1998 NBA Finals, Aftermath
The 2005–06 postseason saw the retirement or departure from the NBA of these former members of the 1998 Finals teams: Howard Eisley, Greg Ostertag, Shandon Anderson, Bryon Russell, and Toni Kukoč. Eisley remained with the Jazz the next two seasons and ended his career with the Denver Nuggets. In July 2006, the Nuggets traded Eisley to the Chicago Bulls, but the Bulls later waived Eisley before the 2006–07 season. Ostertag retired in 2006 after having played all but one season since the 1998 Finals with the Jazz; he played for the Sacramento Kings in 2004-05.


1998 NBA Finals, Aftermath
In his second season with the team and final season of his career, Anderson won an NBA championship with the Miami Heat in 2006. Like Eisley, Russell played his final NBA season with the Denver Nuggets in 2005–06; Russell played three years afterward with teams in the American Basketball Association and International Basketball League.


1998 NBA draft
The 1998 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This draft helped turn around four struggling franchises: the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings, the Boston Celtics, and the Toronto Raptors.


1998 NBA draft
The Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors were not able to win the NBA draft lottery  since they were expansion teams they were not allowed to select first in this draft.


1998 NBA draft
The Mavericks, despite having a talented nucleus of Jason Kidd, Jamal Mashburn and Jimmy Jackson in the mid-1990s, had not had a winning season since 1989-90, which was also the last time they made the playoffs. By the end of the 1997 season, all three players were traded and it was time to rebuild. With the sixth selection in 1998, they drafted Robert Traylor and quickly traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks for Dirk Nowitzki and Pat Garrity. They then traded Garrity in a package to the Phoenix Suns for Steve Nash. With Nash and Nowitzki, the Mavericks quickly went from a lottery team in the late 1990s to a perennial playoff contender throughout the 2000s. Nowitzki went on to win the 2011 NBA Finals with Dallas without Nash, but with Kidd.


1998 NBA draft
Meanwhile, the Raptors were a recent expansion team that had failed to win more than 30 games in its first three seasons. With the fourth pick they selected Antawn Jamison, whom they quickly dealt to the Golden State Warriors for Vince Carter. Carter went on to win Rookie of the Year.


1998 NBA draft
First overall pick Michael Olowokandi from mid-major University of the Pacific is regarded by Sports Illustrated as one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history. As of February 2019, he is the last top selection to come out of a university that is considered mid-major.


1998 NBA draft
Five players from the 1998 draft class have played in the NBA All-Star Game at least once in their careers: Nowitzki, Carter, Jamison, Paul Pierce and Rashard Lewis. All of them have reached the 20,000 points plateau during their careers except for Lewis.


1998 NBA draft
Carter retired in 2020, making him the last active player drafted in the 1990s to retire. He set the record for most seasons played in the NBA with 22 and is the only player to play in 4 decades. Nowitzki retired in April 2019 and remained with the Mavericks for his entire career, making him the only person to ever play 21 seasons with one team.


1998 NBA draft, Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 1998 NBA Draft but have played at least one game in the NBA.


1998 NBA playoffs
The 1998 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1997–98 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls defeating the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. The Bulls also achieved a second three peat, a goal unrivaled since the Boston Celtics in 1966. The 1998 playoffs was the last involving the Jordan-led Bulls (Chicago didn't make the playoffs again until 2005). Michael Jordan was named NBA Finals MVP for the sixth and final time.


1998 NBA playoffs
The Indiana Pacers took the Bulls to the limit in the Eastern Conference Finals, becoming 1 of only 2 teams to force a Game 7 in the Bulls' title years (the Knicks achieved this in 1992). This team was later named by Pacers.com as the greatest in franchise history, even better than the 2000 team that won the Eastern Conference Title, primarily due to their record.


1998 NBA playoffs
The New Jersey Nets made the playoffs for the first time since 1994, but did not appear again until 2002. Their presence was a mere asterisk compared to what they accomplished in 2002, getting swept by the eventual champion Bulls.


1998 NBA playoffs
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to Indiana in the first round 3–1 and did not appear again until 2006.


1998 NBA playoffs
The Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1991. They were ultimately swept by the Jazz.


1998 NBA playoffs
Game 5 of the Jazz-Rockets series would be the final game of Clyde Drexler's career.


1998 NBA playoffs, Bracket
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Teams with home court advantage are shown in Italics.


1998 NBA playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Western Conference, Home court advantage
The Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls tied for the best record in the NBA. However, Utah won the season series 2–0 and was awarded home court advantage throughout the playoffs.


1998 NBA playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Western Conference, Clinched a playoff berth
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:


1998 NBA playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Eastern Conference, Best record in conference
The Chicago Bulls clinched the best record in the East, and earned home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.


1998 NBA playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Eastern Conference, Clinched a playoff berth
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:


1998 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (1) Chicago Bulls vs. (8) New Jersey Nets
This was the first playoff meeting between the Bulls and the Nets.


1998 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (2) Miami Heat vs. (7) New York Knicks
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Heat winning the first meeting.


1998 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (3) Indiana Pacers vs. (6) Cleveland Cavaliers
This was the first playoff meeting between the Cavaliers and the Pacers.


1998 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (4) Charlotte Hornets vs. (5) Atlanta Hawks
This was the first playoff meeting between the Hawks and the Hornets.


1998 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (1) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Houston Rockets
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning two series apiece.


1998 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (2) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (7) Minnesota Timberwolves
This was the first playoff meeting between the Timberwolves and the SuperSonics.


1998 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning five of the first seven meetings.


1998 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (4) Phoenix Suns vs. (5) San Antonio Spurs
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Suns winning two of the first three meetings.


1998 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Chicago Bulls vs. (4) Charlotte Hornets
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bulls winning the first meeting.


1998 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (3) Indiana Pacers vs. (7) New York Knicks
Reggie Miller hits the game-tying 3 with 5.1 seconds left to force OT.


1998 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (3) Indiana Pacers vs. (7) New York Knicks
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning two of the first three meetings.


1998 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (1) Utah Jazz vs. (5) San Antonio Spurs
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning the first two meetings.


1998 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning four of the first six meetings.


1998 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (1) Chicago Bulls vs. (3) Indiana Pacers
Reggie Miller hits the game-winning 3 with 7 tenths left.


1998 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (1) Chicago Bulls vs. (3) Indiana Pacers
This was the first playoff meeting between the Bulls and the Pacers.


1998 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Utah Jazz vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series apiece.


1998 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals: (E1) Chicago Bulls vs. (W1) Utah Jazz
Luc Longley hits the game-tying shot with 14.3 seconds left to force OT.


1998 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals: (E1) Chicago Bulls vs. (W1) Utah Jazz
Utah scores the fewest points in any playoff game in NBA history (54) and loses by the biggest margin in NBA Finals history (42).


1998 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals: (E1) Chicago Bulls vs. (W1) Utah Jazz
Michael Jordan hits the game-winning shot with 5.2 seconds left. Game 6 was Jordan's final NBA game with the Bulls.


1998 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals: (E1) Chicago Bulls vs. (W1) Utah Jazz
This was the second NBA Finals meeting between these two teams, with the Bulls winning the first meeting.


1998 NBL season
The 1998 NBL season was the 20th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contest the league. This season marked the NBL's final winter season. The Illawarra Hawks were renamed the Wollongong Hawks.


1998 NBL season, Regular Season
The 1998 Regular Season took place over 19 Rounds between 30 January 1998 and 9 June 1998.


1998 NBL season, Ladder
The NBL tie-breaker system as outlined in the NBL Rules and Regulations states that in the case of an identical win-loss record, the results in games played between the teams will determine order of seeding.


1998 NC State Wolfpack football team
The 1998 NC State Wolfpack football team represented North Carolina State University during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season with Mike O'Cain as its head coach. NC State has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since the league's inception in 1953. The Wolfpack played its home games in 1998 at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, which has been NC State football's home stadium since 1966.


1998 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1998 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, a double-elimination tournament in its fifty-second year. Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event. Each region was composed of six teams, resulting in 48 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament. The fifty-second tournament's champion was Southern California, coached by Mike Gillespie. The championship was the Trojans' record 12th, but their first since 1978, the last under coach Rod Dedeaux. The Most Outstanding Player was USC second baseman Wes Rachels.


1998 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Regionals
The opening rounds of the tournament were played at eight regional sites across the country, each consisting of a six-team field. Each regional tournament is double-elimination, however region brackets are variable depending on the number of teams remaining after each round. Regional games were scheduled for Thursday, May 21 through Sunday, May 24; however, one final Sunday game (Arizona State vs. Georgia Tech at Wichita) had to be played the next day due to rainout. The winners of each regional advanced to the College World Series.


1998 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Regionals
In the final year of the 48-team tournament, five regionals required the full 11 games. Florida State, LSU and Mississippi State advanced to the CWS unscathed.


1998 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, College World Series
The 1998 CWS was infamous for producing several high-scoring games, which was termed by media covering the Series as "Gorilla Ball" (or "Geaux-rilla Ball" among LSU fans), which placed a premium on home runs. LSU, which won the 1996 and 1997 national championships and set an NCAA record in 1997 by hitting 188 home runs, hit eight home runs in its first game (by seven different players) vs. USC, and added six more in its second game vs. Mississippi State to bring its season total to 157. Needing one victory to advance to the championship game for the third consecutive year, LSU fell twice to USC, hitting just one home run in 18 innings. USC and Pac-10 rival Arizona St. set numerous offensive records in the championship game, won by the Trojans 21–14.


1998 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, College World Series
Prior to the 1999 season, the NCAA adopted restrictions on aluminum bats, requiring the difference between the length and weight ("drop") of the bat to be no more than three (e.g. a 34-inch bat could not weigh less than 31 ounces). This reduced home run output slightly, but it was not until more sweeping changes in 2011 before aluminum bats would perform more like their wood counterparts.


1998 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The 1998 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were the 60th annual NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship and the 18th annual NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA Division I men's and women's collegiate cross country running in the United States. In all, four different titles were contested: men's and women's individual and team championships.


1998 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
Held on November 23, 1998, the combined meet was hosted by the University of Kansas at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas. The distance for the men's race was 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) while the distance for the women's race was 5 kilometers (3.11 miles).


1998 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The men's team championship was won by Arkansas (97 points), the Razorbacks' ninth overall. The women's team championship was won by Villanova (106 points), the Wildcats' seventh (and first since winning six consecutive between 1989 and 1994).


1998 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The two individual champions were, for the men, Adam Goucher (Colorado, 29:26) and, for the women, Katie McGregor (Michigan, 16:47).


1998 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship
The 1998 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship was the 18th women's collegiate field hockey tournament organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the top college field hockey team in the United States. The Old Dominion won their third championship, defeating the Princeton Tigers in the final. The championship rounds were held at the Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. It was the final tournament with a twelve-team field before expanding to sixteen teams the following year.


1998 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
The 1998 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships were contested to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's NCAA collegiate indoor track and field events in the United States after the 1997–98 season, the 34th annual meet for men and 16th annual meet for women.


1998 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
The championships were again held at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana.


1998 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
Defending champions Arkansas again won the men's team title, the Razorbacks' fourteenth overall and fourteenth in fifteen years.


1998 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
Texas won the women's team title, the Longhorns' fourth and first since 1990.


1998 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, Qualification
All teams and athletes from Division I indoor track and field programs were eligible to compete for this year's individual and team titles.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Alaney2k (talk | contribs) at 16:19, 15 April 2020 (→top: the work's name is "The New York Times"). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
The 1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game was the finals of the 1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and it determined the national champion for the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season  The 1998 National Title Game was played on March 30, 1998, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, The 1998 National Title Game was played between the 1998 South Regional Champions, No. 2-seeded Kentucky and the 1998 West Regional Champions, No. 3-seeded Utah.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's  NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1998, and ended with the championship game on March 30 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. A total of 63 games were played.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The Final Four consisted of Kentucky, making their third consecutive Final Four, Stanford, making their first appearance since their initial Final Four run in 1942, Utah, making their fourth Final Four and first since 1966, and North Carolina, who returned for a fourteenth overall time and third in four seasons.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Kentucky won the national title, its second in three seasons and seventh overall, by defeating Utah 78–69 in the championship game.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Jeff Sheppard of Kentucky was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Kentucky came back from double-digit deficits in each of its last three games in the tournament, including a 17-point second half comeback against the Duke Blue Devils, leading to the school's fans dubbing the team the "Comeback Cats". This was Kentucky's third straight championship game appearance.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Bryce Drew led the 13th-seeded Valparaiso Crusaders to the Sweet Sixteen, including a memorable play that remains part of March Madness lore.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
For the second consecutive season, a #14 seed advanced from the first round; Richmond, coached by John Beilein, upset South Carolina.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
For the second time in three years, a top seeded team failed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. That distinction belonged to Midwest Region #1 seed Kansas, who was defeated by #8 seed Rhode Island.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1998 tournament:


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
San Antonio became the 26th host city, and the Alamodome the 31st host venue, for the Final Four. The 1998 tournament saw two new cities and two new venues. For the first time ever, the tournament was held within Washington's city limits, at the new MCI Center (now Capital One Arena) downtown; all previous games in the region had been either at Cole Field House on the University of Maryland campus or at the USAir Arena in suburban Landover.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
The tournament also came to Orange County, California for the first time, at the Arrowhead Pond, home to the NHL's Mighty Ducks. The tournament returned to St. Louis in 1998, playing at the Kiel Center, successor venue to both Kiel Auditorium (whose site it was built on) and the St. Louis Arena. And for the first time in 45 years, the tournament was held within Chicago city limits at the United Center, successor venue to the old Chicago Stadium, which was across the street from the new venue. The tournament also marked the last appearance of the Myriad Convention Center in Oklahoma City, with future games held at the Chesapeake Energy Arena directly across the street.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The 1998 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships were contested at the 60th annual NCAA-sanctioned golf tournament for determining the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate golf at the Division I level in the United States.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The tournament was held at the University of New Mexico Golf Course in Albuquerque, New Mexico.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
UNLV won the team championship, the Rebels' first NCAA title.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, Qualifying
Three regional qualifying tournaments were held, with the top ten teams qualifying for the national championship from each event.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament involved 12 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. It began on March 27, 1998, and ended with the championship game on April 4. A total of 11 games were played.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The at-large bids and seeding for each team in the tournament were announced after the conference tournaments concluded. The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), the ECAC, Hockey East and Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) all received 3 berths in the tournament.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 1998 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament was the 28th annual Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. Twelve NCAA Division I college men's lacrosse teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The championship game was played at Rutgers Stadium in front of 21,194 fans,  The game saw the Princeton University defeat University of Maryland by the score of 15–5. This is Princeton's third consecutive national championship under Head Coach Bill Tierney, and their fifth title since 1992.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was the 39th organized men's college soccer tournament by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, to determine the top college soccer team in the United States. The Indiana Hoosiers won their fourth national title by defeating the Stanford Cardinal in the championship game, 3–1. The final match was played on December 13, 1998, in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond Stadium for the fourth straight year. All other games were played at the home field of the higher seeded team.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 1998 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships were contested in March 1998 at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama at the 75th annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I men's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
Stanford topped the team standings for the eighth time, finishing 104.5 points ahead of hosts and defending champions Auburn.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
The 1998 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships were the 52nd annual championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I men's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
Three-time defending champions Stanford again defeated Georgia in the championship final, 4–0, to claim the Cardinal's sixteenth team national title. With the team win, Stanford swept all three men's tennis titles (team, singles, and doubles).


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships, Host sites
The men's tournaments were played at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.


1998 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships, Host sites
The men's and women's tournaments would not be held at the same site until 2006.


1998 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 1998 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were contested June 3−6 at University at Buffalo Stadium at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York in order to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's collegiate Division I outdoor track and field events in the United States.


1998 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
These were the 76th annual men's championships and the 17th annual women's championships. This was the Bulls' first time hosting the event.


1998 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
For the seventh consecutive year, Arkansas topped the men's team standings, finishing seven-and-a-half points ahead of Stanford. It was the seventh of eight consecutive titles for the Razorbacks and their eighth overall.


1998 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Texas finished atop the women's team standings for the first time since 1986, claiming their second title in program history. This was the first title since 1986 not claimed by LSU, snapping their streak of eleven straight national titles. The 1986 championship was also the last event hosted by Indiana.


1998 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament was the seventeenth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1998, thirty-two Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of four teams, each in a double elimination format. The 1998 Women's College World Series was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from May 21 through May 25 and marked the conclusion of the 1998 NCAA Division I softball season. Fresno State won their first NCAA championship by defeating Arizona 1–0 in the final game. Fresno State pitcher Amanda Scott was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament began on March 13, 1998, and concluded on March 29, 1998, when Tennessee won the national title. The Final Four was held at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 27–29, 1998. Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, NC State, and Arkansas qualified to the Final Four. Tennessee and Louisiana Tech won their semi-final Final Four matchups and continued on to the championship. Tennessee defeated Louisiana Tech 93–75 to take their sixth title, and complete an undefeated season (39–0).


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
For the first time in the men's or women's tournament, two teams, Tennessee and Liberty, entered the tournament unbeaten (this feat was replicated in 2014 by the women's teams from Connecticut and Notre Dame). In the Mideast Regional, the Lady Vols blew out Liberty 102–58. However, in the West Regional, the expected 1–16 blowout did not happen. In that matchup, Harvard defeated an injury-plagued #1 seed Stanford on its home court 71–67.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
This was the first time in the men's or women's tournament that a #16 seed had beaten a #1 seed, a feat that would not be repeated until 2018 in the men's tournament. In addition, 9th-seeded Arkansas made the final four, the highest seed ever to do so in the women's tournament. The ninth-seeded Razorbacks remain the lowest seeded team to ever reach the Final Four in the women's tournament. Only 10th-seeded Oregon in 2017 and 11th-seeded Gonzaga in 2011 have even reached an Elite Eight to be in position to break this record.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams – automatic
Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 1998 NCAA Tournament. Thirty conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 1998 NCAA tournament.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams – at-large
Thirty-four additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by conference
Thirty conferences earned an automatic bid. In nineteen cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-four additional at-large teams were selected from eleven of the conferences.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, First and second rounds
In 1998, the field remained at 64 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1–16 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 1 and 16 faced each other, as well as seeds 2 and 15, seeds 3 and 14, seeds 4 and 13, seeds 5 and 12, seeds 6 and 11, seeds 7 and 10, and seeds 8 and 9. In the first two rounds, the top four seeds were given the opportunity to host the first round game. In all cases, the higher seed accepted the opportunity.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, First and second rounds
The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the sixteen first and second round locations:


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Regionals and  Final Four
The Regionals, named for the general  location, were held from March 20 to March 23 at these sites:


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Regionals and  Final Four
Each regional winner advanced to the  Final Four held  March 27 and March  29  in Kansas City, Missouri, at  the Kemper Arena


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by state
The sixty-four teams came from thirty-four states, plus Washington, D.C. Four states, California, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina each had the most teams with four bids. Sixteen states did not have any teams receiving bids.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Record by  conference
Sixteen conferences had more than one  bid, or at least one win in NCAA Tournament play:


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Record by  conference
Fourteen conferences  went 0–1: America East, Big Sky Conference,  Big South Conference, Horizon League, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference,  Patriot League, Southern Conference, Southland, SWAC, and West Coast Conference


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship
The 1998 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships were contested at the 17th annual NCAA-sanctioned golf tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of women's Division I collegiate golf in the United States.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship
The tournament was held at the University Ridge Golf Course, near Madison, Wisconsin.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship
Defending champions Arizona State won the team championship, the Sun Devils' sixth title and fifth in six years.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The 1998 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship was the 17th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of Division I NCAA women's college lacrosse. The championship game was played at UMBC Stadium in Catonsville, Maryland during May 1998. All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship. This year, the tournament field expanded from 8 to 12 teams, the second consecutive expansion after increasing from 6 to 8 teams the previous year.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
Maryland defeated Virginia, 11–5, to win their sixth and fourth consecutive, national championship. This would subsequently become the fourth of Maryland's record seven straight national titles (1995–2001).


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The leading scorer for the tournament, with 15 goals, was Cathy Nelson from Maryland. Nelson was also the recipient of the Most Outstanding Player award, given out for the first time since 1984.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament (also known as the 1998 NCAA Women's College Cup) was the 17th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. The semifinals and championship game were played again at the UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina during December 1998.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
Florida defeated North Carolina in the final, 1–0, to win their first national title. Coached by Becky Burleigh, the Gators finished the season 26–1. Florida won the championship in just their first appearance in the College Cup, a feat matched only by USC in 2007.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The Most Outstanding Offensive Player was Danielle Fotopoulos from Florida, and the Most Outstanding Defensive Player was Meredith Flaherty, also from Florida. Fotopoulos and Flaherty, along with ten other players, were named to the All-tournament team.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The tournament's leading scorer, with 3 goals, was Meredith Florance from North Carolina.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Qualification
All Division I women's soccer programs were eligible to qualify for the tournament. The tournament field expanded again, this time increasing from 32 teams to 48.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Qualification, Format
To accommodate the sixteen additional teams, an additional round was added to the tournament for the thirty-two lowest-seeded teams. The top sixteen teams, meanwhile, were given a bye into the Second Round.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 1998 NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships were contested at the 17th annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I women's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
This year's events were hosted at the University Aquatic Center at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
Stanford topped the team standings, finishing 44 points ahead of Arizona. It was the Cardinal's record eighth national title and their sixth in seven seasons.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
The 1998 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships were the 17th annual championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I women's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
Florida defeated Duke in the team final, 5–1, to claim their third national title (and second in three years).


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships, Host
This year's tournaments were hosted by the University of Notre Dame at the Courtney Tennis Center in South Bend, Indiana.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships, Host
The men's and women's NCAA tennis championships would not be held jointly until 2006.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on December 3, 1998, with 64 teams and ended December 19 when Long Beach State defeated Penn State 3 games to 2 in Madison, Wisconsin, for the program's third NCAA title and fifth national title overall.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
Long Beach State became the first team in NCAA history to finish the season undefeated. Penn State, who was also undefeated before the championship, fell in the finals for the second year in a row.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The NCAA's expansion from 56 teams to 64 began in 1998.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, Records
The NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998, joining the men's and women's basketball tournaments as the only 64-team NCAA Tournaments at the time. The NCAA baseball tournament would expand to the same size in 1999, followed by the NCAA women's soccer tournament in 2001 and the NCAA softball tournament in 2003. The Big Ten and Big 12 each earned six bids in 1998. The Pac-10 only received four bids in the 1998 NCAA Tournament, which is the fewest they have earned in the 64-team era.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Semifinals, Long Beach State vs. Florida
Long Beach advanced to the finals easily, taking the 10-0 lead in the opening game before winning 15-2. Florida staved off seven game points in the second game before falling 15-8. Long Beach then won a closer third game to sweep the Gators.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Semifinals, Long Beach State vs. Florida
Misty May put down 11 kills and had two service aces, while Jessica Alvarado led the 49ers with 12 kills.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Semifinals, Penn State vs. Nebraska
Lauren Cacciamani had 20 kills, Christy Cochran had 19 and the three-time all-American Bonnie Bremner had 13 to help Penn State beat No. 3 Nebraska in four games. The Huskers ended their season 32-2 while Penn State improved to 35-0 and advanced to the program's third title match.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Championship: Long Beach State vs. Penn State
Long Beach took the first two games easily, 15-3 and 15-10. However, like the 1997 NCAA championship, Penn State took the next two games to force a fifth game.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, National Championship: Long Beach State vs. Penn State
In the decisive rally-scoring fifth game, Penn State led 7-2, but Long Beach tied it up at 8. Tied at 12, Long Beach State's Jessica Alvardo put down two kills before Veronica Wall's 19th kill of the night ended the match, 15-12. Long Beach State's Misty May, also the AVCA National Player of the Year, was named the co-MVP of the Championship along with Penn State's Lauren Cacciamani.


1998 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, NCAA Tournament records
There are two NCAA tournament records that were set in the 1998 tournament.


1998 NCAA Division I baseball rankings
The following polls make up the 1998 NCAA Division I baseball rankings. USA Today and ESPN began publishing the Coaches' Poll of 31 active coaches ranking the top 25 teams in the nation in 1992. Each coach is a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association. Baseball America began publishing its poll of the top 20 teams in college baseball in 1981. Beginning with the 1985 season, it expanded to the top 25. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper published its first human poll of the top 20 teams in college baseball in 1957, and expanded to rank the top 30 teams in 1961.


1998 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll
Currently, only the final poll from the 1998 season is available.


1998 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, Baseball America
Currently, only the final poll from the 1998 season is available.


1998 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, Collegiate Baseball
Currently, only the final six polls from the 1998 season are available.


1998 NCAA Division I baseball season
The 1998 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 1998. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1998 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the fifty second time in 1998, consisted of one team from each of eight regional competitions and was held in Omaha, Nebraska at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. Southern California claimed the championship for the twelfth time, and first since 1978.


1998 NCAA Division I baseball season, Conference winners
This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1998 season. The NCAA sponsored regional competitions to determine the College World Series participants. Each of the eight regionals consisted of six teams competing in double-elimination tournaments, with the winners advancing to Omaha. In order to provide all conference champions with an automatic bid, 10 conference champions participated in a play-in round. The five winners joined the other 19 conference champions with automatic bids, 24 teams earned at-large selections.


1998 NCAA Division I baseball season, College World Series
The 1998 season marked the fifty second NCAA Baseball Tournament, which culminated with the eight team College World Series. The College World Series was held in Omaha, Nebraska. The eight teams played a double-elimination format, with Southern California claiming their record twelfth championship with a 21–14 win over Arizona State in the final.


1998 NCAA Division I softball season
The 1998 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 1998. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 1998 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament and 1998 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held in held in Oklahoma City at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, ended on May 25, 1998.


1998 NCAA Division I softball season, Women's College World Series
The 1998 NCAA Women's College World Series took place from May 21 to May 25, 1998 in Oklahoma City.


1998 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Two human polls and one formulaic ranking make up the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), does not bestow a National Championship title for Division I-A football. That title is primarily bestowed by different polling agencies. There are several polls that currently exist. The main weekly polls are the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings made their debut in 1998, and began being released about halfway through the season.


1998 NCAA Division I-A football rankings, BCS Standings
The Bowl Championship Series determined the two teams that competed in the BCS National Championship Game, the 1999 Fiesta Bowl.


1998 NCAA Division I-A football rankings, BCS Standings
Each week, the BCS Standings ranked the top 15 teams, or down to the lowest-ranked Automatic Qualifying conference leader.


1998 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1998 and culminated with the major bowl games in early January 1999. It was the first season of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), which saw the Tennessee Volunteers win the national championship, one year after star quarterback Peyton Manning left for the National Football League (NFL). Tennessee defeated the Florida State Seminoles, 23–16, in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona, to secure the inaugural BCS National Championship.


1998 NCAA Division I-A football season
The BCS combined elements of the old Bowl Coalition and the Bowl Alliance it replaced. The agreement existed between the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange bowl games, with the Cotton Bowl Classic diminishing in status since the breakup of the Southwest Conference. Like the Bowl Alliance, a national championship game would rotate between the four bowls, with the top two teams facing each other. These teams were chosen based upon a BCS poll, combining the AP Poll, the Coaches Poll, and a computer component.


1998 NCAA Division I-A football season
The computer factored in things such as strength of schedule, margin of victory, and quality wins without taking into account time (in other words, a loss early in the season and a loss late in the season were on equal footing). Like the Bowl Coalition, the BCS bowls not hosting the national championship game would retain their traditional conference tie-ins.


1998 NCAA Division I-A football season
The first run of the Bowl Championship Series was not without controversy as Kansas State finished third in the final BCS standings, but was not invited to a BCS bowl game. Ohio State (ranked 4th) and two-loss Florida (8th) received the at-large bids instead. Also, Tulane went undefeated, but finished 10th in the BCS standings and was not invited to a BCS bowl because of their low strength of schedule.


1998 NCAA Division I-A football season, Rule changes
The following rule changes were adopted by the NCAA Rules Committee during their 1998 meeting:


1998 NCAA Division I-A football season, Conference and program changes
With no teams upgrading from Division I-AA, the number of Division I-A schools was fixed at 112.


1998 NCAA Division I-A football season, Regular season top 10 matchups
Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 8 and beyond will list BCS Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted.


1998 NCAA Division I-A football season, Heisman Trophy voting
Most Outstanding Player of the yearWinner:Ricky Williams, Texas, Running Back (2335 points)


1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game
The 1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the UMass Minutemen. The game was played on December 19, 1998, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The culminating game of the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by UMass, 55–43.


1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1998 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.


1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams, UMass Minutemen
UMass finished their regular season with an 8–3 record (6–2 in conference); two of their losses had been to rival Connecticut, with one considered a non-conference game. Seeded 11th in the playoffs, the Minutemen defeated sixth-seed McNeese State, 14-seed Lehigh, and second-seed Northwestern State to reach the final. This was the second appearance for UMass in a Division I-AA championship game, having lost to Florida A&M in the 1978 inaugural title game.


1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams, Georgia Southern Eagles
Georgia Southern finished their regular season with an 11–0 record (8–0 in conference). The Eagles, seeded first, defeated 16-seed Colgate, eighth-seed Connecticut, and fourth-seed Western Illinois to reach the final. This was the sixth appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having four prior wins (1985, 1986, 1989, 1990) and one prior loss (1988).


1998 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings
The 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings are from the Sports Network poll of Division I-AA head coaches, athletic directors, sports information directors and media members. This is for the 1998 season.


1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season
The 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1998, and concluded with the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1998, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The UMass Minutemen won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Georgia Southern Eagles by a score of 55−43.


1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Conference champions
Atlantic 10 Conference – RichmondBig Sky Conference – MontanaGateway Football Conference – Western IllinoisIvy League – PennMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference – Fairfield and GeorgetownMid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Florida A&M and HamptonNortheast Conference – Monmouth and Robert MorrisOhio Valley Conference – Tennessee StatePatriot League – LehighPioneer Football League – DrakeSouthern Conference – Georgia SouthernSouthland Football League – Northwestern StateSouthwestern Athletic Conference – Southern


1998 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament was the 42nd annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball in the United States.


1998 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The official culmination of the 1997–98 NCAA Division II men's basketball season, the tournament featured forty-eight teams from around the country.


1998 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The Elite Eight, national semifinals, and championship were played at the Commonwealth Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky.


1998 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
UC Davis (31–2) defeated Kentucky Wesleyan in the final, 83–77, to win their first Division II national championship.


1998 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The Aggies were coached by Bob Williams. Kentucky Wesleyan's Antonio Garcia, meanwhile, was the Most Outstanding Player.


1998 NCAA Division II Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Men's Division II Ice Hockey Tournament involved 2 schools playing in a best of three game series to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college ice hockey. A total of 2 games were played, hosted by Alabama-Huntville.


1998 NCAA Division II Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Alabama–Huntsville, coached by Doug Ross, won the national title over Bemidji State, two games to none.


1998 NCAA Division II Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Mike Hamlin, John McCabe, Colin Schmidt and Shane Stewart, were the tournament's leading scorers with three points each.


1998 NCAA Division II Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Tournament Format
One eastern and one western team were invited to play a modified best-of-three tournament. In the first two games the teams would be awarded points (2 points for a win, one point for a tie) and whichever team had the most points would be the champion. If the teams were tied after two games then a 20-minute mini-game would be played to determine the champion.


1998 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
The 1998 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship was the 27th annual tournament held by the NCAA to determine the top men's Division II college soccer program in the United States.


1998 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
Southern Connecticut State (20-2-1) defeated South Carolina–Spartanburg, 1–0, in the tournament final. This was the fifth national title for the Owls, who were coached by Tom Lang. This was also a rematch of the championship final from 1995, also won by SCSU.


1998 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament was the 17th annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of Division II women's  collegiate basketball in the United States.


1998 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
Defending champions North Dakota defeated Emporia State in the championship game, 92–76, to claim the Fighting Sioux's second NCAA Division II national title. This would go on to be the second of three consecutive titles for North Dakota.


1998 NCAA Division II football rankings
The 1998 NCAA Division II football rankings are from the NCAA Division II football committee. This is for the 1998 season.


1998 NCAA Division II football season
The 1998 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began on September 5, 1998, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 12, 1998, at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats defeated the Carson–Newman, 24–6, to win their first Division II national title.


1998 NCAA Division II football season
The Harlon Hill Trophy was awarded to Brian Shay, running back from Emporia State.


1998 NCAA Division II football season, Conference summaries
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Livingstone and Winston-Salem StateEastern Collegiate Football Conference – AlbanyGulf South Conference – Delta State and West GeorgiaLone Star Conference – Central OklahomaMid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association – Northwest Missouri StateMidwest Intercollegiate Football Conference – Grand Valley StateNorth Central Conference – Nebraska–Omaha and Northern ColoradoNorthern Sun Intercollegiate Conference – Winona StatePennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Millersville (East), Slippery Rock (West)Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Chadron State and Western StateSouth Atlantic Conference – Carson-NewmanSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – TuskegeeWest Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Shepherd


1998 NCAA Division II football season, Postseason
The 1998 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 25th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, for the 12th time.


1998 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1998 NCAA Division III baseball season to determine the 23rd national champion of college baseball at the NCAA Division III level. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing at Salem Memorial Ballpark in Salem, Virginia for the championship. Eight regional tournaments were held to determine the participants in the World Series. Regional tournaments were contested in double-elimination format, with four regions consisting of six teams and four regions consisting of four teams, for a total of 40 teams participating in the tournament, up from 32 in 1997. The tournament champion was Eastern Connecticut State, who defeated Montclair State for the championship.


1998 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament was the 24th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champions of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's Division III collegiate basketball in the United States.


1998 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
The field contained sixty-four teams, and each program was allocated to one of four sectionals. All sectional games were played on campus sites, while the national semifinals, third-place final, and championship finals were contested at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.


1998 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
Wisconsin–Platteville defeated Hope, 69–56, in the final, clinching their third overall national title and third championship in seven seasons (1991 and 1995). It was also Hope's second defeat in the final in three years (1996).


1998 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
The Pioneers (30–0) were coached by Bo Ryan; this was the third title at Platteville for the future Wisconsin coach. Platteville were furthermore the first Division III team to finish a season undefeated since their own perfect season in 1995.


1998 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
Ben Hoffmann, also from Platteville, was named Most Outstanding Player.


1998 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1997–98 season, the 15th such tournament in NCAA history. It concluded with Middlebury defeating Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the championship game 2-1. All Quarterfinals matchups were held at home team venues, while all succeeding games were played in Plattsburgh, New York.


1998 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The championship marked the fourth in a row for Middlebury, a record for all levels of men's ice hockey.


1998 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The following teams qualified for the tournament. There were no automatic bids, however, conference tournament champions were given preferential consideration. No formal seeding was used while quarterfinal matches were arranged so that the road teams would have the shortest possible travel distances.


1998 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The tournament featured three rounds of play. In the Quarterfinals, teams played a two-game series where the first team to reach 3 points was declared a winner (2 points for winning a game, 1 point each for tying). If both teams ended up with 2 points after the first two games a 20-minute mini-game used to determine a winner. Mini-game scores are in italics. Beginning with the Semifinals all games became Single-game eliminations. The winning teams in the semifinals advanced to the National Championship Game with the losers playing in a Third Place game. The teams were seeded according to geographic proximity in the quarterfinals so the visiting team would have the shortest feasible distance to travel.


1998 NCAA Division III football season
The 1998 NCAA Division III football season, part of the college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States, began in August 1998, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 1998 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Mount Union Purple Raiders won their fourth, and third consecutive, Division III championship by defeating the Rowan Profs, 44−24.


1998 NCAA Division III football season
The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Scott Hvistendahl, wide receiver and punter from Augsburg.


1998 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason
The 1998 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 26th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia for the second time. As of 2014, Salem has remained the yearly host of the Stagg Bowl. This was the final bracket to feature sixteen teams before expanding to 28 teams in 1999.


1998 NCAA Division III football season, Final NCAA Regional Poll, East Region
Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Hartwick, Hobart, Rensselaer Polytechnic, and Salve Regina.


1998 NCAA Division III football season, Final NCAA Regional Poll, West Region
*This was the final time the NCAA conducted a regional poll for Division III, starting with the 1999 season, American Football Coaches Association conducted a top 25 coaches poll.


1998 NCAA Division III football season, Awards
AFCA Regional Coach of the Year: Region 1: Mike DeLong, Springfield  Region 2: Frank Girardi, Lycoming Region 3: Steve Mohr, Trinity(TX) Region 4: Joe Fincham, Wittenberg Region 5: Rich Kacmarynski, Central(IA)


1998 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The Consensus 1998 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, the USBWA, The Sporting News and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.


1998 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
In 1998, the Sporting News was added as a contributing source to the consensus teams, belatedly replacing the UPI All-American team, which ceased to exist after 1996.


1998 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament was the 29th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate volleyball. The single elimination tournament was played at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi during May 1998. With a total tournament attendance of 18,901, this remains this best attended men's volleyball championship.


1998 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
UCLA defeated Pepperdine in the final match, 3–0 (15–11, 15–11, 15–7), to win their seventeenth national title. The Bruins (28–4) were coached by Al Scates.


1998 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
UCLA's Adam Naeve was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Neve, along with five other players, comprised the All-Tournament Team.


1998 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament, Qualification
Until the creation of the NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship in 2012, there was only a single national championship for men's volleyball. As such, all NCAA men's volleyball programs, whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III, were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.


1998 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The 1998 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 30th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Marian Bergeson Aquatic Center in Newport Beach, California during December 1998.


1998 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
USC defeated Stanford in the final, 9–8 (in two overtimes), to win their first national title. The Trojans had previously gone 0–6 in tournament finals appearances. The Trojans (25–3) were coached by John Williams and Jovan Vavic.


1998 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The Most Outstanding Players of the tournament were Chris Aguilera (Stanford), Ivan Babic (USC), and Marko Pintaric (USC). These three, along with five other players, comprised the All-Tournament Team.


1998 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The tournament's leading scorer, with 5 goals, was George Csaszar from USC.


1998 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, Qualification
Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.


1998 NCAA Rifle Championships
The 1997 NCAA Rifle Championships were contested at the 18th annual competition to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA co-ed collegiate rifle shooting in the United States. The championship was hosted by Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky.


1998 NCAA Rifle Championships
Three-time defending champions West Virginia once again topped the team standings, finishing a mere three points (6,214–6,211) ahead of Alaska. This was the Mountaineers' thirteenth team title.


1998 NCAA Rifle Championships
The individual champions were, for the smallbore rifle, Karyn Juziuk (Xavier), and Emily Caruso (Norwich), for the air rifle.


1998 NCAA Rifle Championships, Qualification
Since there is only one national collegiate championship for rifle shooting, all NCAA rifle programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of seven teams ultimately contested this championship (an increase of one team from 1996).


1998 NCAA Skiing Championships
The 1998 NCAA Skiing Championships were contested at the Bridger Bowl Ski Area in Bozeman, Montana as part of the 45th annual NCAA-sanctioned ski tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's collegiate slalom and cross country skiing in the United States.


1998 NCAA Skiing Championships
Colorado, coached by Richard Rokos, won the team championship, the Buffaloes' fourteenth title overall and third as a co-ed team.


1998 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
This year's NCAA skiing championships were hosted at the Bridger Bowl Ski Area near Bozeman, Montana.


1998 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
These were the fifth championships held in the state of Montana (1960, 1983, 1985, 1996, and 1998).


1998 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship
The 1998 NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship involved 12 schools competing for the national championship of women's NCAA Division I gymnastics. It was the seventeenth NCAA gymnastics national championship and the defending NCAA Team Champion for 1997 was UCLA. The competition took place in Los Angeles, California, hosted by UCLA in the Pauley Pavilion. The 1998 Championship was won by Georgia.


1998 NECBL season
The 1998 NECBL season was the fifth season of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. The league expanded to seven teams with the addition of the Keene Swamp Bats of Keene, New Hampshire. The Swamp Bats were the league's first New Hampshire franchise.


1998 NECBL season
In the semifinal playoff rounds, Middletown defeated Danbury 2-0, and Torrington defeated Rhode Island 2-0. In the final round, Middletown defeated Torrington 3-1 to win their second consecutive NECBL championship.


1998 NFC Championship Game
The 1998 NFC Championship Game was a National Football League (NFL) game played on January 17, 1999, to determine the National Football Conference (NFC) champion for the 1998 NFL season. The visiting Atlanta Falcons defeated the heavily favored Minnesota Vikings 30–27 in sudden death overtime to win their first conference championship and advance to the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance. As a result of their loss, the Vikings were eliminated from the playoffs and became the first team in the history of the NFL to compile a regular season record of 15–1 and not win the Super Bowl.


1998 NFC Championship Game
The game is considered one of the most memorable conference championship games in NFL history. Entering the playoffs, the Vikings were the favorite to win the Super Bowl, as they had set the NFL record for most points scored by a team in a single season. They had gone undefeated in their home stadium, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, during the regular season, and their placekicker, Gary Anderson, had become the first kicker in NFL history to convert every field goal and extra point attempt in a season.


1998 NFC Championship Game
At a critical moment late in the game, Anderson missed a field goal for the first time that year, which, if converted, would have given the Vikings a nearly insurmountable 10-point lead. Instead, the Falcons scored a touchdown to tie the game on their ensuing drive and subsequently won by a field goal in overtime. Due to its impact on the game's outcome, Anderson's missed field goal has since become the focal point of the loss.


1998 NFC Championship Game
The Falcons lost 34–19 to the Denver Broncos two weeks later in Super Bowl XXXIII. Neither the Falcons nor the Vikings would return to the Super Bowl until the 2016 NFL season, when the Falcons lost in overtime to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI.


1998 NFC Championship Game
Although the game long stood as the proudest moment in the history of the Falcons franchise, the 1998 NFC Championship Game has been remembered for the effect it had on the Vikings players and their fan base, as it is seen by some sportswriters as one of the most devastating losses in NFL history.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Background, Minnesota Vikings
Before the 1998 NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings had accumulated a history of disappointing losses despite maintaining a high level of competition. Although they were the first franchise to appear in four Super Bowls, they lost each time and became the first franchise to lose four Super Bowls as a result. They had not appeared in a Super Bowl since their fourth loss following the 1976 season, although they had come close in other seasons.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Background, Minnesota Vikings
In a 1975 Divisional round playoff game, the Vikings lost to the Dallas Cowboys as a result of a 50-yard touchdown pass from Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson in the game's final seconds, a play in which Vikings observers claim that Pearson should have been penalized for pass interference. The Vikings also lost to the Washington Redskins in the 1987 NFC Championship Game, during which Vikings running back Darrin Nelson dropped a game-tying touchdown pass in the game's final seconds. Due to this history of misfortune, the NFL Network ranked the Vikings as the second most "snake-bitten" franchise of all-time, behind only the Cleveland Browns.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Background, Minnesota Vikings
Under head coach Dennis Green, the Vikings were perennial playoff contenders throughout the 1990s, but they experienced little success once they reached the postseason. In the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft, the Vikings selected wide receiver Randy Moss, who, despite his talent, was passed by several teams, even those in need of a wide receiver, due to concerns surrounding Moss's misbehavior and multiple arrests during high school and college. Moss used this as motivation to make teams who passed on him regret their decision.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Background, Minnesota Vikings
That year, Moss set the NFL record for most touchdown receptions by a rookie with 17, and combined with future Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter and quarterback Randall Cunningham, he formed the centerpiece of the Vikings' offensive attack, which also set an NFL record by scoring 556 points during the season. The Vikings' defense was led by future Hall of Fame defensive tackle John Randle and was ranked sixth overall in points allowed during the season.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Background, Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings finished the regular season with a record of 15–1 and held the first overall seed in the NFC playoffs; the two previous NFL teams to finish the regular season with 15 wins, the 1984 San Francisco 49ers and the 1985 Chicago Bears, had each won the Super Bowl. Former player turned analyst Brian Baldinger claimed that "They were easily the best team in football," and Pro Football Hall of Fame writer Ray Didinger observed, "It seems like this is the unstoppable team." Dan Barreiro, a sports radio host in the Minneapolis area, noted that for the Vikings franchise, "'98 was the season. All the stars had aligned."


1998 NFC Championship Game, Background, Minnesota Vikings
Vikings placekicker Gary Anderson had joined the team that off-season after playing for three different teams in his 16-year NFL career. In 1998, he became the first placekicker in NFL history to convert every field goal and extra point attempted, scoring a regular season record of 164 points in the process. He finished the regular season 35/35 on field goals, with a long of 53 yards, and 59/59 on extra points.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Background, Minnesota Vikings
As a result, he was voted to the 1998 NFC Pro Bowl team, the fourth Pro Bowl invitation of his career, and was voted to the AP All-Pro team for the first time. He also converted every field goal and extra point attempt in a Divisional playoff round victory against the Arizona Cardinals the week before the NFC Championship. Entering the NFC Championship Game, his last miss was on December 15, 1997, against the Denver Broncos, when he was a member of the San Francisco 49ers.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Background, Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons had "frustrating" team history, as described by Atlanta sports journalist Terence Moore. Moore singled out the 1980 divisional playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys, in which the Falcons gave up a 14-point lead en route to a defeat, as well as a 6-turnover performance during their 1991 divisional playoff defeat against the Washington Redskins as notable examples of frustration. Prior to the 1998 season, the Falcons had never advanced to the NFC Championship game, let alone to a Super Bowl.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Background, Atlanta Falcons
The 1998 season was not expected to be any different, as the Falcons had failed to reach the playoffs the previous two seasons and only made the playoffs twice in the previous fifteen seasons. However, head coach Dan Reeves, who was hired before the previous season, had overhauled the roster in an attempt to reverse the team's fortunes. Thirty-eight of the fifty-three players on the 1998 Falcons team had been brought in by Reeves over the previous year, including journeyman quarterback Chris Chandler, who had a career-best season in 1998.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Background, Atlanta Falcons
Running back Jamal Anderson also posted a career-high 1846 rushing yards, which led the NFC that year, and the defense finished fourth overall in points allowed. As a result, the Falcons won the NFC West with a record of 14–2 and clinched 2nd overall seed in the NFC playoffs, behind only the Vikings. The team was nicknamed the "Dirty Birds" after a touchdown dance created by tight end O.J. Santiago but popularized by Anderson.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Background, Atlanta Falcons
After experiencing chest pains following the team's 27–17 victory over the New Orleans Saints on December 13, Reeves underwent quadruple bypass surgery. The team was coached by defensive coordinator Rich Brooks for the final two regular season games. Reeves was able to return to the team in time for their first playoff game, in which the Falcons beat their division rival, the San Francisco 49ers, to clinch a spot in the Conference Championship. Despite an impressive season, they were not expected to match up well against the Vikings, who had beaten teams by an average of 23.22 points at home that year and were installed as 11-point favorites for the Championship Game.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Game summary
We're playing at home, and if we win, we're going to the Bowl. I thought at that moment that everything that I had done, that my payoff would be the Super Bowl.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Game summary
The Falcons won the coin toss before the game and elected to receive the opening kickoff. They drove down the field and scored first on a five-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Anderson. On the next drive, the Vikings answered the score with a 31-yard touchdown pass from Cunningham to Randy Moss, tying the game at 7. Neither team scored in the remainder of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Gary Anderson kicked a field goal after the Vikings recovered a Falcons fumble to make the score 10–7.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Game summary
After forcing the Falcons to punt on the next drive, the Vikings scored another touchdown on a one-yard run by Cunningham, increasing the lead to 17–7 with five minutes remaining in the first half. The Falcons then lost another fumble, which gave possession back to the Vikings. On the ensuing drive, Moss dropped what would have been a touchdown pass in the end zone, leaving Gary Anderson to kick another field goal to make the score 20–7.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Game summary
After forcing another Falcons punt, the Vikings attempted to increase their lead before halftime, but Falcons lineman Chuck Smith forced a fumble on Cunningham, and the Falcons recovered the ball deep in Vikings territory. The Falcons subsequently scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Chris Chandler to Terance Mathis to cut their deficit to 20–14 by the end of the half.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Game summary
The Falcons forced the Vikings to punt on the opening drive of the second half, and two long plays by wide receiver Tim Dwight set up a 27-yard field goal by Morten Andersen, which cut the Falcons' deficit to three points. The Vikings answered the score on their ensuing possession, driving 82 yards in 15 plays to score a touchdown on a five-yard Matthew Hatchette reception, which made the score 27–17 with just over 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Game summary
The Falcons responded with a 70-yard completion to Tony Martin, which set up a 24-yard field goal by Morten Andersen to make the score 27–20. On the ensuing Vikings drive, Cunningham fumbled a snap and the Falcons recovered the ball on the Vikings' 30-yard line; the Falcons failed to score after an incomplete pass turned the ball over on downs with six minutes left in the game. The Vikings then drove down to the Falcons' 22-yard line, where an incomplete pass on 3rd down set up a field goal attempt by Gary Anderson.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Game summary, Anderson's kick
Here's the snap, the kick is up, and it is ... no good! No good! Gary Anderson has missed a field goal for the first time in two years!


1998 NFC Championship Game, Game summary, Anderson's kick
The incompletion on 3rd down stopped the clock with 2:11 left in the game. The field goal attempt was placed from 39 yards away, which is not considered a particularly difficult field goal distance by NFL standards. Because the game was played indoors at the Metrodome, there were no adverse weather conditions that might have affected the kick. The ball was snapped on 4th down with punter Mitch Berger holding from the left hash mark.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Game summary, Anderson's kick
The Vikings faced a heavy rush from cornerback Michael Booker on the left side of the line of scrimmage and cornerbacks Ronnie Bradford and Ray Buchanan on the right, who ran into Anderson and knocked him to the ground after the kick. The ball sailed about a foot wide left of the upright with 2:07 left on the game clock. Afterward, Anderson stood on the field momentarily with arms akimbo before heading to the sideline, as Falcons players celebrated around him.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Game summary, Anderson's kick
A converted field goal would have given the Vikings a 10-point lead, which would have almost certainly clinched victory, according to Pro Football Prospectus and the NFL Network documentary The Missing Rings. Citing a mathematical algorithm by sports analytics company numberFire, The New York Post reported that the Vikings had a 95.23% chance of winning the game had Anderson converted the field goal.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Game summary, End of regulation and overtime
The Falcons took possession of the football at their own 29-yard line and quickly drove down the field. With just over a minute left in the game, Vikings safety Robert Griffith dropped an interception off a deflected pass, which would have also almost certainly clinched victory. Instead, Chandler threw a touchdown pass to Mathis on the next play, tying the game 27–27 with 49 seconds remaining in regulation. On the ensuing possession, the Vikings managed only seven yards and then kneeled on third down, which ran out the clock and forced overtime; the first team to score in the overtime period would win.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Game summary, End of regulation and overtime
The Vikings won the coin toss and started overtime with possession of the football on their own 29-yard line, but managed to convert only one first down and punted to Atlanta. The Falcons drove to their own 41-yard line before being stopped on 3rd down, and they punted the ball back to Vikings. On the ensuing drive, Cunningham attempted a deep pass to Moss that was narrowly broken up by Eugene Robinson; had the pass been completed, it most likely would have resulted in a touchdown and victory for the Vikings. Instead, the Vikings had to punt on 4th down again. The Falcons then drove to the Vikings' 21-yard line, where Morten Andersen converted a 38-yard field goal for the win.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Player reactions
After the game, Gary Anderson was described as "inconsolable". Although the Vikings still led by seven points at the time, his missed kick had a demoralizing effect on the team. ESPN contributor Ben Goessling noted "how swiftly it pulled the bottom out from under a team that had an air of inevitability about it to that point." Writing for the website Sporting News, Jeff Diamond, the Vikings' general manager at the time, observed that, "Our team played the rest of the game as if it was in shock that our automatic kicker had missed at the most critical time." Randle concurred, describing his reaction to the kick as, "I was standing there like someone just punched me in my stomach, and was like, 'Oh my God, oh my God.'"


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Player reactions
Carter openly wept in the locker room after the game and was affected so badly by the loss that he considered retirement. "Walking off that field and losing like that," Carter reflected, "I didn't even know if I wanted to play football anymore. Because I just, I felt like that I would never win after that." He went on to call the game, "The most devastating loss that I've ever been a part of." Both Carter and fellow Hall of Fame member Randle believed that the 1998 Vikings team was their best chance at winning a Super Bowl; neither player ever reached the Super Bowl in their careers.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Player reactions
Randle described the feeling after the game as, "It's like driving down a street and getting every green light for the next ten miles, and you're just cruising along, and it's just smooth. And all of a sudden, you're getting there, you're almost there, and all of a sudden, the fucking light turns red, and you get sideswiped." Randle further laments the loss due to the background of many of his teammates, whom he described as "misfits, guys who just got their second chance."


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Player reactions
Beyond Moss's legal troubles, Carter had been released by the Philadelphia Eagles early in his career for substance abuse issues, and Cunningham was released by the Eagles and remained unsigned to a team two seasons prior. Randle himself was considered undersized coming out of college and was not heavily pursued by NFL teams.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Player reactions
Cunningham drew on his religious faith to persevere through the loss, believing that God had a reason for everything to happen. Years later, he reflected, "It just wasn’t our destiny to be in the Super Bowl. That’s my conclusion. Because if it was, we would have gone." Immediately after the game, he expressed this belief in an attempt to console Carter. The following season, Cunningham was benched for poor play after six games and was released by the Vikings at the end of the year. He also would never play in a Super Bowl.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Player reactions
Overjoyed with victory, Falcons players also wept after the game, and the team ripped open pillows and threw feathers in celebration on their charter flight back to Atlanta. Buchanan stated that the win "feels like a miracle" due to the negative perception of the Falcons in years past. "This team was dirt. People stepped on us and wiped their feet on the doormat. Now we feel like a bunch of Michael Jordans." Chandler joked that due to his game-winning field goal, Morten Andersen "gets to keep his green card", referring to Andersen's Danish nationality, while running back Jamal Anderson felt vindicated for the media's continuous focus on the Vikings in the days leading up to the game, which made him feel disrespected.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Player reactions
Falcons defensive end Chuck Smith questioned the Vikings' toughness because of the ease with which they had won during the season. "It's one thing to beat up on people," said Smith, "but how do you react when someone's finally hitting you back? We've been slugging it out all year." Years later, Smith went on to criticize Gary Anderson in particular for his missed field goal and its contribution to the Vikings' loss.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
By virtue of their loss, the 1998 Vikings became the first team in NFL history to compile a regular season record of 15–1 and not win the Super Bowl. Fox Sports, NBC Sports, and the NFL Network each named the team as one of the five greatest not to win the Super Bowl, and coach Dennis Green believed that the 1998 Vikings would have been considered the best NFL team of their generation had they gone on to win.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
As part of a series celebrating the 100th anniversary of the league, the NFL ranked the 1998 Vikings as the 38th greatest team in league history, the third highest ranking for a team that didn't win a championship and the highest for a team that failed to play in either the Super Bowl or the NFL Championship Game. In a 2018 retrospective, Sports Illustrated called the 1998 Vikings "The Greatest Team Never to Make It."


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
The loss had a dramatic effect on Minnesota sports culture, as the 1998 Vikings were considered the team most likely to deliver a Super Bowl championship to a franchise that had already suffered multiple heartbreaking defeats. Numerous publications have noted the influence that the loss had on the Vikings fan base; Brian Billick, the offensive coordinator of the 1998 Vikings, went as far as stating, "I’m not sure the city had ever rebounded from it."


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
Damon Amendolara of CBS Radio and Don Banks of Sports Illustrated both consider the Vikings' loss in the championship game as one of the most devastating in NFL history, with Banks noting that, "The Vikings have never completely recovered from that game." This perception has also extended into popular culture, as the game became a plot point in the episode "Little Minnesota" of the television show How I Met Your Mother when Robin, a Canadian character, asks the significance of a banner in a Minnesota-themed bar that reads, "I'm drinking till I forget the 1999 [sic] NFC Championship."


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
Gary Anderson's missed kick has been singled out as the main contributing factor to the Vikings' loss, as the Falcons were able to capitalize on the late shift in momentum produced by an unexpected opportunity to tie and eventually win the game. Considering this impact on the game's outcome and the historic performances of Anderson and the 1998 Vikings team, the miss has since been noted as a memorable moment in the greater history of the NFL.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
Paul Allen, the play-by-play radio announcer for the Vikings, and Dan Barreiro both consider the miss as one of the most devastating moments in the history of Minnesota sports. According to Chad Hartman, another sports radio host based in Minneapolis, "[Anderson] will always be known as the guy who was a part of screwing up the Vikings' trip to the Super Bowl, even though he had this magnificent season."


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
ESPN voted the miss as the most memorable play in Vikings history, and ESPN contributor Ben Goessling believes that the miss influenced misfortunes that the franchise faced in subsequent years, including two additional conference championship losses in 2000 and 2009. Cunningham concurred by claiming, "With that kick, it just seemed like the whole franchise went wide left."


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
Anderson has claimed that in greater context, the miss was not particularly notable, and it is only remembered because the Falcons won the game. Buchanan, who was attempting to block Anderson's kick, believes that Anderson would not have been able to convert the field goal regardless, since if the kick was on target, it would have "hit [Buchanan] in the face mask." Vikings backup quarterback Brad Johnson echoed this sentiment, stating, "I think someone got loose on the left end and they almost blocked it, and [Anderson] tried to slice it in there."


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
Several sportswriters, as well as Randle, have defended Anderson, pointing out that the Vikings' defense deserved the real blame for the loss for allowing Atlanta to tie the game after Anderson's miss. Barreiro also criticized the performance of Vikings starting quarterback Cunningham, who he felt did not handle the pressure of the game well and called "dreadful down the stretch".


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
Vikings head coach Dennis Green was criticized for his decision to kneel on 3rd down and play for overtime instead of attempting to score before the end of regulation. Radio host Bob Sansevere, author of The Best Minnesota Sports Arguments, called it "one of the all-time boneheaded decisions a coach has ever made in any sport".


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
Of Green's play call, Peter King of Sports Illustrated wrote, "Minnesota coach Dennis Green did a great job this year, but if he doesn't wake up and stare at the ceiling in the next few days and say out loud: 'Boy, I screwed that one up,' then he's not being honest with himself." Nonetheless, local Minneapolis newspaper Star Tribune has contended that taking a knee was the correct decision due to the performance of the Vikings' offense, whose struggles that day were also noted by Carter.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
The Falcons missed the playoffs the following season (while their home stadium hosted the Super Bowl) and would not return until 2002. Following the 2001 season, Chandler was released by the team, and Jamal Anderson retired due to a knee injury. The franchise would not reach the Super Bowl again until the 2016 season, when they lost in overtime to the New England Patriots, 34–28. As a result, their win in the 1998 NFC Championship game stood as the franchise's proudest moment for years, particularly due to the atmosphere of pessimism that surrounded the franchise at the time.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
An NFL Films retrospective on the Falcons' season noted that "years of pain were wiped away in one unforgettable afternoon," and Dan Weiner stated that, "The 1998 season was a dream come true ... For once, the Atlanta Falcons made believers of us all." In 2010, ESPN named the 1998 team as the greatest Falcons team of all-time, and the network also voted Morton Andersen's game-winning field goal as the top play in Falcons' history.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
Falcons coach Dan Reeves was praised for his ability to lead the team after having heart surgery only weeks prior, as Reeves' comeback proved to be an emotional rallying point for the team. Austin Murphy of Sports Illustrated noted that Reeves' return "[galvanized] the already close-knit Falcons", and Falcons linebacker Jessie Tuggle agreed: "Dan has really inspired us all. ... He walked in the meeting room four days after having had surgery, and you could have heard a pin drop. We wanted to hear every last word he had to say."


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
Reeves described his time during the season as "more rewarding than any other teams I've been involved in", and to Falcons special teams coach Joe DeCamillis, Reeves' leadership that season was "his best coaching job ever". CBS called Reeves' return "an amazing comeback that people will be talking about for years".


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Media analysis
Chandler was considered to be the offensive hero of the game, despite the attention that the Vikings' offense received during the season. Media analysis before the game noted that the Vikings' defense needed to focus on shutting down Falcons running back Jamal Anderson; feeling overlooked, Chandler used the coverage as extra motivation. In a retrospective for the website SportsGrid, Geoff Magliocchetti detailed the end of the game, in which he claims that Chandler "embarked on the drive of his life, an 8-play, 71-yard masterpiece, finding Mathis from 16 yards out for the tying score."


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Playoffs
In the hours before the AFC Championship Game, the Denver Broncos were watching the NFC Championship Game on the JumboTron at Mile High Stadium to see who they would play in Super Bowl XXXIII should they defeat the New York Jets. Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan expressed surprise at Anderson's missed kick, and running back Terrell Davis said that the Falcons' subsequent victory put the Broncos in the mindset that they had "won the Super Bowl already," as their greatest potential challenge had been eliminated.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Playoffs
This distraction nearly cost the Broncos the game against the Jets, as the Broncos played a very poor game. Tim Connolly, the Vikings team president at the time, recalled that Shanahan insinuated relief that the Broncos were not playing the Vikings when the two met at a reception after the conference championship games.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Playoffs
Two weeks later in the Super Bowl, the Falcons played the Broncos, the game pitting coach Dan Reeves against his former team and their star quarterback, John Elway. Reeves had led the Broncos to three Super Bowl appearances, all losses, and he was fired as the Broncos' head coach after the 1992 NFL season. Afterward, Elway was quoted as saying, "These last three years have been hell. I know I would not have been back here if Dan Reeves had been here. It wasn't worth it to me. I didn't enjoy it.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Playoffs
It wasn't any fun, and I got tired of working with him." Reeves responded by saying, "Just tell him it wasn't exactly heaven for me either. One of these days I hope he grows up. Maybe he'll mature sometime." During his tenure, Reeves had also fired Shanahan, who was an assistant coach on the team, and these points of contention became a media storyline entering the game. Nonetheless, all parties involved stated that any lingering animosity had long since passed.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Aftermath, Playoffs
The Falcons lost Super Bowl XXXIII by a score of 34–19, which earned the Broncos their second consecutive Super Bowl victory. The game was anticipated as a match up between the Vikings and the Broncos, and the Falcons' presence in the game was noted as an anticlimax. The night before the game, safety Eugene Robinson was arrested for soliciting a prostitute. Although Robinson played in the game, the distraction contributed to a poor performance by the Falcons team, who managed only six points in six drives deep into Denver territory and surrendered a season-high point total.


1998 NFC Championship Game, Personnel, Starting lineups
As credited during the Fox Sports broadcast of the 1998 NFC Championship game:


1998 NFC Championship Game, Personnel, Officials
As credited during the Fox Sports broadcast of the 1998 NFC Championship game:


1998 NFL Draft
The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.


1998 NFL Draft
Before the draft, there was much debate in the media on if the Indianapolis Colts would select Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf, both of whom were considered excellent prospects and future franchise quarterbacks, with the first overall pick. Leaf was considered to have more upside and a stronger throwing arm, while Manning was considered a polished prospect who was NFL ready and more mature.


1998 NFL Draft
On the day of the draft, the Colts selected Manning due to Leaf's disdain for Indianapolis. Manning went on to be a five-time Most Valuable Player award winner, the most of any player in NFL history, and a two-time Super Bowl champion, whereas Leaf, who was selected second overall by the San Diego Chargers, was out of the NFL by 2002, and is considered one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history.


1998 NFL Draft
Until their retirements following the 2015 season, the last remaining active players from the 1998 draft were quarterback Peyton Manning (the first overall pick) and cornerback Charles Woodson (the fourth overall pick). Both would go on to win Super Bowls in their careers; Manning in 2006 and 2015 with the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos, and Woodson in 2010 with the Green Bay Packers.


1998 NFL Draft, Supplemental draft
A supplemental draft was held in the summer of 1998. For each player selected in the supplemental draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season. The Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers both selected players in the 2nd round.


1998 NFL Draft, Trades
In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the 1994 Draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft.


1998 NFL Europe season
The 1998 NFL Europe season was the 6th season in 8 years of the American Football league that started out as the World League of American Football. 1998 was the first season the league was known as NFL Europe. The London Monarchs changed their names to the England Monarchs for the 1998 season.


1998 NFL Europe season, World Bowl '98
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1998 NFL Europe season, World Bowl '98
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1998 NFL season
The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.


1998 NFL season
The season culminated with Super Bowl XXXIII, with the Denver Broncos defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34–19 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami. The Broncos had won their first thirteen games, the best start since the undefeated 1972 Dolphins, and were tipped by some to have a realistic chance at winning all nineteen games. The Minnesota Vikings became the first team since the 1968 Baltimore Colts to win all but one of their regular season games and not win the Super Bowl. After no team had won 14 regular season games since the 1992 49ers, three teams went 14–2 or better for the only time in a 16-game season.