2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season

2001 NCAA Division I-AA season
Duration	August – November 2001
Playoff
Duration	December 1 – December 21, 2001
Championship site	Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN
Champion	Montana Grizzlies
Payton Award	Brian Westbrook – RB (Villanova)
Buchanan Award	Derrick Lloyd – LB (James Madison)
Division I-AA football season
«2000 2002»

The 2001 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 Football Championship Subdivision level, began in August 2001, and concluded with the National Championship Game of the NCAA Division I Football Championship on December 21, 2001, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Montana Grizzlies won their second I-AA championship, defeating the Furman Paladins by a final score of 13−6

Conference changes and new programs

School	2000 Conference	2001 Conference
Austin Peay	I-AA Independent	Pioneer
Davidson	I-AA Independent	Pioneer
Florida Atlantic	New Program	I-AA Independent
Georgetown	I-AA Independent	Patriot
Jacksonville	I-AA Independent	Pioneer
Morehead State	I-AA Independent	Pioneer
South Florida	I-AA Independent	I-A Independent
Troy State	Southland	I-AA Independent
Western Kentucky	Ohio Valley	Gateway

Conference standings

2001 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #11 Hofstra +^   7 – 2         9 – 3   #10 Maine +^   7 – 2         9 – 3   #20 Villanova +   7 – 2         8 – 3   #17 William & Mary +^   7 – 2         8 – 4   #21 Rhode Island   6 – 3         8 – 3   Delaware   4 – 5         4 – 6   Northeastern   4 – 5         5 – 6   UMass   3 – 6         3 – 8   Richmond   3 – 6         3 – 8   New Hampshire   2 – 7         4 – 7   James Madison   0 – 9         2 – 9   + – Conference co-champions ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll

2001 Southern Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #2 Furman $^   7 – 1         12 – 3   #3 Georgia Southern $^   7 – 1         12 – 2   #6 Appalachian State ^   6 – 2         9 – 4   Western Carolina   5 – 3         7 – 4   East Tennessee State   4 – 4         6 – 5   Wofford   3 – 5         4 – 7   The Citadel   2 – 6         3 – 7   Chattanooga   1 – 7         3 – 8   VMI   1 – 7         1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll

2001 Southland Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #7 Sam Houston State $^ 5 – 1 – 0     10 – 3 – 0 #13 McNeese State ^ 5 – 1 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 #14 Northwestern State ^ 4 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Stephen F. Austin 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Jacksonville State 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Nicholls State 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Southwest Texas State 0 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll

Conference champions

See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons

Conference Champions

Atlantic 10 Conference – Hofstra, Maine, Villanova, and William & Mary Big Sky Conference – Montana Gateway Football Conference – Northern Iowa Ivy League – Harvard Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Duquesne Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Florida A&M Northeast Conference – Sacred Heart Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Illinois Patriot League – Lehigh Pioneer Football League – Dayton Southern Conference – Furman and Georgia Southern Southland Conference – McNeese State and Sam Houston State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket

	First Round December 1 Campus Sites				Quarterfinals December 8 Campus Sites				Semifinals December 15 Campus Sites				National Championship Game December 21 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN
	Montana*	28
	Northwestern State	19
					Montana*	49
					Sam Houston State	24
	Sam Houston State*	34
	Northern Arizona	31
									Montana*	38
									Northern Iowa	10
	McNeese State*	10
	Maine	14
					Maine	28
					Northern Iowa*	56
	Eastern Illinois*	43
	Northern Iowa	49
													Montana	13
													Furman	6
	Georgia Southern*	60
	Florida A&M	35
					Georgia Southern*	38
					Appalachian State	24
	Appalachian State*	40
	William & Mary	27
									Georgia Southern*	17
									Furman	24
	Lehigh*	27*
	Hofstra	24
					Lehigh	17
					Furman*	34
	Furman*	24
	Western Kentucky	20

* Denotes host institution