| Year Game Played: | 1999 |
| Game Name: | NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship |
| Subheader: | I-AA National Championship Game |
| Visitor Name Short: | Georgia Southern |
| Visitor Nickname: | Eagles |
| Home Nickname: | Penguins |
| Visitor School: | Georgia Southern University |
| Home Name Short: | Youngstown State |
| Football Season: | 1999 |
| Home School: | Youngstown State University |
| Visitor Record: | 12–2 |
| Home Record: | 12–2 |
| Visitor Conference: | SoCon |
| Home Conference: | Gateway |
| Visitor 1Q: | 10 |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 28 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 14 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 3 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Visitor Coach: | Paul Johnson |
| Home Coach: | Jim Tressel |
| Visitor Rank Tsn: | 2 |
| Visitor Seed: | 2 |
| Home Rank Tsn: | 9 |
| Home Seed: | 9 |
| Date Game Played: | December 18 |
| Stadium: | Finley Stadium |
| City: | Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Referee: | Art Bellows (Atlantic 10)[1] |
| Attendance: | 20,052 |
| Us Network: | ESPN |
| Us Announcers: | Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (color), Don McPherson (sideline) |
| Different Previous: | 1998 |
| Different Next: | 2000 |
The 1999 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Youngstown State Penguins. The game was played on December 18, 1999, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 1999 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 59–24.[2]
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1999 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.[3]
See also: Youngstown State Penguins football. Youngstown State finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (5–1 in conference); one of their losses had been to Western Michigan of Division I-A.[4] Seeded ninth in the playoffs, the Penguins defeated eight-seed Montana, 16-seed North Carolina A&T, and 13-seed Florida A&M to reach the final. This was the sixth appearance for Youngstown State in a Division I-AA championship game, having won four titles (1991, 1993, 1994, and 1997) against one loss (1992).
See main article: 1999 Georgia Southern Eagles football team. Georgia Southern finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (7–1 in conference); one of their losses had been to Oregon State of Division I-A. The Eagles, seeded second, defeated 15-seed Northern Arizona, 10-seed UMass, and sixth-seed Illinois State to reach the final. This was the seventh appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having four prior wins (1985, 1986, 1989, 1990) and two prior losses (1988, 1998).