1999 Hofstra Flying Dutchmen football team

The 1999 Hofstra Flying Dutchmen football team represented Hofstra University during the 1999 NCAA Division I-AA football season. It was the program's 59th season, and they competed as an Independent.^[1][2] The Flying Dutchmen earned a berth into the 16-team Division I-AA playoffs as the #3 seed, but lost in the quarterfinals to Illinois State, 37–20.^[1] They finished #5 in the final national poll and were led by 10th-year head coach Joe Gardi.

1999 Hofstra Flying Dutchmen football
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 20–37 vs. Illinois State
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 5
Record	11–2
Head coach	Joe Gardi (10th season)
Captains	Giovanni Carmazzi Jim Emanuel Jimmy Jones Vaughn Sanders
Home stadium	James M. Shuart Stadium
Seasons ← 1998 2000 →

1999 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 5 Hofstra ^			–						11	–	2
No. 21 Elon			–						9	–	2
Davidson			–						8	–	3
Southern Utah			–						8	–	3
No. 23 South Florida			–						7	–	4
Samford			–						7	–	4
St. Johns (NY)			–						7	–	4
Morehead State			–						5	–	5
Charleston Southern			–						4	–	6
Liberty			–						4	–	7
Jacksonville			–						3	–	6
Cal Poly			–						3	–	8
Austin Peay			–						3	–	8
Saint Mary's			–						2	–	9
^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

1999 was the last season in which Hofstra went by the nickname "Flying Dutchmen."^[3] Toward the end of the end of the 1999–2000 academic year, the school decided to change the nickname for their sports teams to "Pride" effective the following school year.^[4]

The season was overshadowed by the death of offensive lineman John Ciampi from a drug overdose. Ciampi, a junior and starting tackle, had been found in a semi-conscious state in his dormitory on October 31 before dying at a hospital later that day.^[5][6]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 4	7:00 p.m.	No. 17 Connecticut*	No. 12	James M. Shuart Stadium Hempstead, NY	Fox Sports	W 56–17	9,381
September 11		at Maine*	No. 6	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME	Fox Sports	W 27–19	9,050
September 18	12:00 p.m.	at Rhode Island*	No. 7	Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	Fox Sports	W 28–13
September 25	12:00 p.m.	Cal Poly*	No. 6	James M. Shuart Stadium Hempstead, NY	Fox Sports	W 38–3	3,628
October 2	12:00 p.m.	at No. 16 UMass*	No. 6	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA		W 27–14	13,827
October 8	7:00 p.m.	Delaware State*	No. 4	James M. Shuart Stadium Hempstead, NY		W 58–14		[7]
October 16	12:00 p.m.	Richmond*	No. 3	James M. Shuart Stadium Hempstead, NY	Fox Sports	L 21–31	7,283
October 23	2:00 p.m.	at No. 21 Elon*	No. 10	Burlington Memorial Stadium Elon, NC	Fox Sports	W 21–9	4,982
November 6	12:00 p.m.	at Buffalo*	No. 10	UB Stadium Amherst, NY	Fox Sports	W 20–13	8,699
November 13	7:00 p.m.	at No. 18 South Florida*	No. 6	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL		W 42–23	25,583
November 20	12:00 p.m.	No. 11 James Madison*	No. 4	James M. Shuart Stadium Hempstead, NY	Metro TV	W 34–16	6,842
November 27		No. 12 Lehigh*	No. 4	James M. Shuart Stadium Hempstead, NY (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	Fox Sports	W 27–15	6,770
December 4	12:00 p.m.	No. 5 Illinois State*	No. 4	James M. Shuart Stadium Hempstead, NY (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	Fox Sports	L 20–37	5,586	[8]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Awards and honors

• First Team All-America – Giovanni Carmazzi (Walter Camp, The Sports Network, Associated Press, The Football Gazette); Jim Magda (Walter Camp, The Sports Network, The Football Gazette)
• Third Team All-America – Michael Rescigno (The Football Gazette); Doug Shanahan (The Football Gazette)
• Honorable Mention All-America – Jim Emanuel (The Football Gazette); Steve Jackson (The Football Gazette); Robert Thomas (The Football Gazette)
• First Team I-AA Independents – Giovanni Carmazzi, Jim Emanuel, Steve Jackson, Jim Magda, Michael Rescigno, Doug Shanahan, Robert Thomas
• ECAC First Team – Giovanni Carmazzi, Jim Magda, Michael Rescigno
• ECAC Player of the Year – Giovanni Carmazzi
• I-AA Independents Offensive Player of the Year – Giovanni Carmazzi