The 2003 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 2003, and concluded with the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 2003, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Colgate Raiders by a final score of 40−0.

[1] Atlantic 10 Conference – Delaware and UMass Big Sky Conference – Montana, Montana State, and Northern Arizona Big South Conference – Gardner-Webb Gateway Football Conference – Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois Ivy League – Penn Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Duquesne Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina A&T Northeast Conference – Albany (NY) and Monmouth Ohio Valley Conference – Jacksonville State Patriot League – Colgate Pioneer Football League – Valparaiso Southern Conference – Wofford Southland Conference – McNeese State Southwestern Athletic Conference – Southern The top four teams in the tournament were seeded;[2] seeded teams were assured of hosting games in the first two rounds.

[3] * By team name denotes host institution

* By score denotes overtime period(s)