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-AA level. The third season of I-AA football began in August 1980 and four teams were selected for the postseason, with the national semifinals played on December 13. The 1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was played in the Camellia Bowl on December 20 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California.
In a game with multiple lead changes, the Boise State Broncos won their first (and only) I-AA championship, defeating the defending national champion Eastern Kentucky Colonels, 31âÂÂ29. 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.
The bracket consisted of three regional selections (West, East, and South) plus Eastern Kentucky as an at-large selection.
<nowiki>*</nowiki> <small>Denotes host institution</small>