1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1988 NCAA Division I-AA season
Duration	August – November 1988
Playoff
Duration	November 26 – December 17, 1988
Championship site	Holt Arena, Pocatello, ID
Champion	Furman Paladins
Payton Award	Dave Meggett – RB (Towson State)
Division I-AA football season
«1987 1989»

1988 Big Sky football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#1 Idaho $^	7	–	1	–	0	11	–	2	–	0
#16 Montana ^	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
#12 Boise State ^	5	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Nevada	4	–	4	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Northern Arizona	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Weber State	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Montana State	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Eastern Washington	2	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Idaho State	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Idaho earned automatic berth and Montana and Boise State earned at-large berths in I-AA playoffs. Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA poll (released before playoffs)

1988 Southern Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#4 Furman +^	6	–	1	–	0	13	–	2	–	0
#6 Marshall +^	6	–	1	–	0	11	–	2	–	0
#14 The Citadel ^	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Appalachian State	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	1
Chattanooga	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
VMI	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
East Tennessee State	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Western Carolina	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA poll

1988 Southland Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#8 Northwestern State $^	6	–	0	–	0	10	–	3	–	0
#9 Stephen F. Austin ^	5	–	1	–	0	10	–	3	–	0
#10 North Texas ^	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
McNeese State	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Northeast Louisiana	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
SW Texas State	1	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Sam Houston State	0	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA poll

1988 Yankee Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Delaware +^	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
#11 UMass +^	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
#17 Connecticut	4	–	4	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Maine	4	–	4	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
#20 New Hampshire	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Villanova	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	1
Boston University	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Rhode Island	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Richmond	2	–	6	–	0	4	–	7	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA I-AA Poll

The 1988 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 1988, and concluded with the National Championship Game of the NCAA Division I Football Championship on December 17, 1988, at the Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho. The Furman Paladins won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Georgia Southern Eagles by a final score of 17−12.

Big Sky Conference – Idaho
Colonial League – Lafayette
Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Western Illinois
Ivy League – Cornell and Penn
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Bethune-Cookman, Delaware State, and Florida A&M
Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky
Southern Conference – Furman and Marshall
Southland Conference – Northwestern State
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Jackson State
Yankee Conference – Delaware and Massachusetts