2005 was the final season of the two subdivisions being referred to as I-A and I-AA. Starting with the 2006 season, the NCAA renamed the subdivisions to Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship (FCS), respectively.
2005 I-AA (FCS) Over I-A (FBS) Victories (2)
- Northwestern State @ Louisiana-Monroe, 27-23
- UC Davis @ Stanford, 20-17
Playoff Bracket, Notes, and National Champion
The I-AA playoff format remained the same for the fifth consecutive season with the seeding of only the top four teams and the use of campus sites through the semifinals. The National Championship was played on December 16 at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the ninth season in a row.
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. The 2005 I-AA National Championship saw a matchup of first-time participants with Appalachian State (12-3 Overall, 6-1 Southern Conference) winning the game 21-16 over Northern Iowa (11-4 Overall, 5-2 Gateway Conference).
Conference Changes
The Atlantic 10 Conference split their 12 teams into two divisions – North and South.
Team Changes
Only two teams changed conferences with Southeastern Louisiana joining the Southland Conference from I-AA independent status while Florida A&M retreated from their I-A transition attempt back into the MEAC. The Rattlers spent the 2004 season as an I-AA independent.
The NCAA did not have North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, South Dakota State, and UC Davis as fully eligible for the 2005 season. Northern Colorado and UC Davis would become fully eligible starting in 2007 while NDSU and SDSU were eligible in the 2008 season. Thus, they were not counted as official teams but we do list them since they were all in their transition to I-AA.
The NCAA had Florida Atlantic leaving the I-AA after the 2004 season, but still had Florida International as I-AA for the 2005 season despite both teams being part of the I-A/FBS Sun Belt Conference. We do not include either team as I-AA for 2005. We have both FAU and FIU leaving I-AA independent status to join the I-A Sun Belt Conference.
| Team | Old Conference | New Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Florida A&M | I-AA Independent | MEAC (I-AA) |
| Florida Atlantic | I-AA Independent | Sun Belt (I-A) |
| Florida International | I-AA Independent | Sun Belt (I-A) |
| Southeastern Louisiana | I-AA Independent | Southland (I-AA) |
2004 Season ———————————————————————————————————————————————————- 2006 Season