The Pioneer Football League is a College Athletic Conference which operates literally from coast to coast in the United States; it has member schools ranging from North Carolina and Florida in the east to California in the west. It participates in the NCAA's Division I-AA as a football-only conference. Unlike most other Division I-AA conferences, the Pioneer League consists of institutions which choose not to award athletic scholarships ("grants-in-aid") to football players; these institutions are sometimes (somewhat unofficially) referred to as "I-AAA" schools.
There are nine member schools, split into two Divisions:
North Division
South Division
On April 8, 2005, Austin Peay State announced that it would be leaving the Pioneer Football League after the 2005 season and returning to scholarship-granting competition.
Football Champions
| Season | Champion | Conference Record |
|
|---|
| 1993 | Dayton | 5-0-0
|
| 1994 | Dayton | 4-1-0
|
| Butler | 4-1-0
|
| 1995 | Drake | 5-0-0
|
| 1996 | Dayton | 5-0-0
|
| 1997 | Dayton | 5-0-0
|
| 1998 | Drake | 4-0
|
| 1999 | Dayton | 4-0
|
| 2000 | Dayton | 3-1
|
| Drake | 3-1
|
| Valparaiso | 3-1
|
| 2001 | Dayton | 4-0
|
| 2002 | Dayton | 4-0
|
| 2003 | Valparaiso | 3-1
|
| 2004 | Drake | 4-0
|
Beginnning in the 2001 season, the Pioneer League Championship was determined by a postseason game between the teams with the best record from each Division.
Championship Games
| Date | Champion | Score | Runner-Up | Location |
|
|---|
| Nov. 17, 2001 | Dayton | 46-14 | Jacksonville | Dayton, OH
|
| Nov. 23, 2002 | Dayton | 28-0 | Morehead State | Morehead, KY
|
| Nov. 22, 2003 | Valparaiso | 54-42 | Morehead State | Valparaiso, IN
|
| Nov. 20, 2004 | Drake | 20-17 | Morehead State | Morehead, KY
|
External link