The 1997 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason

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game between the

Youngstown State Penguins The Youngstown State Penguins are the athletic teams of Youngstown State University of Youngstown, Ohio. The university is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I, and the Penguins compete in football as membe ...

and the

McNeese State Cowboys The McNeese Cowboys and Cowgirls are composed of 14 teams representing McNeese State University in intercollegiate athletics, including men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, and track and field. Men's sports include baseball and foot ...

. The game was played on December 20, 1997, and was the first I-AA title game contested at

Finley Stadium W. Max Finley Stadium is the home stadium for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team and Chattanooga FC ( NISA), a professional Division 3 soccer team. The stadium also hosts various high school sports and musical concerts. It ...

, home field of the

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...

. The culminating game of the

1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season The 1997 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 1997, and concluded with the 1997 NCAA Divisi ...

, it was won by Youngstown State, 10–9.

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1997 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team

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Youngstown State Penguins

Youngstown State finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (4–2 in conference). Seeded eighth in the playoffs, the Penguins defeated ninth-seed

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, first-seed Villanova, and third-seed

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanfor ...

to reach the final. This was the fifth appearance for Youngstown State in a Division I-AA championship game, having won three titles (1991, 1993, and 1994) against one loss (1992).

McNeese State Cowboys

McNeese State finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (6–1 in conference). The Cowboys, seeded sixth, defeated 11-seed

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, second-seed

Western Illinois Forgottonia (), also spelled Forgotonia, is the name given to a 16-County (United States), county region in Western Illinois in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This geographic region forms the distinctive western bulge of Illinois (area west of ...

, and fourth-seed

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

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

Game summary

Scoring summary

Game statistics

References

External links

1997 McNeese Football National Championship Run Highlights
via

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{{1997–98 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 McNeese State Cowboys football games Youngstown State Penguins football games American football in Tennessee Sports competitions in Tennessee Sports in Chattanooga, Tennessee NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game