1983 was another relatively calm season in terms of turnover with only a few additions.
1983 I-AA (FCS) Over I-A (FBS) Victories (20)
- Kent State @ Akron, 13-6
- Appalachian State @ Wake Forest, 27-25
- Akron @ Eastern Michigan, 13-0
- Colgate @ Army, 15-13
- Idaho State @ UTEP, 12-10
- Louisiana @ Louisiana-Monroe, 31-6
- Chattanooga @ Louisiana, 38-14
- Furman @ Georgia Tech, 17-14
- New Mexico State @ North Texas, 49-3
- Army @ Harvard, 24-21
- North Texas @ New Mexico, 18-8
- Ball State @ Indiana State, 35-14
- Wichita State @ Texas-Arlington, 34-24
- Wichita State @ Indiana State, 24-22
- Lehigh @ Army, 13-12
- New Mexico State @ Texas-Arlington, 28-7
- Idaho @ Pacific, 31-19
- Cal State Fullerton @ Idaho State, 43-10
- New Mexico State @ Southern Illinois, 41-3
- Pacific @ Nevada, 34-24
There was one tie between I-A and I-AA teams in 1983:
- Arkansas State @ Memphis, 14-14
Playoff Bracket, Notes, and National Champion
The 1983 I-AA Playoffs remained the same as in 1982. 12 teams were selected for the playoffs, the top four seeds received a first-round bye, and campus sites were used for the first three rounds. The national title game was played on December 17 at Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina for the first time.
The home team is listed on the bottom of each matchup in the bracket below while an asterisk (*) denotes the number of overtime periods played if a game went to overtime. Southern Illinois (13-1 Overall, 5-1 Missouri Valley Conference) captured their first I-AA/FCS title with a crushing 43-7 victory over Western Carolina (11-3-1 Overall, 5-0-1 Southern Conference).
Conference Changes
The seasons of 1982 through 1985 presented a bizarre scenario in the 8-team Missouri Valley Conference. Some teams were classified as I-A (New Mexico State, Tulsa, and Wichita State) while others were classified as I-AA (Drake, Illinois State, Indiana State, Southern Illinois, and West Texas A&M). We decided to stay true to the classifications at the time with those considered I-AA showing up on the list for 1983.
Team Changes
North Texas officially reclassified from I-A to I-AA while remaining in the Southland Conference for 1983. Georgia Southern was in its second year of club football before returning with a varsity and I-AA team in 1984.
Davidson moved from being I-AA independent to the Southern Conference. The NCAA did not list Akron as a member of the I-AA/FCS Ohio Valley Conference and also did not have Georgia Southern as I-AA since they were in a transition to re-establishing their varsity team.
| Team | Old Conference | New Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Davidson | I-AA Independent | Southern (I-AA) |
| North Texas | Southland (I-A) | Southland (I-AA) |
1982 Season ———————————————————————————————————————————————————- 1984 Season