1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1980 NCAA Division I-AA season
Duration	August – November 1980
Playoff
Duration	December 13–20, 1980
Championship site	Charles C. Hughes Stadium, Sacramento, California
Champion	Boise State Broncos
Division I-AA football season
«1979 1981»

1980 Big Sky football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#7 Boise State $^	6	–	1	–	0			10	–	3	–	0
Idaho	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Nevada	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
Idaho State	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Weber State	4	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Montana State	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Northern Arizona	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Montana	1	–	6	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Boise State earned automatic berth in I-AA playoffs. Idaho State and Weber State met twice in league play with each game counting as a half game. Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA poll (released before championship playoffs)

1980 Yankee Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#9 Boston University $	5	–	0	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
#10 UMass	4	–	1	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
#10 Connecticut	3	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
New Hampshire	2	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Maine	1	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Rhode Island	0	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA I-AA Poll

1980 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Lehigh ^			–					9	–	1	–	2
Delaware			–					9	–	2	–	0
Northwestern State			–					8	–	3	–	0
Portland State			–					8	–	3	–	0
SE Louisiana			–					8	–	2	–	0
Bucknell			–					6	–	4	–	0
James Madison			–					4	–	6	–	0
Lafayette			–					3	–	7	–	0
Nicholls State			–					2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant

The 1980 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. The third season of Division I-AA football began in August 1980 and four teams were selected for the postseason, with the national semifinals played on December 13. The national championship game was the Camellia Bowl on December 20 at Charles C. Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California.

In a game with multiple lead changes, the Boise State Broncos won their only I-AA championship, defeating the defending national champion Eastern Kentucky Colonels 31−29. With less than a minute to play, the Broncos drove eighty yards for the winning touchdown, a 14-yard pass from quarterback Joe Aliotti to tight end Duane Dlouhy with twelve seconds remaining.

Big Sky Conference – Boise State
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina State
Ohio Valley Conference – Western Kentucky
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State and Jackson State
Yankee Conference – Boston University

During its first three seasons, Division I-AA selected only four teams for postseason play.

* Denotes host institution

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