1987 NAIA Division I football season

1987 Columbia Football League standings
	Northern Division
	Southern Division
	x – Division champion/co-champions; * – NAIA Division I playoff participant; ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant ;

1987 Central States Intercollegiate Conference football standings
	$ – Conference champion; ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant;

1987 NAIA Division I football season
Regular season	August–November 1987
Postseason	November 28–December 19, 1987
National Championship	Cameron Stadium; Lawton, OK
Champions	Cameron

The 1987 NAIA Division I football season, as part of the 1987 college football season in the United States and the 32nd season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 18th season of play of the NAIA's top division for football.

The season was played from August to November 1987 and culminated in the 1987 NAIA Champion Bowl playoffs and the 1987 NAIA Champion Bowl, played this year on December 19, 1987 at Cameron Stadium in Lawton, Oklahoma, on the campus of Cameron University.[1]

Cameron defeated Carson–Newman in the Champion Bowl (a re-match of the previous year's final, won by the Eagles), 30–2, to win their first NAIA national title.[2]

Conference standings

1987 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 5 Northern Michigan $^	4	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Grand Valley State	4	–	1	–	0	0	–	7	–	4
Hillsdale	2	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Saginaw Valley State	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Ferris State	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Wayne State (MI)	0	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

1987 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Mesa State $^	6	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
Adams State *	4	–	2	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
New Mexico Highlands	3	–	2	–	1	5	–	3	–	1
Western New Mexico	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Fort Lewis	3	–	3	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Western State	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Colorado Mines	0	–	5	–	1	3	–	5	–	1

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant * – Adams State forfeited three victories including a conference win over Western New Mexico

Conference champions

Conference	Champion	Record
Arkansas	Central Arkansas	6–0
Central States	Pittsburg State	7–0
NIC	Minnesota–Duluth	5–1
Oklahoma	Northeastern State East Central	3–1
RMAC	Mesa (CO)	6–0
South Atlantic	Gardner–Webb	6–1
WVIAC	Concord (WV)	7–1

Postseason

Format

After nine seasons of an eight-team bracket, the tournament field expanded to sixteen. In turn, the playoffs began during the month of November for the first time since 1975.

Bracket

First Round November 28, 1987 Campus sites		Quarterfinals December 5, 1987 Campus sites		Semifinals December 12, 1987 Campus sites		1987 Champion Bowl December 19, 1987 Lawton, OK


Central Washington	14

Southern Oregon*	21
		Southern Oregon	7

		Mesa State*	38
Mesa State	49

Southwest State (MN)*	7
				Mesa State	7

				Carson–Newman*	21
Moorhead State	7

Gardner–Webb*	27
		Gardner–Webb	24

		Carson–Newman*	27
Carson–Newman	26

Central State (OH)*	13
						Carson–Newman	2

						Cameron*	30
NW Oklahoma State	7

Central Arkansas*	31
		Central Arkansas	7

		Cameron*	14
Emporia State	12

Cameron*	17
				Cameron	20

				Pittsburg State*	10
Concord	0

Presbyterian*	41
		Presbyterian	21

		Pittsburg State*	42
Northeastern State	0

Pittsburg State*	57

References

"NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
"1987 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 23, 2015.

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[1] "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.

[2] "1987 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 23, 2015.