1983 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game

The game was played on December 17, 1983, at Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina.

The culminating game of the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Southern Illinois, 43–7.

[3] The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1983 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 12-team bracket.

Western Carolina finished their regular season with an 8–2–1 record (5–0–1 in conference); their two losses were to Division I-A programs, Clemson and Wake Forest; the tie came against conference rival Furman.

[7] Ranked ninth in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[6] and unseeded in the tournament, the Catamounts defeated Colgate, second-seed Holy Cross, and third-seed Furman to reach the final.