The 1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Northeast Louisiana Indians (now the

Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks The Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks (ULM Warhawks) are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM). ULM currently fields 15 varsity teams (six men's and nine women's) in 11 sports, and competes at the ...

) and the

Marshall Thundering Herd The Marshall Thundering Herd is the intercollegiate athletic collection of teams that collectively represent the Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Thundering Herd athletic teams compete in the Sun Belt Conference, which are member ...

. The game was played on December 19, 1987, at the Minidome (now known as

Holt Arena Holt Arena is an indoor multi-purpose athletic stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of Idaho State University (ISU) in Pocatello, Idaho. It is the home field of the Idaho State Bengals of the Big Sky Conference and sits a ...

) in Pocatello, Idaho. The culminating game of the

1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season The 1987 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-AA level, began in August 1987, and concluded with the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA ...

, it was won by Northeast Louisiana, 43–42.

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1987 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.

Northeast Louisiana Indians

Northeast Louisiana finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (6–0 in conference); one of their losses was to the Ragin' Cajuns of the then

University of Southwestern Louisiana The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

, a Division I-A program. Ranked third in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll and seeded second in the tournament, the Indians defeated

North Texas State The University of North Texas (UNT) is a Public university, public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private Normal school, teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 y ...

Eastern Kentucky Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

, and third-seed

Northern Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Northeast Louisiana in a Division I-AA championship game.

Marshall Thundering Herd

Marshall finished their regular season with a 7–4 record (4–2 in conference); one of their losses was to

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

of Division I-A. Ranked 14th in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll and unseeded in the tournament, the Thundering Herd defeated

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

Weber State Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

, and top-seed Appalachian State to reach the final. This was also the first appearance for Marshall in a Division I-AA championship game.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Game statistics

Holt Arena, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho

References

External links

National Champions plaque
on display at

Malone Stadium Malone Stadium is a stadium in Monroe, Louisiana, United States, on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Monroe. It is primarily used for football and is the home field of the ULM Warhawks. The stadium, named for former coach James L. Ma ...

via

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{{1987–88 NCAA Division I championships navbox

Championship Game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

NCAA Division I Football Championship Games Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football games Marshall Thundering Herd football games American football in Idaho Sports in Pocatello, Idaho Sports competitions in Idaho NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game