2004 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 2004 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-AA level, began on August 28, 2004, and concluded with the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 17, 2004, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. James Madison won their first I-AA championship, defeating Montana by a final score of 31−21.

2004 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	122
Duration	August 28–November
Payton Award	QB Lang Campbell, William & Mary
Buchanan Award	LB Jordan Beck, Cal Poly
Playoff
Duration	November 27–December 17
Championship date	December 17, 2004
Championship site	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee
Champion	James Madison
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
«2003 2005»

Conference changes and new programs

• Prior to the season, the Great West Conference was formed as a football-only conference for six unaffiliated teams from California, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah. A seventh prospective member, St. Mary's (CA), dropped their football program before the start of the season.

School	2003 Conference	2004 Conference
Cal Poly	I-AA Independent	Great West
East Tennessee State	Southern	Dropped Program
North Dakota State	North Central (D-II)	Great West (I-AA)
Northern Colorado	D-II Independent	Great West (I-AA)
Siena	MAAC	Dropped Program
St. Mary's (CA)	I-AA Independent	Dropped Program
Southern Utah	I-AA Independent	Great West
South Dakota State	North Central (D-II)	Great West (I-AA)
Towson	Patriot	Atlantic 10
UC Davis	D-II Independent	Great West (I-AA)

I-AA team wins over I-A teams

• September 4 – Florida Atlantic 35, Hawaii 28 ^OT
• September 11 – Florida Atlantic 20, North Texas 13
• September 11 – New Hampshire 35, Rutgers 24
• September 18 – Florida Atlantic 27, Middle Tennessee 20
• September 18 – Maine 9, Mississippi State 7
• September 25 – Eastern Illinois 31, Eastern Michigan 28

Conference standings

2004 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   North Division No. 6 New Hampshire x^   6 – 2     11 – 3   UMass   4 – 4     6 – 5   Northeastern   4 – 4     5 – 6   Hofstra   3 – 5     5 – 6   Maine   3 – 5     5 – 6   Rhode Island   2 – 6     4 – 7   South Division No. 1 James Madison x^   7 – 1     13 – 2   No. 3 William & Mary x^   7 – 1     11 – 3   No. 7 Delaware x^   7 – 1     9 – 4   Villanova   3 – 5     6 – 5   Richmond   2 – 6     3 – 8   Towson   0 – 8     3 – 8   x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2004 Big Sky Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 2 Montana $^   6 – 1     12 – 3   No. 8 E. Washington ^   6 – 1     9 – 4   Montana State   4 – 3     6 – 5   Portland State   4 – 3     7 – 4   Northern Arizona   3 – 4     4 – 7   Idaho State   2 – 5     3 – 8   Sacramento State   2 – 5     3 – 8   Weber State   1 – 6     1 – 10   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2004 Big South Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 24 Coastal Carolina $   4 – 0     10 – 1   Liberty   3 – 1     6 – 5   Gardner–Webb   2 – 2     5 – 6   Charleston Southern   1 – 3     5 – 5   VMI   0 – 4     0 – 11   $ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2004 Gateway Football Conference standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 9 Southern Illinois $^   7 – 0     10 – 2   No. 11 Western Kentucky ^   6 – 1     9 – 3   No. 25 Northern Iowa   5 – 2     7 – 4   Southwest Missouri State   3 – 4     6 – 5   Western Illinois   2 – 5     4 – 7   Illinois State   2 – 5     4 – 7   Youngstown State   2 – 5     4 – 7   Indiana State   1 – 6     4 – 7   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2004 Great West Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 16 Cal Poly $   4 – 1     9 – 2   UC Davis   3 – 2     6 – 4   No. 23 North Dakota State   2 – 3     8 – 3   South Dakota State   2 – 3     6 – 5   Southern Utah   2 – 3     6 – 5   Northern Colorado   2 – 3     2 – 9   $ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2004 Ivy League football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 13 Harvard $   7 – 0     10 – 0   No. 21 Penn   6 – 1     8 – 2   Cornell   4 – 3     4 – 6   Brown   3 – 4     6 – 4   Princeton   3 – 4     5 – 5   Yale   3 – 4     5 – 5   Dartmouth   1 – 6     1 – 9   Columbia   1 – 6     1 – 9   $ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll
2004 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Duquesne $   4 – 0     7 – 3   Marist   3 – 1     3 – 6   La Salle   1 – 3     3 – 7   Saint Peter's   1 – 3     3 – 7   Iona   1 – 3     2 – 8   $ – Conference champion	2004 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 12 Hampton +^   6 – 1     10 – 2   No. 22 South Carolina State +   6 – 1     9 – 2   Bethune–Cookman   4 – 3     6 – 4   Delaware State   4 – 3     4 – 7   Howard   3 – 4     6 – 5   Morgan State   3 – 4     5 – 6   North Carolina A&T   1 – 6     3 – 8   Norfolk State   1 – 6     1 – 8   Florida A&M   0 – 0     3 – 8   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Florida A&M games did not count as conference games. Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2004 Northeast Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Monmouth +   6 – 1     10 – 1   Central Connecticut State +   6 – 1     8 – 2   Albany   4 – 3     4 – 7   Sacred Heart   3 – 4     6 – 4   Robert Morris   3 – 4     6 – 5   Wagner   3 – 4     6 – 5   Stony Brook   2 – 5     3 – 7   Saint Francis (PA)   1 – 6     3 – 8   + – Conference co-champions
2004 Ohio Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 14 Jacksonville State $^   7 – 1     9 – 2   Murray State   6 – 2     7 – 4   Eastern Kentucky   6 – 2     6 – 5   Eastern Illinois   4 – 4     5 – 6   Tennessee Tech   3 – 4     6 – 5   Samford   3 – 5     4 – 7   Southeast Missouri State   3 – 5     3 – 8   Tennessee State   2 – 5     4 – 7   Tennessee–Martin   1 – 7     2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2004 Patriot League football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 15 Lehigh +^   5 – 1     9 – 3   No. 19 Lafayette +^   5 – 1     8 – 4   Bucknell   4 – 2     7 – 4   Colgate   4 – 2     7 – 4   Fordham   2 – 4     5 – 6   Holy Cross   1 – 5     3 – 8   Georgetown   0 – 6     3 – 8   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2004 Pioneer Football League standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   North Division Drake xy$   4 – 0     10 – 2   San Diego   3 – 1     7 – 4   Dayton   2 – 2     7 – 3   Valparaiso   1 – 3     5 – 6   Butler   0 – 4     1 – 10   South Division Morehead State xy   2 – 1     6 – 6   Jacksonville x   2 – 1     3 – 7   Davidson   1 – 2     2 – 7   Austin Peay   1 – 2     2 – 9   Championship: Drake 20, Morehead State 17 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant
2004 Southern Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 5 Furman $^   6 – 1     10 – 3   No. 10 Georgia Southern $^   6 – 1     9 – 3   No. 18 Wofford   4 – 3     8 – 3   Appalachian State   4 – 3     6 – 5   Western Carolina   2 – 5     4 – 7   The Citadel   2 – 5     3 – 7   Elon   2 – 5     3 – 8   Chattanooga   2 – 5     2 – 9   $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll	2004 Southland Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 4 Sam Houston State +^   4 – 1     11 – 3   No. 17 Northwestern State +^   4 – 1     8 – 4   Texas State   3 – 2     5 – 6   Nicholls State   2 – 3     5 – 5   Stephen F. Austin   1 – 4     6 – 4   McNeese State   1 – 4     4 – 7   + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll	2004 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   East No. 20 Alabama State xy$   6 – 1     10 – 2   Alabama A&M   5 – 2     7 – 4   Alcorn State   4 – 3     7 – 4   Jackson State   3 – 4     4 – 7   Mississippi Valley State   1 – 6     3 – 8   West Southern xy   6 – 1     8 – 4   Arkansas–Pine Bluff   5 – 2     6 – 3   Grambling State   3 – 4     6 – 5   Prairie View A&M   1 – 6     3 – 8   Texas Southern   0 – 7     0 – 11   Championship: Alabama State 40, Southern 35 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from The Sports Network Poll
2004 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Florida Atlantic   –     9 – 3   Southeastern Louisiana   –     7 – 4   FIU   –     3 – 7   Savannah State   –     2 – 8

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

	First Round November 27 Campus sites					Quarterfinals December 4 Campus sites					Semifinals December 10 and December 11 Campus sites					National Championship Game December 17 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee
	1	Southern Illinois* (10–1)	31
		Eastern Washington (8–3)	35
						Eastern Washington*		34
						Sam Houston State		35
	Sam Houston State* (9–2)		54
	Western Kentucky (9–2)		24
											Sam Houston State		13
											Montana*		34
	Montana* (9–2)		56
	Northwestern State (8–3)		7
						Montana*		47
						New Hampshire		17
		New Hampshire (9–2)	27
	4	Georgia Southern* (9–2)	3
																7	Montana	21
																8	James Madison	31
	3	William & Mary* (9–2)	42
		Hampton (10–1)	35
						3	William & Mary*	44
							Delaware	38
	Delaware* (8–3)		28
	Lafayette (8–3)		14
											3	William & Mary*	34
												James Madison	48
	James Madison (9–2)		14
	Lehigh* (9–2)		13
							James Madison	14
						2	Furman*	13
		Jacksonville State (9–1)	7
	2	Furman* (9–2)	49

* Denotes host institution