2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season explained

Year:	2002
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)

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.^[1]

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
		Dropped Program
		Big South
		Big South
	New Program	I-AA Independent
		Big South
		Big South
		MAAC

Conference champions

See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons.

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

The top four teams in the tournament were seeded;^[2] seeded teams were assured of hosting games in the first two rounds.^{[3] [4]} * Denotes host institution

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2002 NCAA Division I Football Championship. NCAA. NCAA.org. December 29, 2013. 16.
2. News: Eastern to go to Western in I-AA playoff matchup . Brian . Nielsen . Journal Gazette . . B5 . November 25, 2002 . February 2, 2019 . newspapers.com.
3. News: NCAA changes format for playoff pairings . Jon . Kasper . . . D1 . November 12, 2001 . February 2, 2019 . newspapers.com.
4. News: NCAA changes format for playoff pairings (cont'd) . Jon . Kasper . . . D6 . November 12, 2001 . February 2, 2019 . newspapers.com.