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

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

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 changes

Conference standings

1981 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Central Arkansas $^ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 11 Arkansas–Monticello 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
No. 18 Henderson State 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
No. 14 Southern Arkansas 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Arkansas Tech 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 1
Ouachita Baptist 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Harding 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1981 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northern
No. 2 Virginia Union xy$^ 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
Elizabeth City State ^ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 10 Hampton 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Norfolk State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 1
Virginia State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Saint Paul's (VA) 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0
Southern
North Carolina Central xy 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Winston-Salem State 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Johnson C. Smith 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Fayetteville State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Livingstone 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Bowie State * 2 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Championship: Virginia Union 45, North Carolina Central 7
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
  • * – ineligible for conference title
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll for Virginia Union and NAIA Division I poll for Hampton
1981 Central States Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Pittsburg State $^ 7 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 12 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.
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1981 Evergreen Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 15 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 titlepoll=NAIA Division I poll
Rankings from AP Poll
1981 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Grand Valley State $ 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
No. 3 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
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1981 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Southwest Texas State $^ 6 – 1 – 0 13 – 1 – 0
No. 9 Texas A&I 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Abilene Christian 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Angelo State 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 17 East Texas State 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Sam Houston State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Howard Payne 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Stephen F. Austin 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll for Southwest Texas State and Texas A&I and NAIA Division I poll for East Texas State
1981 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Moorhead State $* 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 1
Minnesota Duluth 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
Minnesota Morris ^ 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 1
Southwest State (MN) 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Northern State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Winona State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
Bemidji State 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
  • * – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1981 Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 13 Northeastern State $ 3 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
SW Oklahoma State 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
SE Oklahoma State 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
East Central 2 – 2 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
NW Oklahoma State 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • SW Oklahoma State forfeited six victories including conference wins over Northeastern State and SE Oklahoma State.poll=NAIA Division I poll
Rankings from AP Poll
1981 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 19 New Mexico Highlands $ 7 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Mesa 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
No. 20 Southern Utah 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Western State (CO) 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
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1981 South Atlantic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Elon $^ 6 – 1 – 0 12 – 1 – 1
Presbyterian 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Carson–Newman 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Catawba 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Gardner–Webb 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Mars Hill 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Newberry 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Lenoir–Rhyne 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1981 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Concord +^ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 5 Fairmont State +^ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 16 Shepherd 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
West Virginia Tech 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Salem 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
West Virginia State 2 – 5 – 1 3 – 5 – 1
West Virginia Wesleyan 2 – 5 – 1 2 – 6 – 1
West Liberty State 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Glenville State 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1981 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 Wisconsin–Eau Claire $ 8 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
Wisconsin–Whitewater 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Wisconsin–Stout 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Wisconsin–La Crosse 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Wisconsin–Platteville 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Wisconsin–Stevens Point 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Wisconsin–Oshkosh 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Wisconsin–River Falls 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Wisconsin–Superior 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1981 NAIA Division I independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Cameron ^   –   5 – 5 – 0
Central State (OK)   –   7 – 2 – 0
Wofford   –   6 – 5 – 0
Eastern New Mexico   –   5 – 5 – 0
Guilford   –   5 – 5 – 0
Kentucky State   –   2 – 6 – 0
Liberty Baptist   –   1 – 9 – 0
Langston   –   0 – 10 – 0
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

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

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.
  3. ^ "NAIA Football Regular Season Records" (PDF). NAIA. p. 20. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
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