The 1999 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Youngstown State Penguins. The game was played on December 18, 1999, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 1999 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Georgia Southern, 59âÂÂ24.
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1999 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.
Youngstown State finished their regular season with a 9âÂÂ2 record (5âÂÂ1 in conference); one of their losses had been to Western Michigan of Division I-A. Seeded ninth in the playoffs, the Penguins defeated eight-seed Montana, 16-seed North Carolina A&T, and 13-seed Florida A&M to reach the final. This was the sixth appearance for Youngstown State in a Division I-AA championship game, having won four titles (1991, 1993, 1994, and 1997) against one loss (1992).
Georgia Southern finished their regular season with a 9âÂÂ2 record (7âÂÂ1 in conference); one of their losses had been to Oregon State of Division I-A. The Eagles, seeded second, defeated 15-seed Northern Arizona, 10-seed UMass, and sixth-seed Illinois State to reach the final. This was the seventh appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having four prior wins (1985, 1986, 1989, 1990) and two prior losses (1988, 1998).