1981 NAIA Division I football season

The 1981 NAIA Division I football season, as part of the 1981 college football season in the United States and the 26th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 12th season of play of the NAIA's top division for football.

1981 NAIA Division I football season
Regular seasonAugust–November 1981
PostseasonDecember 5–19, 1981
National ChampionshipBurlington Memorial Stadium
Burlington, NC
ChampionsElon (2)

The season was played from August to November 1981 and culminated in the 1981 NAIA Division I Champion Bowl, played this year on December 19, 1981 at Burlington Memorial Stadium in Burlington, North Carolina (near the campus of Elon College).[1]

Defending national champion Elon defeated Pittsburg State in the Champion Bowl, 3–0, to win their second NAIA national title.[2]

Conference standings
1981 Central States Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Pittsburg State $^ 7 –0 –0  10 –2 –0
Missouri Western 5 –2 –0  8 –2 –0
Missouri Southern * 5 –2 –0  6 –4 –1
Kearney State 4 –3 –0  5 –4 –0
Fort Hays State 3 –4 –0  6 –5 –0
Wayne State (NE) 2 –5 –0  4 –6 –0
Washburn 2 –5 –0  3 –7 –0
Emporia State 0 –7 –0  1 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
    * – Missouri Southern forfeited a non-conference win over Evangel.
1981 Evergreen Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Oregon Tech $ 4 –0 –0  7 –2 –0
Eastern Oregon 3 –1 –0  5 –4 –0
Central Washington 2 –2 –0  6 –3 –0
Western Oregon 1 –3 –0  5 –4 –0
Western Washington 0 –4 –0  0 –9 –0
Southern Oregon *   –    6 –4 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • * – Southern Oregon was ineligible for the conference title
1981 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Grand Valley State $ 6 –0 –0  7 –2 –0
Hillsdale ^ 5 –1 –0  10 –2 –0
Ferris State 3 –3 –0  4 –4 –0
Wayne State (MI) 3 –3 –0  4 –5 –0
Northwood 2 –4 –0  4 –6 –0
Saginaw Valley State 2 –4 –0  3 –7 –0
Michigan Tech 0 –6 –0  1 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
1981 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
New Mexico Highlands $ 7 –1 –0  7 –3 –0
Mesa State 6 –2 –0  7 –3 –0
Southern Utah 6 –2 –0  7 –3 –0
Western State 5 –3 –0  5 –4 –0
Adams State 3 –4 –1  3 –5 –1
Fort Lewis 3 –5 –0  3 –7 –0
Southern Colorado 2 –6 –0  4 –6 –0
Colorado Mines 2 –5 –1  3 –5 –1
Western New Mexico 1 –7 –0  1 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion

Conference champions
Conference Champion Record
Arkansas Intercollegiate Central Arkansas 6–0
Central States Pittsburg State 7–0
Evergreen Oregon Tech 5–0
NIC Moorhead State (MN) 6–0
Oklahoma Northeastern State 3–1
RMAC New Mexico Highlands 7–1
South Atlantic Elon 6–1
WVIAC Concord (WV)
Fairmont State		 7–1
WSUC Wisconsin–Eau Claire 8–0

Postseason
Quarterfinals
December 5, 1981
Campus sites 		Semifinals
December 12, 1981
Campus sites 		1981 Champion Bowl
December 19, 1981
Burlington, NC
         
Cameron† 48
Central Arkansas 24
Vacant –
Pittsburg State –
Moorhead State 13
Pittsburg State 14
Pittsburg State 0
Elon* 3
Hillsdale 14
Fairmont State 12
Hillsdale 13
Elon 41
Elon 38
Concord 8
  • † Cameron was disqualified after their first round win over Central Arkansas after it was discovered they had been using ineligible players.

See also

References
  1. "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  2. "1981 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
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