In 1978 Florida A&M etched itself into FCS football history when it took home the first ever Division I-AA national championship. The Rattlers capped off a 12-1 season with a 35-28 victory over UMass in Wichita Falls, TX. It was an exciting conclusion to the subdivision’s inaugural season and that year’s four-team playoff tournament, especially seeing as FAMU was the lone at-large qualifier. It also marked one of the few instances of success that an HBCU program has had in the FCS postseason.
It’s not all that common that these schools even can qualify for the playoffs and the process is a bit muddled on the rare occasions in which they do.