-score08=28
|RD3-team01=McNeese State* |RD3-score01=39 |RD3-seed01=1 |RD3-seed02= |RD3-team02=Villanova |RD3-score02=28
|RD3-team03=Georgia Southern* |RD3-score03=28 |RD3-seed03=3 |RD3-seed04= |RD3-team04=Western Kentucky |RD3-score04=31
|RD4-team01=McNeese State |RD4-score01=14 |RD4-seed01=1 |RD4-seed02= |RD4-team02=Western Kentucky |RD4-score02=34
- Denotes host institution
Awards and honors
Source:
Walter Payton Award voting
The Walter Payton Award is given to the year's most outstanding player
| Player | School | Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Romo | Eastern Illinois | QB | 24 | 15 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 268 |
| Brett Gordon | Villanova | QB | 18 | 18 | 17 | 10 | 12 | 245 |
| Bruce Eugene | Grambling State | QB | 21 | 16 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 234 |
| John Edwards | Montana | QB | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 177 |
| Willie Ponder | Southeast Missouri State | WR | 1 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 12 | 94 |
| Chas Gessner | Brown | WR | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 90 |
| Carl Morris | Harvard | WR | 6 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 6.5 | 81.5 |
| Chaz Williams | Georgia Southern | RB | 3 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 80 |
| Allen Suber | Bethune–Cookman | QB | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 71 |
| Kirwin Watson | Fordham | RB | 3 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 67 |
| P. J. Mays | Youngstown State | RB | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 52 |
| Billy Napier | Furman | QB | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 47 |
| Stephan Lewis | New Hampshire | RB | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 45 |
| David Corley Jr. | Furman | QB | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 32 |
| Ryan Johnson | Montana State | RB | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 23 |
| Ryan Fuqua | Portland State | RB | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2.5 | 18.5 |
| Jay Bailey | Austin Peay | RB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Doug Baughman | Idaho State | QB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
References
References
- "2002 NCAA Division I Football Championship". NCAA.org.
- Nielsen, Brian. (November 25, 2002). "Eastern to go to Western in I-AA playoff matchup". Journal Gazette.
- Kasper, Jon. (November 12, 2001). "NCAA changes format for playoff pairings". [[Missoulian]].
- Kasper, Jon. (November 12, 2001). "NCAA changes format for playoff pairings (cont'd)". [[Missoulian]].
- (December 20, 2002). "EIU's Romo Wins Walter Payton Award". OVCSports.com.
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