1993 NCAA Division I-AA football season#Postseason

• A 1991 NCAA rule change required athletic programs to maintain all of their sports at the same division level by the 1993 season. In order to comply, 28 Division I programs with football teams at the Division II and Division III levels were forced to upgrade their programs to the Division I level, and all of them (at least initially) chose Division I-AA as their new football home.
• The rule change led directly to the establishment of the Pioneer Football League, a non-scholarship football conference at the Division I-AA level with six founding members, all of which had played in Division II or III: Butler, Dayton, Drake, Evansville, San Diego, and Valparaiso.
• It also led to the creation of the American West Conference, initially a football-only conference at the Division I-AA level with five founding members, all formerly in Division II: UC Davis, Cal Poly, Cal State Northridge, Sacramento State, and Southern Utah.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28242343/cal_poly_moving_to_division_i/ |title=Cal Poly moving to Division I |first=Ryan |last=Senior |newspaper=Santa Maria Times |location=Santa Maria, California |page=C-1 |date=July 16, 1993 |access-date=February 10, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}}
• The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, an existing Division I conference, also began sponsoring football in order to accommodate these new I-AA football programs.

class="wikitable sortable"
School	1992 Conference	1993 Conference
style="text-align:center;" | Buffalo	D-III Independent	I-AA Independent
style="text-align:center;" | Butler	MIFC (D-II)	Pioneer (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | California–Davis	Northern California (D-II)	American West+
style="text-align:center;" | Cal Poly	Western (D-II)	American West (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | Cal State Northridge	Western (D-II)	American West (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | Canisius	D-III Independent	MAAC (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | Central Connecticut State	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
style="text-align:center;" | Charleston Southern	D-III Independent	I-AA Independent
style="text-align:center;" | Davidson	D-III Independent	I-AA Independent
style="text-align:center;" | Dayton	D-III Independent	Pioneer (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | Drake	D-III Independent	Pioneer (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | Duquesne	D-III Independent	I-AA Independent
style="text-align:center;" | Evansville	D-III Independent	Pioneer (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | Georgetown	D-III Independent	MAAC (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | Georgia Southern	I-AA Independent	Southern
style="text-align:center;" | Iona	Liberty (D-III)	MAAC (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | James Madison	I-AA Independent	Yankee
style="text-align:center;" | Marist	Liberty (D-III)	I-AA Independent
style="text-align:center;" | Monmouth	New Program	I-AA Independent
style="text-align:center;" | Northeastern	I-AA Independent	Yankee
style="text-align:center;" | Sacramento State	Western (D-II)	American West (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | St. Francis (PA)	D-III Independent	I-AA Independent
style="text-align:center;" | St. John's (NY)	Liberty (D-III)	MAAC (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | St. Mary's (CA)	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
style="text-align:center;" | St. Peter's	D-III Independent	MAAC (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | San Diego	D-III Independent	Pioneer (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | Siena	D-III Independent	MAAC (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | Southern Utah	Western (D-II)	American West (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | Troy State	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
style="text-align:center;" | UAB	D-III Independent	I-AA Independent
style="text-align:center;" | Valparaiso	MIFC (D-II)	Pioneer (I-AA)
style="text-align:center;" | Wagner	Liberty (D-III)	I-AA Independent
style="text-align:center;" | William & Mary	I-AA Independent	Yankee

+ The UC Davis Aggies, although a member of the new American West Conference, were listed in Division II polls,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28280042/college_polls_ncaa_division_ii/|title=College polls, NCAA Division II |newspaper=Waterloo Courier |location=Waterloo, Iowa |page=D2 |date=November 2, 1993 |access-date=February 10, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} and participated in the Division II postseason.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28280294/ncaa_division_ii_playoffs/ |title=NCAA Division II Playoffs |newspaper=St. Louis Post Dispatch |page=8F |date=November 28, 1993 |access-date=February 10, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}}

{{see also|List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons}}

class="wikitable"
Conference champions
American West Conference – Southern Utah and UC Davis Big Sky Conference – Montana Gateway Football Conference – Northern Iowa Ivy League – Penn Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Iona Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Howard Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky Patriot League – Lehigh Pioneer Football League – Dayton Southern Conference – Georgia Southern Southland Conference – McNeese State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Southern Yankee Conference – Boston University

Only the top four teams in the field were seeded, with the NCAA placing others teams in the bracket to avoid early round matchups between teams from the same conference.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28214561/many_factors_put_wm_on_the_road/ |title=Many factors put W&M on the road |first=Dave |last=Fairbank |newspaper=Daily Press |location=Newport News, Virginia |page=D3 |date=November 23, 1993 |access-date=February 9, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} This was the first season that the NCAA did not use an in-house poll process for I-AA ranking purposes; independent polling by The Sports Network wire service was used.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30619507/new_iaa_poll_lacks_clout_but_still_a/ |title=New I-AA poll lacks clout, but still a big improvement |first=George |last=Geise |newspaper=Great Falls Tribune |location=Great Falls, Montana |page=1C |date=September 30, 1993 |access-date=April 15, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} The site of the title game, Marshall University Stadium, had been predetermined months earlier.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30706196/western_ranked_second/ |title=Western ranked second |first=Doug |last=Mead |newspaper=Asheville Citizen-Times |location=Asheville, North Carolina |page=1D |date=June 27, 1993 |access-date=April 17, 2019}}

{{16TeamBracket-NoSeeds

| RD1=First Round
November 27
Campus sites

| RD2=Quarterfinals
December 4
Campus sites

| RD3=Semifinals
December 11
Campus sites

| RD4=National Championship Game
December 18
Marshall University Stadium
Huntington, WV

|RD1-team01=Eastern Kentucky

|RD1-score01=12

|RD1-team02=(1) Georgia Southern*

|RD1-score02=14

|RD1-team03=UCF

|RD1-score03=30

|RD1-team04=Youngstown State*

|RD1-score04=56

|RD1-team05=Northern Iowa

|RD1-score05=21

|RD1-team06=(4) Boston University*

|RD1-score06=27**

|RD1-team07=Idaho

|RD1-score07=34'

|RD1-team08=Northeast Louisiana*

|RD1-score08=31

|RD1-team09=Delaware

|RD1-score09=49

|RD1-team10=(2) Montana*

|RD1-score10=48

|RD1-team11=Howard

|RD1-score11=14

|RD1-team12=Marshall*

|RD1-score12=28*

|RD1-team13=William & Mary

|RD1-score13=28

|RD1-team14=(3) McNeese State*

|RD1-score14=34

|RD1-team15=Stephen F. Austin

|RD1-score15=20

|RD1-team16=Troy State*

|RD1-score16=42

|RD2-team01=(1) Georgia Southern

|RD2-score01=14

|RD2-team02=Youngstown State*

|RD2-score02=34

|RD2-team03=(4) Boston University

|RD2-score03=14

|RD2-team04=Idaho*

|RD2-score04=21

|RD2-team05=Delaware

|RD2-score05=31

|RD2-team06=Marshall*

|RD2-score06=34

|RD2-team07=(3) McNeese State*

|RD2-score07=28

|RD2-team08=Troy State

|RD2-score08=35

|RD3-team01=Youngstown State*

|RD3-score01=35

|RD3-team02=Idaho

|RD3-score02=16

|RD3-team03=Marshall*

|RD3-score03=24

|RD3-team04=Troy State

|RD3-score04=21

|RD4-team01=Youngstown State

|RD4-score01=17

|RD4-team02=Marshall

|RD4-score02=5

}}

* Next to team name denotes host institution

* Next to score denotes overtime period

Source:{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28220431/ucf_faces_youngstown_st_in_division/ |title=UCF faces Youngstown St. in Division I-AA playoffs |newspaper=The Palm Beach Post |page=11C |date=November 22, 1993 |access-date=February 9, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}}

{{reflist}}

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