| Year Game Played: | 1983 |
| Game Name: | NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship |
| Subheader: | I-AA National Championship Game |
| Visitor Name Short: | Western Carolina |
| Visitor Nickname: | Catamounts |
| Home Nickname: | Salukis |
| Visitor School: | Western Carolina University |
| Home Name Short: | Southern Illinois |
| Football Season: | 1983 |
| Home School: | Southern Illinois University Carbondale |
| Visitor Record: | 11–2–1 |
| Home Record: | 12–1 |
| Visitor Conference: | Southern |
| Home Conference: | Missouri Valley |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 10 |
| Home 3Q: | 23 |
| Home 4Q: | 10 |
| Visitor Coach: | Bob Waters |
| Home Coach: | Rey Dempsey |
| Visitor Rank Ncaa: | 9 |
| Visitor Seed: | – |
| Home Rank Ncaa: | 1 |
| Home Seed: | 1 |
| Date Game Played: | December 17 |
| Stadium: | Johnson Hagood Stadium |
| City: | Charleston, South Carolina |
| Attendance: | 15,950 |
| Us Network: | ABC Sports[1] |
| Us Announcers: | Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles |
| Different Previous: | 1982 |
| Different Next: | 1984 |
The 1983 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Southern Illinois Salukis and the Western Carolina Catamounts. The game was played on December 17, 1983, at Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. The culminating game of the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Southern Illinois, 43–7.[2]
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1983 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 12-team bracket.[3]
See also: 1983 Southern Illinois Salukis football team. Southern Illinois finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (5–1 in conference); their only loss was to Wichita State in their final regular season game.[4] Ranked first in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[5] and seeded first in the tournament, the Salukis received a first-round bye then defeated Indiana State and Nevada to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Southern Illinois in a Division I-AA championship game.
See also: Western Carolina Catamounts football. Western Carolina finished their regular season with an 8–2–1 record (5–0–1 in conference); their two losses were to Division I-A programs, Clemson and Wake Forest; the tie came against conference rival Furman.[6] Ranked ninth in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[5] and unseeded in the tournament, the Catamounts defeated Colgate, second-seed Holy Cross, and third-seed Furman to reach the final. This was also the first appearance for Western Carolina in a Division I-AA championship game.
After a scoreless first quarter, Southern Illinois took a 10–0 lead into halftime, then broke the game open with 23 unanswered points in the third quarter. The Salukis' defense intercepted seven passes, with four of the interceptions made by safety Greg Shipp.[7] [8]