1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season

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-AA level, began in August 1986, and concluded with the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1986, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their second consecutive I-AA championship, defeating the Arkansas State Indians by a score of 48–21.

1986 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	86
Duration	August–November
Playoff
Duration	November 29–December 19
Championship date	December 19, 1986
Championship site	Tacoma Dome Tacoma, Washington
Champion	Georgia Southern
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
«1985 1987»

Conference changes and new programs

• Prior to the season, the Colonial League was established as a five-member, football-only league for teams in Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. The Colonial League was a forerunner of today's Patriot League and has no connection to the later Colonial Athletic Association (today's Coastal Athletic Association).

School	1985 Conference	1986 Conference
Bucknell	I-AA Independent	Colonial
Colgate	I-AA Independent	Colonial
Delaware	I-AA Independent	Yankee
Drake	Missouri Valley (I-AA)	D-III Independent
Holy Cross	I-AA Independent	Colonial
Indiana State	Missouri Valley	Gateway
Lafayette	I-AA Independent	Colonial
Lehigh	I-AA Independent	Colonial
Richmond	I-AA Independent	Yankee
Southeastern Louisiana	Gulf Star	Dropped Program
Texas–Arlington	Southland	Dropped Program
West Texas State	Missouri Valley (I-AA)	Lone Star (II)

Conference standings

1986 Big Sky Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Nevada $^ 7 – 0 – 0 13 – 1 – 0 No. 16 Idaho ^ 8 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 Northern Arizona 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Montana * 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Boise State 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Weber State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Montana State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Idaho State * 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant * – Montana and Idaho State played twice. Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll	1986 Colonial League football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 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 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1986 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Eastern Illinois $^ 5 – 1 – 0 11 – 2 – 0 No. 17 Southern Illinois 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Northern Iowa 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 1 Illinois State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Western Illinois 2 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 SW Missouri State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Indiana State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1986 Gulf Star Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 11 Sam Houston State $^ 3 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 No. 12 Nicholls State ^ 2 – 2 – 0 10 – 3 – 0 Northwestern State 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 1 Southwest Texas State 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Stephen F. Austin 1 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1986 Ivy League football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 Penn $ 7 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0 Cornell 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Brown 4 – 2 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Dartmouth 3 – 3 – 1 3 – 6 – 1 Harvard 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Yale 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Princeton 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Columbia 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1986 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 20 North Carolina A&T $^ 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 Howard 3 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Delaware State 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 South Carolina State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Bethune–Cookman 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Morgan State 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1986 Ohio Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 Eastern Kentucky ^ 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 3 – 1 No. 18 Murray State $^ 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 1 Akron 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Middle Tennessee 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Morehead State 3 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Austin Peay 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Youngstown State 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Tennessee Tech 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1986 Southern Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 Appalachian State $^ 6 – 0 – 1 9 – 2 – 1 Western Carolina 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 No. 15 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 – 4 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1986 Southland Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 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 ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1986 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 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 ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1986 Yankee Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 13 Delaware +^ 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 4 – 0 No. 19 Connecticut + 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 UMass + 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 New Hampshire 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Maine 3 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Richmond 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Boston University 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Rhode Island 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1986 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Georgia Southern ^   –   13 – 2 – 0 No. 14 Tennessee State ^   –   10 – 2 – 1 No. 8 William & Mary ^   –   9 – 3 – 0 Eastern Washington   –   5 – 5 – 0 James Madison   –   5 – 5 – 1 Florida A&M   –   5 – 6 – 0 Northeastern   –   4 – 6 – 0 Western Kentucky   –   4 – 6 – 1 ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Conference champions

Conference Champions

Big Sky Conference – Nevada Colonial League – Holy Cross Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Eastern Illinois Gulf Star Conference – Sam Houston State 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

The playoffs expanded from twelve to sixteen teams this season, eliminating the bye for the top four seeds.

The I-AA playoff field remained at sixteen through the 2009 season, expanding to twenty in 2010 and 24 in 2013.

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

The top four teams were seeded, with remaining teams placed in the bracket based on geographical considerations.

	First Round November 29 Campus sites					Quarterfinals December 6 Campus sites					Semifinals December 13 Campus sites					National Championship Game December 19 Tacoma Dome Tacoma, Washington
		Idaho	7
	1	Nevada*	27
						1	Nevada*	33
							Tennessee State	6
	Tennessee State		32
	Jackson State*		23
											1	Nevada*	38
											4	Georgia Southern	48
		North Carolina A&T	21
	4	Georgia Southern*	52
						4	Georgia Southern*	55
							Nicholls State	31
	Nicholls State		28
	Appalachian State*		26
																4	Georgia Southern	48
																2	Arkansas State	21
		Sam Houston State	7
	2	Arkansas State*	48
						2	Arkansas State	55
							Delaware*	14
	Delaware		51
	William & Mary*		21
											2	Arkansas State*	24
												Eastern Kentucky	10
		Murray State	21
	3	Eastern Illinois*	28
						3	Eastern Illinois*	22
							Eastern Kentucky	24
	Eastern Kentucky		23
	Furman*		10

* Denotes host institution