1983 Tennessee State Tigers football team

American college football season

1983 Tennessee State Tigers football
Black college national champion
Conference	Independent
Record	8–2–1
Head coach	John Merritt (21st season)
Home stadium	Hale Stadium Vanderbilt Stadium
Seasons← 1982 1984 →

1983 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 3 Holy Cross ^		–		9	–	1	–	1
No. 17 Tennessee State		–		8	–	2	–	1
No. 7 Colgate ^		–		8	–	3	–	0
Lehigh		–		8	–	3	–	0
Lafayette		–		6	–	4	–	0
Northeastern		–		6	–	4	–	1
Southeastern Louisiana		–		6	–	5	–	0
William & Mary		–		6	–	5	–	0
Nicholls State		–		5	–	6	–	0
Bucknell		–		4	–	5	–	1
Delaware		–		4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern State		–		4	–	7	–	0
James Madison		–		3	–	8	–	0
Richmond		–		3	–	8	–	0
Western Kentucky		–		2	–	8	–	1

^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1983 Tennessee State Tigers football team represented Tennessee State University as an independent during the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by 21st-year head coach John Merritt, the Tigers compiled an overall record of 8–2–1. At the conclusion of the season, the Tigers were also recognized as black college national champion.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 3	Hampton		Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 20–14	14,000
September 10	at Jackson State		Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS	L 31–35
September 17	at Alabama A&M		Milton Frank Stadium Huntsville, AL	W 40–28	10,000
September 24	at Florida A&M	No. 16	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 23–13
October 1	Alabama State	No. 13	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 52–19
October 8	No. T–14 Grambling State	No. 8	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	T 7–7	40,000
October 22	vs. Bethune–Cookman	No. 12	Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL	W 21–19	6,500
October 29	at Southern	No. 13	A. W. Mumford Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	W 49–24
November 5	District of Columbia	No. 8	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 55–6	4,000
November 12	vs. Mississippi Valley State	No. 12	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Bluff City Classic)	L 38–51	15,000
November 19	at North Carolina A&T	No. 18	Aggie Stadium Greensboro, NC	W 57–0	7,625
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

References

"HI defeated 20–14". Daily Press. September 4, 1983. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Jackson State takes wild 35–31 victory". The Clarion-Ledger. September 11, 1983. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Late Tennessee State surge nets 40–28 victory". The Tennessean. September 18, 1983. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"FAMU bows 23–13". Press Journel. September 25, 1983. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Tennessee State routs Hornets, 52–19". The Montgomery Advertiser. October 2, 1983. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Grambling scores, TSU fit to be tied". The Tennessean. October 9, 1983. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Fumbles foil B–CC's upset bid". The Orlando Sentinel. October 23, 1983. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Tennessee State downs Southern". The Tennessean. October 30, 1983. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Big Blue overwhelms District of Columbia". The Commercial Appeal. November 6, 1983. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Early turnovers help MVSU clobber TSU". The Greenwood Commonwealth. November 13, 1983. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Tennessee State rips N.C. A&T". The Charlotte Observer. November 20, 1983. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e Tennessee State Tigers football
Venues	Sulphur Dell Dudley Field/Vanderbilt Stadium (alternate, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979–1990, 1994, 1996) Hale Stadium (1953–1998, 2012–2020) Nissan Stadium (1999–2019, 2021–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Austin Peay, Tennessee Tech, UT Martin: Sgt. York Trophy Jackson State: Southern Heritage Classic
Culture & lore	Tigre
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1916 1917–1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941–1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Black college football national champions
1920s	1920: Howard / Talladega 1921: Talladega / Wiley 1922: Hampton 1923: Howard / Lincoln (PA) / Virginia Union 1924: Lincoln (PA) / Paul Quinn / Tuskegee 1925: Howard / Tuskegee 1926: Howard / Tuskegee 1927: Bluefield / Tuskegee 1928: Bluefield / Wiley 1929: Tuskegee
1920s	1930: Tuskegee 1931: Wilberforce 1932: Wiley 1933: Morgan 1934: Kentucky State 1935: Kentucky State / Texas College 1936: Virginia State / West Virginia State 1937: Morgan 1938: Florida A&M 1939: Langston
1940s	1940: Morris Brown 1941: Langston / Morris Brown 1942: Florida A&M 1943: Morgan State 1944: Morgan State 1945: Wiley 1946: Morgan State / Tennessee A&I 1947: Shaw / Tennessee A&I 1948: Wilberforce State / Southern 1949: Morgan State / Southern
1950s	1950: Florida A&M / Southern 1951: Morris Brown / North Carolina A&T 1952: Florida A&M 1953: Florida A&M / Prairie View A&M / Tennessee A&I 1954: Florida A&M / North Carolina College / Prairie View A&M / Southern / Tennessee A&I 1955: Grambling 1956: Tennessee A&I 1957: Florida A&M 1958: Prairie View A&M 1959: Florida A&M
1960s	1960: Southern 1961: Florida A&M 1962: Florida A&M / Jackson State 1963: Prairie View A&M 1964: Prairie View A&M 1965: Tennessee A&I 1966: Tennessee A&I 1967: Grambling / Morgan State 1968: Alcorn A&M / North Carolina A&T 1969: Alcorn A&M
1970s	1970: Tennessee State 1971: Tennessee State 1972: Grambling 1973: Tennessee State 1974: Alcorn State / Grambling State 1975: Grambling State 1976: South Carolina State 1977: Florida A&M / Grambling State / South Carolina State 1978: Florida A&M 1979: Tennessee State
1980s	1980: Grambling State 1981: South Carolina State / Virginia Union 1982: South Carolina State / Tennessee State 1983: Central State / Grambling State / Tennessee State 1984: Alcorn State / Tennessee State 1985: Hampton / Jackson State 1986: Central State 1987: Central State / Howard 1988: Central State 1989: Central State
1990s	1990: Central State / North Carolina A&T 1991: Alabama State 1992: Central State / Grambling State 1993: Howard / Southern 1994: Hampton / South Carolina State 1995: Southern 1996: Howard / Jackson State 1997: Hampton / Southern 1998: Florida A&M / Southern 1999: North Carolina A&T
2000s	2000: Grambling State / Tuskegee 2001: Florida A&M / Grambling State / Tuskegee 2002: Bethune–Cookman / Fayetteville State / Grambling State 2003: Albany State / Southern 2004: Albany State / Hampton 2005: Grambling State / Hampton / North Carolina Central 2006: Hampton / North Carolina Central 2007: Delaware State / Tuskegee 2008: Grambling State 2009: South Carolina State
2010s	2010: Bethune–Cookman 2011: Norfolk State / Winston-Salem State 2012: Arkansas–Pine Bluff / Winston-Salem State 2013: Bethune–Cookman / Tennessee State 2014: Alcorn State 2015: North Carolina A&T 2016: Grambling State 2017: North Carolina A&T 2018: North Carolina A&T 2019: North Carolina A&T
2020s	2020: Alabama A&M 2021: Bowie State / Florida A&M / South Carolina State 2022: North Carolina Central 2023: Florida A&M 2024: Jackson State

This college football 1980s season article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories: