1983 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

College football game the Division I-AA (now FCS) championship game the Division I-A (now FBS) champions 1983 Miami Hurricanes football team August 2023 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship I-AA National Championship Game 1983 NCAA Division I-AA 1983 December 17 Western Carolina University Western Carolina Catamounts 11–2–1 Southern Bob Waters 9 – 0 0 0 7 Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois Salukis 12–1 Missouri Valley Rey Dempsey 1 1 0 10 23 10 Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, South Carolina 15,950 ABC Sportshttps://www.newspapers.com/clip/31359088/coaches_expect_iaa_title_game_to_be/ Coaches expect I-AA title game to be close UPI Journal Gazette Mattoon, Illinois B-3 December 17, 1983 May 8, 2019 newspapers.com Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles 1982 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.https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/12/17/Southern-Illinois-capitalized-on-eight-Western-Carolina-turnovers-including/3448440485200/ Southern Illinois capitalized on eight Western Carolina turnovers William Stracener UPI upi.com/Archive December 17, 1983 May 7, 2018 Teams The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1983 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 12-team bracket.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31357815/eastern_minus_a_bye_to_face_boston_u/ Eastern, minus a bye, to face Boston U. in playoff opener Stan Sutton The Courier-Journal Louisville, Kentucky D1 November 21, 1983 May 8, 2019 newspapers.com Southern Illinois Salukis 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.http://cfbinfo.com/team/southern-illinois-salukis/1983 Southern Illinois Salukis 1983 Schedule cfbinfo.com May 7, 2019 December 12, 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20241212033741/http://cfbinfo.com/team/southern-illinois-salukis/1983 dead Ranked first in the final NCAA I-AA in-house pollhttps://www.newspapers.com/clip/31357884/division_iaa_poll/ Division I-AA poll AP The Jackson Sun Jackson, Tennessee 5B November 22, 1983 May 8, 2019 newspapers.com 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. Western Carolina Catamounts 1983 Western Carolina Catamounts football team 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.http://cfbinfo.com/team/western-carolina-catamounts/1983 Western Carolina Catamounts 1983 Schedule cfbinfo.com May 7, 2019 October 7, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20251007124052/http://cfbinfo.com/team/western-carolina-catamounts/1983 dead Ranked ninth in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll 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. Game summary 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.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31372523/salukis_crush_w_carolina/ Salukis crush W. Carolina Scott Monserud The Southern Illinoisan Carbondale, Illinois 17 December 18, 1983 May 8, 2019 newspapers.comhttps://www.newspapers.com/clip/31372613/salukis_win_national_championship/ Salukis win national championship (cont'd) Scott Monserud The Southern Illinoisan Carbondale, Illinois 18 December 18, 1983 May 8, 2019 newspapers.com Scoring summary WCU SIU 2 11:45 SIU 20 RecTD Derrick Taylor Rick Johnson 10 good Ron Miller 0 7 2 2:15 SIU 44 FG 36 Miller 0 10 3 9:21 SIU 9 37 RushTD Johnson 1 good Miller 0 17 3 4:33 SIU 1 26 RecTD James Stevenson Johnson 26 good Miller 0 24 3 2:05 SIU SafetyTackle Melvin Dorsey Ken Foster 0 26 3 0:56 SIU 3 13 RushTD Terry Green 1 good Miller 0 33 4 7:48 SIU FG 23 Miller 0 36 4 5:35 WCU 85 RecTD Kristy Kiser Jeff Gilbert 7 good Dean Biasucci 7 36 4 0:56 SIU 30 RushTD Green 10 good Miller 7 43 7 43 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31355979/s_illinois_43_w_carolina_7/ S. Illinois 43, W. Carolina 7 Chicago Tribune 3–13 December 18, 1983 May 7, 2019 newspapers.comhttps://www.newspapers.com/clip/31372239/siu_sinks_teeth_info_iaa_title/ SIU sinks teeth info I-AA title Mike Kiley Chicago Tribune 3-3 December 18, 1983 May 8, 2019 newspapers.com Game statistics Catamounts 0 0 0 7 Salukis 0 10 23 10 thumb|right|Johnson Hagood Stadium, site of the 1983 Division I-AA championship game Western Carolina Catamounts WCU Southern Illinois Salukis SIU 15 61–238 27–84 154 16–34–7 20:22 19 75–367 50–154 213 19–25–0 39:38 Western Carolina Catamounts Western Carolina Southern Illinois Salukis Southern Illinois Jeff Gilbert 16–33, 154 yds, 1 TD, 7 INT Leonard Williams 7 car, 48 yds Melvin Dorsey 4 rec, 49 yds Rick Johnson 19–25, 213 yds, 2 TD Derrick Taylor 18 car, 40 yds James Stevenson 5 rec, 88 yds, 1 TD References Further reading https://siusalukis.com/sports/2016/6/12/sports-m-footbl-archive-062510aas-html.aspx 1983 National Championship siusalukis.com May 7, 2019 Championship Game Category:NCAA Division I Football Championship Games Category:Southern Illinois Salukis football games Category:Western Carolina Catamounts football games Category:American football competitions in South Carolina Category:Sports competitions in Charleston, South Carolina NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game Category:College football in South Carolina