1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1997 NCAA Division I-AA season
Duration	August – November 1997
Playoff
Duration	November 29 – December 20, 1997
Championship site	Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN
Champion	Youngstown State Penguins
Payton Award	Brian Finneran – WR (Villanova)
Buchanan Award	Chris McNeil – DE (North Carolina A&T)
Division I-AA football season
«1996 1998»

1997 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
New England
New Hampshire x		5	–	3		5	–	6
Connecticut		4	–	4		7	–	4
Maine		4	–	4		5	–	6
Rhode Island		2	–	6		2	–	9
Boston University		1	–	7		1	–	10
UMass		1	–	7		2	–	9
Mid-Atlantic
#1 Villanova x$^		8	–	0		12	–	1
#3 Delaware ^		7	–	1		12	–	2
#24 Northeastern		5	–	3		8	–	3
Richmond		4	–	4		6	–	5
William & Mary		4	–	4		7	–	4
James Madison		3	–	5		5	–	6

$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I–AA Poll

1997 Ivy League football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Harvard $		7	–	0		9	–	1
Dartmouth		6	–	1		8	–	2
Penn*		5	–	2		6	–	4
Brown		3	–	4		6	–	4
Cornell		3	–	4		5	–	5
Princeton		2	–	5		5	–	5
Columbia		2	–	5		3	–	7
Yale		0	–	7		1	–	9

$ – Conference champion *Penn was forced to forfeit five conference wins due to use of an ineligible player after season was over

1997 Southern Conference football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#8 Georgia Southern $^		7	–	1		10	–	3
#22 Appalachian State		6	–	2		7	–	4
East Tennessee State		5	–	3		7	–	4
Furman		5	–	3		7	–	4
The Citadel		4	–	4		6	–	5
Chattanooga		4	–	4		7	–	4
Western Carolina		3	–	5		3	–	8
Wofford		2	–	6		3	–	7
VMI		0	–	8		0	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll

1997 Southland Football League standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#2 McNeese State $^	6	–	1	–	0	13	–	2	–	0
#17 Northwestern State ^	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
#18 Stephen F. Austin	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Sam Houston State	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Nicholls State	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Southwest Texas State	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Troy State	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Jacksonville State	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll

The 1997 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 1997, and concluded with the National Championship Game of the NCAA Division I Football Championship on December 20, 1997, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Youngstown State Penguins won their fourth I-AA championship, defeating the McNeese State Cowboys by a final score of 10−9

Atlantic 10 Conference – Villanova
Big Sky Conference – Eastern Washington
Gateway Football Conference – Western Illinois
Ivy League – Harvard
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Georgetown
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Hampton
Northeast Conference – Robert Morris
Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky
Patriot League – Colgate
Pioneer Football League – Dayton
Southern Conference – Georgia Southern
Southland Football League – McNeese State and Northwestern State
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Southern