The 1979 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 in August 1979, and concluded with the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 15, 1979, at Orlando Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Lehigh Engineers by a final score of 30−7.

[1] Big Sky Conference – Montana State Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Morgan State Ohio Valley Conference – Murray State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Alcorn State and Grambling State Yankee Conference – Boston University and Massachusetts The bracket consisted of three regional selections (West, East, and South) plus Eastern Kentucky as an at-large selection.

[2] * Next to name denotes host institution

* Next to score denotes overtimes