1980 NCAA Division II football season

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.

1980 NCAA Division II football season
Regular seasonAugust – November 1980
PlayoffsDecember 1980
National ChampionshipZia Bowl
University Stadium
Albuquerque, NM
ChampionCal Poly

Cal Poly 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.
School1979 Conference1980 Conference
DelawareIndependentI-AA Independent
Nicholls StateIndependentI-AA Independent
Northern Colorado-North Central
Sonoma Statenew programIndependent
Southeastern LouisianaIndependentI-AA Independent

Conference standings

1980 Association of Mid-Continent Universities football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW 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
  • ^ NCAA Division II playoff participant
1980 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 3 Cal Poly $^ 2 0 0  10 3 0
Cal State Northridge 1 1 0  5 6 0
Cal Poly Pomona 0 2 0  3 7 0
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1980 Far Western Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
UC Davis $ 5 0 0  7 2 1
Cal State Hayward 3 2 0  6 4 0
Chico State 3 2 0  5 5 0
San Francisco State 2 3 0  3 6 1
Sacramento State 1 4 0  3 7 0
Humboldt State 1 4 0  2 8 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1980 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Hillsdale $ 5 1 0  7 4 0
Northwood 4 2 0  6 2 1
Grand Valley State 4 2 0  7 3 0
Wayne State (MI) 3 3 0  5 4 0
Ferris State 2 3 1  4 4 2
Saginaw Valley State 2 4 0  5 6 0
Michigan Tech 0 5 1  2 6 1
  • $ Conference champion
1980 Heartland Collegiate Conference standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Franklin (IN) + 5 2 0  8 2 0
Ashland + 5 2 0  6 3 1
Saint Joseph's (IN) 4 3 0  6 4 0
Indiana Central 3 3 1  5 4 2
Georgetown (KY) 3 4 0  4 5 0
Butler 3 4 0  4 6 0
Evansville 3 4 0  3 7 0
Valparaiso 1 5 1  3 6 1
  • + Conference co-champions
1980 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Southwest Texas State $ 6 1 0  8 3 0
Angelo State ^ 5 1 1  8 2 1
Texas A&I 5 2 0  7 4 0
East Texas State ^ 4 2 1  8 3 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
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
1980 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW 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
  • ^ NCAA Division II playoff participant
1980 North Central Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 10 Northern Colorado $^ 6 1 0  7 4 0
Nebraska–Omaha 5 2 0  7 3 0
North Dakota 5 2 0  6 4 0
North Dakota State 5 2 0  6 4 0
South Dakota * 3 3 1  5 6 0
Augustana (SD) 2 5 0  2 7 1
South Dakota State * 1 5 1  3 8 0
Morningside 0 7 0  2 8 0
  • + Conference co-champions
  • ^ NCAA Division II playoff participant
  • * – South Dakota and South Dakota State split two head-to-head games, which counted as a tie for each team in the conference standings.
Rankings from AP Poll
1980 NCAA Division II independents football records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Eastern Washington      6 4 0
Sonoma State      6 4 0
Towson State      5 5 0
Morgan State      4 7 0

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 Football Championship
Teams8
Finals Site
Champion
Runner-up
Semifinalists
Winning Coach

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

See also

References

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