The 2005 NCAA Division I-AA football season, the 2005 season of college football for teams in Division I-AA, began on September 1, 2005, and concluded on December 16, 2005. In the 2005 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, played in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the Appalachian State Mountaineers defeated the Northern Iowa Panthers.
Conference changes and new programs School 2004 Conference 2005 Conference Florida Atlantic I-AA Independent Sun Belt (I-A) FIU I-AA Independent Sun Belt (I-A) Southeastern Louisiana I-AA Independent Southland
I-AA team wins over I-A teams September 1 – Northwestern State 27, Louisiana–Monroe 23 September 17 – UC Davis 20, Stanford 17
Conference standings
Conference champions
Automatic berths Conference Champion Atlantic 10 Conference New Hampshire and Richmond Big Sky Conference Eastern Washington, Montana, and Montana State Gateway Football Conference Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, and Youngstown State Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hampton Ohio Valley Conference Eastern Illinois Patriot League Colgate and Lafayette Southern Conference Appalachian State Southland Conference Nicholls State and Texas State
Invitation Conference Champion Big South Conference Charleston Southern and Coastal Carolina Great West Football Conference Cal Poly and UC Davis Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Duquesne Northeast Conference Central Connecticut State and Stony Brook Pioneer Football League San Diego
Abstains Conference Champion Ivy League Brown Southwestern Athletic Conference Grambling State
Postseason NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket
* Host institution
SWAC Championship Game
Date Location Venue West Div. Champion East Div. Champion Result December 10 Birmingham, Alabama Legion Field Grambling State Alabama A&M Grambling State, 45–6
Awards and honors Source:
Walter Payton Award voting The Walter Payton Award is given to the year's most outstanding player
Player School Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Total Erik Meyer Eastern Washington QB 33 18 17 16 13 333 Ricky Santos New Hampshire QB 31 27 11 13 6 328 Nick Hartigan Brown RB 11 16 15 14 13 205 Bruce Eugene Grambling State QB 16 12 13 10 10 197 Barrick Nealy Tennessee State QB 6 5 10 6 8 100 Richie Williams Appalachian State QB 5 6 11 3 11 99 Dave Ball New Hampshire WR 1 4 7 17 8 84 Joe Rubin Portland State RB 0 5 9 8 7 70 Travis Lulay Montana State QB 4 3 4 8 5 65 Laurent Robinson Illinois State WR 1 2 6 4 4 43 Jermaine Austin Georgia Southern RB 1 5 0 3 7 38 Joel Sambursky Southern Illinois QB 1 4 2 4 3 38 Steve Silva Holy Cross RB 1 2 4 1 9 36 Ingle Martin Furman QB 2 3 1 1 3 30 Omar Cuff Delaware RB 0 1 3 3 2 21 Lex Hilliard Montana RB 0 0 0 1 2 4 Josh Johnson San Diego QB 0 0 0 1 0 2 Eric Kimble Eastern Washington WR 0 0 0 0 1 1 Scott Phaydavong Drake RB 0 0 0 0 1 1
Final poll standings
Standings are from The Sports Network final 2005 poll.
Rank Team Record1 Appalachian State Mountaineers 12–32 Northern Iowa Panthers 11–43 Furman Paladins 11–34 Texas State Bobcats 11–35 New Hampshire Wildcats 11–26 Cal Poly Mustangs 9–47 Southern Illinois Salukis 9–48 Richmond Spiders 9–49 Georgia Southern Eagles 8–410 Hampton Pirates 11–111 Grambling State Tigers 11–112 Montana Grizzlies 8–413 Eastern Washington Eagles 7–514 Youngstown State Penguins 8–315 Brown Bears 9–116 Eastern Illinois Panthers 9–317 Nicholls State Colonels 6–418 Montana State Bobcats 7–419 Massachusetts Minutemen 7–420 South Carolina State Bulldogs 9–221 Lafayette Leopards 8–422 Illinois State Redbirds 7–423 Colgate Raiders 8–424 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 9–225 James Madison Dukes 7–4 Rule changes for 2005 There are several rules that have changed for the 2005 season. Following are some highlights:
In an effort to bring spearing under control, the word "intentional" was removed from the rules. A listing of examples for unsportsmanlike acts was developed in order to encourage more consistent application of the rule. Examples of such acts include, but are not limited to: Imitating a slash of the throat; Resembling the firing of a weapon; Bowing at the waist; Punching one’s own chest excessively; Crossing one’s arms in front of the chest; Placing one’s hand by the ear as if to indicate that the player cannot hear the spectators; Diving into the end zone when unchallenged by an opponent; Entering the end zone with an unnatural stride (e.g., high stepping); Going significantly beyond the end line to interact with spectators; Standing over a prone player in a taunting manner; Attempting to make the ball spin as if it were a top; Performing a choreographed act with a teammate(s) (e.g., pretending to take a photo, falling down in unison); and Entering the field of play by coaches or substitutes in protest of officials' calls. Additionally, the committee added language to the rule that reads: "Spontaneous celebrating with teammates on the field of play, provided it is not prolonged, taunting or intended to bring attention to the individual player, is allowed."
References