1980 NCAA Division II football season

1980 Far Western Conference football standings
	$ – Conference champion; Rankings from Associated Press poll

1980 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
	$ – Conference champion; ^ – Division II playoff participant; Rankings from Associated Press poll

1980 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	August – November 1980
Playoffs	December 1980
National Championship	Zia Bowl; University Stadium; Albuquerque, NM
Champion	Cal Poly–SLO

The 1980 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 in August 1980, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship in December 1980 at University Stadium in Albuquerque, NM. During the game's two-year stretch in New Mexico, it was referred to as the Zia Bowl.

Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo defeated Eastern Illinois in the championship game, 21–13, to win their first Division II national title.^[1]

Conference changes and new programs

Three Division II programs upgraded to Division I-AA prior to the season.
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference reclassified as a Division II conference; all 14 members made the transition.

School	1979 Conference	1980 Conference
Delaware	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Nicholls State	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent
Southeastern Louisiana	D-II Independent	I-AA Independent

Conference standings

1980 Lone Star Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Southwest Texas State $	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Angelo State	5	–	1	–	1	8	–	1	–	1
Texas A&I	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
East Texas State	4	–	2	–	1	7	–	2	–	1
Stephen F. Austin	4	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Sam Houston State	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Abilene Christian	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Howard Payne	0	–	7	–	0	1	–	8	–	1

$ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant

1980 Mid-Continent football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Eastern Illinois $^	4	–	0	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Northern Michigan ^	3	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Northern Iowa	2	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Youngstown State	1	–	3	–	0	2	–	8	–	1
Western Illinois	0	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant

1980 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Missouri-Rolla $	6	–	0	–	0	10	–	0	–	0
SW Missouri State	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Central Missouri State	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	1
NE Missouri State	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
SE Missouri State	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
NW Missouri State	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Lincoln (MO)	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant

Conference summaries

Conference Champions
Association of Mid-Continent Universities – Eastern Illinois Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – North Carolina Central Far Western Football Conference – UC Davis Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Hillsdale Gulf South Conference – North Alabama Lone Star Conference – Southwest Texas State Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Missouri–Rolla North Central Conference – Northern Colorado Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Duluth Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Clarion Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Adams State and CSU Pueblo South Atlantic Conference – Elon and Mars Hill Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Alabama A&M

Postseason

1980 NCAA Division II National Football Championship playoffs
Teams	8
Finals Site	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM
Champions	Cal Poly–SLO 1st title 1st championship game 2 tournaments
Runner-Up	Eastern Illinois 2nd championship game 2 tournaments
Semifinalists	North Alabama 1 tournaments Santa Clara 1 tournaments
Winning Coach	Joe Harper 1st championship

The 1980 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the eighth single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at University Stadium in Albuquerque, NM for the second, and final, time.

Playoff bracket

First round Campus sites		Semifinals Campus sites		Championship University Stadium Albuquerque, NM


Eastern Illinois	21

Northern Colorado	14
		Eastern Illinois	56

		North Alabama	31
North Alabama	17

Virginia Union	8
				Eastern Illinois	13

				Cal Poly	21
Santa Clara	27

Northern Michigan	26
		Santa Clara	14

		Cal Poly	38
Cal Poly	15

Jacksonville State	0

References

↑ "1980 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 4, 2014.

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[1] "1980 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 4, 2014.

NCAA football seasons
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