1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1986 NCAA Division I-AA season
Duration	August – November 1986
Playoff
Duration	November 29 – December 20, 1986
Championship site	Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA
Champion	Georgia Southern Eagles
Division I-AA football season
«1985 1987»

The 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level, began in August 1986, and concluded with the National Championship Game of the NCAA Division I Football Championship on December 20, 1986, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their second consecutive I-AA championship, defeating the Arkansas State Indians (now Red Wolves) by a final score of 48−21.

Conference changes and new programs

• Prior to the season, the Colonial League, now known as the Patriot League, was established as a six-member, football-only league for teams in Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. The Colonial League, however, was totally separate from the current Colonial Athletic Association.
• Prior to the 1986 season, the Gateway Conference was formed out of the four remaining members of the disbanded Association of Mid-Continent Universities (Eastern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Western Illinois, Southwest Missouri State) and two former members of the Missouri Valley Conference (Illinois State and Southern Illinois). The MVC stopped sponsoring Division I-A football after the 1985 season.

School	1985 Conference	1986 Conference
Bucknell	I-AA Independent	Colonial
Colgate	I-AA Independent	Colonial
Delaware	I-AA Independent	Yankee
Eastern Illinois	AMCU	Gateway
Florida A&M	I-AA Independent	MEAC
Holy Cross	I-AA Independent	Colonial
Illinois State	Missouri Valley	Gateway
Indiana State	I-AA Independent	Gateway
Lafayette	I-AA Independent	Colonial
Lehigh	I-AA Independent	Colonial
Northern Iowa	AMCU	Gateway
Richmond	I-AA Independent	Yankee
Southern Illinois	Missouri Valley	Gateway
Southwest Missouri State	AMCU	Gateway
Texas–Arlington	Southland	Dropped Program
Western Illinois	AMCU	Gateway

Conference standings

Template:1986 Big Sky football standings	1986 Colonial League football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #5 Holy Cross $ 4 – 0 – 0     10 – 1 – 0 Lafayette 2 – 2 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Lehigh 2 – 2 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Colgate 1 – 3 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Bucknell 1 – 3 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Davidson 0 – 0 – 0     0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from poll=The Sports Network poll	Template:1986 Ivy League football standings
Template:1986 Gateway football standings	Template:1986 Gulf Star football standings	Template:1986 MEAC football standings
Template:1986 Ohio Valley football standings	1986 Southern Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Appalachian State $^ 6 – 0 – 1     9 – 2 – 1 Western Carolina 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Furman ^ 4 – 2 – 1     7 – 3 – 2 East Tennessee State 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Marshall 3 – 3 – 0     6 – 4 – 1 Chattanooga 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 VMI 1 – 5 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 The Citadel 0 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Davidson 0 – 6 – 0     0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant	1986 Southland Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #2 Arkansas State $^ 5 – 0 – 0     12 – 2 – 1 North Texas State 3 – 2 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Louisiana Tech 3 – 2 – 0     6 – 4 – 1 Northeast Louisiana 3 – 2 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 McNeese State 1 – 4 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Lamar 0 – 5 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll
1986 SWAC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #9 Jackson State $^ 7 – 0 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 Alcorn State 5 – 2 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Grambling State 4 – 3 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Southern 4 – 3 – 0     5 – 5 – 1 Mississippi Valley State 3 – 3 – 1     4 – 4 – 1 Alabama State 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Texas Southern 1 – 5 – 1     2 – 8 – 1 Prairie View A&M 1 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from Div I-AA Football Committee poll	1986 Yankee Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #13 Delaware +^   5 – 2         9 – 4   UMass +   5 – 2         8 – 3   #19 Connecticut +   5 – 2         8 – 3   New Hampshire   4 – 3         7 – 4   Maine   3 – 4         7 – 4   Richmond   3 – 4         4 – 7   Boston University   3 – 4         4 – 7   Rhode Island   0 – 7         1 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA I-AA Poll	Template:1986 Division I-AA independent football standings

Conference champions

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

Conference Champions

Big Sky Conference – Nevada Colonial League – Holy Cross Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Eastern Illinois Ivy League – Penn Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina A&T Ohio Valley Conference – Murray State Southern Conference – Appalachian State Southland Conference – Arkansas State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Jackson State Yankee Conference – Connecticut, Delaware, and Massachusetts

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket

	First Round November 29 Campus Sites				Quarterfinals December 6 Campus Sites				Semifinals December 13 Campus Sites				National Championship Game December 20 Tacoma Dome – Tacoma, WA
	Idaho	7
	Nevada*	27
					Nevada*	33
					Tennessee State	6
	Tennessee State	32
	Jackson State*	23
									Nevada*	38
									Georgia Southern	48
	North Carolina A&T	21
	Georgia Southern*	52
					Georgia Southern*	55
					Nicholls State	31
	Nicholls State	28
	Appalachian State*	26
													Georgia Southern	48
													Arkansas State	21
	Sam Houston State	7
	Arkansas State*	48
					Arkansas State	55
					Delaware*	14
	Delaware	51
	William & Mary*	21
									Arkansas State*	24
									Eastern Kentucky	10
	Murray State	21
	Eastern Illinois*	28
					Eastern Illinois*	22
					Eastern Kentucky	24
	Eastern Kentucky	23
	Furman*	10

* Denotes host institution