The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- October 25, 1999

Division I-AA Football

Field: Sixteen teams will compete for the championship. Eight conferences have been granted automatic qualification and eight teams will be selected at large.

Dates and sites: First round (November 27), quarterfinal (December 4) and semifinal (December 11) games will be played on the campuses of competing institutions. The championship will be December 18 at W. Max Finley Stadium/Davenport Field in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/563-1133 (pin code 1915); request numbers are 1344 for bracket/schedule and 5089 for championship-game results. First-round and quarterfinal results will appear in the December 6 issue of The NCAA News, semifinal results will appear in the December 20 issue, and championship-game results will be published in the January 3 issue.

Championship notes: Massachusetts scored 31 points off of seven Georgia Southern turnovers to win its first title with a 55-43 victory in 1998. The Minutemen's point total and the 98 combined points were championship-game records. Georgia Southern, which is tied with Youngstown State for the most championships with four, sits atop both The Sports Network and USA Today/ESPN polls through games of October 2. The Eagles' only loss through their first five games was a 48-41 defeat at Division I-A Oregon State. Both polls have the same teams in the same order through No. 9. Troy State, Appalachian State, Hofstra and Tennessee State claim the second through fifth spots, respectively.