| Year Game Played: | 2000 |
| Game Name: | NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship |
| Subheader: | I-AA National Championship Game |
| Visitor Name Short: | Georgia Southern |
| Visitor Nickname: | Eagles |
| Home Nickname: | Grizzlies |
| Visitor School: | Georgia Southern University |
| Home Name Short: | Montana |
| Football Season: | 2000 |
| Home School: | University of Montana |
| Visitor Record: | 12–2 |
| Home Record: | 13–1 |
| Visitor Conference: | SoCon |
| Home Conference: | Big Sky |
| Visitor 1Q: | 13 |
| Home 1Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 6 |
| Home 4Q: | 16 |
| Visitor Coach: | Paul Johnson |
| Home Coach: | Joe Glenn |
| Visitor Rank Tsn: | 5 |
| Visitor Seed: | 3 |
| Home Rank Tsn: | 1 |
| Home Seed: | 1 |
| Date Game Played: | December 16 |
| Stadium: | Finley Stadium |
| City: | Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Referee: | F. Williams[1] |
| Attendance: | 17,156 |
| Us Network: | ESPN |
| Us Announcers: | Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (color),[2] Dave Ryan (sideline)[3] |
| Different Previous: | 1999 |
| Different Next: | 2001 |
The 2000 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Montana Grizzlies. The game was played on December 16, 2000, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 27–25.[4]
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 2000 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.[5]
See main article: 2000 Montana Grizzlies football team. Montana finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (8–0 in conference); their only loss had been to Hofstra, 10–9, in the season opener. Seeded first in the playoffs, the Grizzlies defeated 16-seed Eastern Illinois, eight-seed Richmond, and 13-seed Appalachian State to reach the final. This was the third appearance for Montana in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1995 and having lost in 1996.
See main article: 2000 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 Georgia of Division I-A. The Eagles, seeded third, defeated 14-seed McNeese State, 11-seed Hofstra, and second-seed Delaware to reach the final. This was the eighth appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having five prior wins (1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1999) and two prior losses (1988, 1998).