1989 NAIA Division II football season
Regular season	August–November 1989
Postseason	November–December 1989
National Championship	Canton, OH
Champions	Westminster (PA) (5)
←1988 NAIA Division II football season 1990→

The 1989 NAIA Division II football season, as part of the 1989 college football season in the United States and the 34th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 20th season of play of the NAIA Division II for football.

The season was played from August to November 1989 and culminated in the 1989 NAIA Division II Football National Championship, played at a neutral field in Canton, Ohio.^[1]

In rematch of the previous year's final, the Westminster Titans repeated as national champion by defeating the Wisconsin–La Crosse Eagles, 51–30, to win their fifth NAIA national title.

Conference changes

This is the final season that the NAIA officially recognizes football champions from the Illini–Badger Football Conference and the Wisconsin State University Conference.^[2] Both conferences would eventually join NCAA Division III; the IBFC would continue to sponsor football until 2007 while the WSUC, which would evolve into the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1997, continues to sponsor the sport.

Conference standings

1989 Columbia Football Association standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Mount Hood League
No. 19 Lewis & Clark x^	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Willamette	4	–	1	–	1	6	–	2	–	1
Southern Oregon	4	–	1	–	1	5	–	3	–	1
Oregon Tech	3	–	2	–	1	5	–	3	–	1
Pacific (OR)	2	–	3	–	1	3	–	5	–	1
Western Oregon	1	–	5	–	0	1	–	7	–	0
Eastern Oregon	0	–	6	–	0	0	–	9	–	0
Mount Rainier League
No. 2 Central Washington x^	5	–	0	–	1	10	–	1	–	1
No. 17 Pacific Lutheran	4	–	1	–	1	6	–	2	–	1
No. 21 Western Washington	4	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
No. 25 Linfield	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Simon Fraser	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Whitworth	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Puget Sound	1	–	5	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

x – League champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1989 Frontier Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 15 Carroll (MT) $^	6	–	0	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Rocky Mountain	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Western Montana	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	4	–	0
Montana Tech	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1989 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 3 Missouri Valley $^	7	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 12 Baker ^	6	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Tarkio	4	–	2	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
William Jewell	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Evangel	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Graceland	2	–	4	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
Culver–Stockton	1	–	6	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
MidAmerica Nazarene	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1989 Illini–Badger–Hawkeye Football Conference standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Greenville $	6	–	0	–	0	7	–	1	–	1
No. 16 Concordia (WI)	5	–	0	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Iowa Wesleyan	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Eureka	4	–	2	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Blackburn	3	–	3	–	0	3	–	3	–	0
MacMurray	1	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Concordia (IL)	1	–	4	–	1	2	–	6	–	1
Lakeland	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	2

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1989 Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Hanover $^	7	–	0	–	0	9	–	1	–	1
Taylor	5	–	1	–	1	7	–	2	–	1
DePauw	4	–	1	–	2	6	–	2	–	2
Franklin (IN)	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Wabash	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Rose–Hulman	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	4	–	1
Anderson (IN)	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Manchester	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant None of the conference members played a full round-robin; each had one or more games against non-conference opponents designated as "wild card" games that counted in the conference standings.

1989 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 5 St. Mary of the Plains $^	9	–	0	–	0	10	–	1	–	0
No. 14 Bethany (KS)	8	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Southwestern (KS)	7	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Kansas Wesleyan	5	–	4	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Bethel (KS)	4	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
McPherson	4	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Ottawa	3	–	6	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Friends	2	–	7	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Sterling	2	–	7	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Tabor	1	–	8	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1989 Mid-South Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 18 Georgetown (KY) $^	6	–	0	–	0	7	–	3	–	1
Cumberland (KY)	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Union (KY)	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	1
Evansville	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Campbellsville	2	–	3	–	1	2	–	7	–	1
Kentucky Wesleyan	1	–	4	–	1	3	–	6	–	1
Tennessee Wesleyan	0	–	6	–	0	0	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1989 Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 7 Nebraska Wesleyan $^	5	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Midland	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Doane	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	1
Dana	2	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Hastings	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Concordia (NE)	0	–	5	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1989 North Dakota College Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 8 Dickinson State $^	5	–	0	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Valley City State	4	–	1	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Minot State	3	–	2	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Mary	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Mayville State	1	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Jamestown	0	–	5	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1989 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Sioux Falls +	4	–	1	–	0	7	–	2	–	1
Black Hills State +	4	–	1	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Dakota Wesleyan +	4	–	1	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Huron	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
South Dakota Tech	1	–	4	–	0	1	–	8	–	0
Dakota State	0	–	5	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions

1989 Tri-State Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 6 Peru State $^	3	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Northwestern (IA)	2	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	1
Benedictine (KS)	1	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Westmar	0	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	1

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1989 Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 20 Tarleton State +^	8	–	2	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
No. 23 Howard Payne +	8	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Austin	7	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Sul Ross	3	–	7	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
McMurry	2	–	8	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Midwestern State	2	–	8	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1989 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Wisconsin–La Crosse $^	7	–	1	–	0	12	–	2	–	0
No. 9 Wisconsin–Stevens Point ^	6	–	1	–	1	8	–	2	–	1
No. 22 Wisconsin–River Falls	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Wisconsin–Platteville	5	–	2	–	1	6	–	2	–	1
No. 24 Wisconsin–Eau Claire	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Wisconsin–Whitewater	2	–	5	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
Wisconsin–Stout	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Wisconsin–Oshkosh	1	–	6	–	1	3	–	6	–	1
Wisconsin–Superior	0	–	8	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1989 NAIA Division II independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 1 Westminster (PA) ^		–		13	–	0	–	0
No. 10 Chadron State ^		–		8	–	2	–	0
No. 13 St. Francis (IL)		–		8	–	2	–	0
Findlay		–		7	–	3	–	0
Bluffton		–		6	–	3	–	0
Geneva		–		6	–	3	–	0
Wilmington (OH)		–		5	–	5	–	0
Azusa Pacific		–		4	–	5	–	0
Waynesburg		–		4	–	7	–	0
St. Ambrose		–		3	–	6	–	0
Tiffin		–		2	–	8	–	0
Oklahoma Panhandle State		–		0	–	10	–	0

^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

Conference champions

Conference	Champion	Record
Columbia	Mount Rainier League: Central Washington Mount Hood League: Lewis & Clark	5–0–1 5–1
Frontier	Carroll (MT)	6–0
Heart of America	Missouri Valley	7–0
Illini-Badger	Greenville	8–1
Kansas	St. Mary of the Plains	9–0
Mid-South	Georgetown (KY)	6–0
Nebraska	Nebraska Wesleyan	5–0
North Dakota	Dickinson State	5–0
South Dakota	Dakota Wesleyan Sioux Falls	4–1
WSUC	Wisconsin–La Crosse	7–1

Rankings

Final NAIA Division II poll rankings:

Rank	Team (first place votes)	Record (thru Nov. 11)	Points
1	Westminster (PA) (21)	9–0	525
2	Central Washington	8–0–1	499
3	Missouri Valley	9–1	470
4	Wisconsin–La Crosse	9–1	457
5	St. Mary of the Plains	10–0	426
6	Peru State	8–1	402
7	Nebraska Wesleyan	9–1	381
8	Dickinson State	8–1	356
9	Wisconsin–Stevens Point	8–1–1	351
10	Chadron State	8–1	323
11	Hanover	9–0–1	320
12	Baker	8–1	287
13	St. Francis (IL)	8–2	274
14	Bethany (KS)	8–1	270
15	Carroll (MT)	9–1	261
16	Concordia (WI)	8–1	217
17	Pacific Lutheran	6–2–1	149
18	Georgetown (KY)	7–2–1	140
19	Lewis & Clark	7–2	137
20	Tarleton State	8–2	116
21	Western Washington	7–2	107
22	Wisconsin–River Falls	7–3	87
23	Howard Payne	8–3	66
24	Wisconsin–Eau Claire	7–3	40
25	Linfield	6–3	33

^[3]

Postseason

First Round Campus sites			Quarterfinals Campus sites			Semifinals Campus sites			Championship Canton, OH

	Georgetown (KY)	9

	Westminster (PA)*	29
				Westminster (PA)	34

				Tarleton State*	0
	Tarleton State	16

	St. Mary of the Plains*	6
							Westminster (PA)	21

							Central Washington ‡	10
	Carroll (MT)	28

	Dickinson State*	37
				Dickinson State*	7

				Central Washington	49
	Lewis & Clark	0

	Central Washington*	51
										Westminster (PA)	51

										Wisconsin–La Crosse	30
	Baker	30

	Peru State*	27
				Baker	35

				Missouri Valley*	28
	Hanover	27

	Missouri Valley*	48
							Baker*	6

							Wisconsin–La Crosse	21
	Nebraska Wesleyan	46

	Chadron State*	43
				Nebraska Wesleyan*	0

				Wisconsin–La Crosse	29
	Wisconsin–Stevens Point	20

	Wisconsin–La Crosse*	30

‡ Game played at Puyallup, Washington

References

^ "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
^ "NAIA Football Regular Season Records" (PDF). National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. pp. 20–23. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
^ "NAIA Division II Poll". St. Joseph News-Press. St. Joseph, Missouri. Associated Press. November 16, 1989. p. 2D. Retrieved May 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .

NAIA football

Seasons

1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970–1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Division I	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
Division II	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
Women's Flag	2021 2022 2023 2024

Championships

1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970–1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Division I	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
Division II	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996

Records & statistics