1980 NCAA Division II football season

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

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.

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.
School 1979 Conference 1980 Conference
Delaware Independent I-AA Independent
Nicholls State Independent I-AA Independent
Northern Colorado - North Central
Sonoma State new program Independent
Southeastern Louisiana Independent I-AA Independent

Conference standings

1980 Association of Mid-Continent Universities football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Eastern Illinois $^ 4 – 0 – 0 11 – 3 – 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
Team W   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 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
North Carolina Central $ 7 – 0 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
No. 6 Virginia Union ^ 5 – 1 – 1 9 – 2 – 1
Elizabeth City State 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 1
Winston-Salem State 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Saint Paul's (VA) 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Norfolk State 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Hampton 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Johnson C. Smith 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Fayetteville State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Virginia State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Bowie State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 1
Livingstone 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll
1980 Far Western Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   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
1980 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 20 Hillsdale $ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Northwood 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 1
No. 18 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
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1980 Gulf South Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 North Alabama $^ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 4 Jacksonville State ^ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Troy State 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Livingston 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Mississippi College 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Tennessee–Martin 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Delta State 0 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from AP Poll
1980 Heartland Collegiate Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team W   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
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Southwest Texas State $ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 2 Angelo State ^ 5 – 1 – 1 8 – 2 – 1
Texas A&I 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
No. 8 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
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1980 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Missouri–Rolla $ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0
SW Missouri State 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Central Missouri 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
1980 North Central Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   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 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Minnesota Duluth $ 8 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0
Minnesota Morris ^ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 1
No. 11 Moorhead State 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
St. Cloud State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Mankato State 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Southwest State (MN) 2 – 5 – 1 3 – 6 – 1
Winona State 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Northern State 1 – 6 – 1 2 – 7 – 1
Bemidji State 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1980 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
East Division
Millersville x 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 1
East Stroudsburg x 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Kutztown xy 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Cheyney 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 1
Mansfield 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Bloomsburg 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
West Division
Clarion xy$ 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Edinboro 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 2 – 1
Shippensburg 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Indiana (PA) 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Slippery Rock 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Lock Haven 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
California (PA) 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Championship: Clarion 15, Kutztown 14
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
1980 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northern Division
No. 19 Shepherd xy 6 – 2 – 1 7 – 3 – 1
Fairmont State x 6 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1
Salem 6 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
West Virginia Wesleyan 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
West Liberty State 0 – 9 – 0 0 – 10 – 0
Southern Division
No. 3 Concord xy$^ 9 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
West Virginia State 6 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
West Virginia Tech 5 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Bluefield State 1 – 7 – 1 1 – 7 – 1
Glenville State 1 – 7 – 1 1 – 8 – 1
Championship: Concord 19, Shepherd 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1980 NCAA Division II independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 American International   –   8 – 2 – 0
No. 7 Santa Clara ^   –   9 – 3 – 0
Eastern Washington   –   6 – 4 – 0
Southern Connecticut State   –   5 – 4 – 0
West Chester   –   5 – 4 – 1
Towson State   –   5 – 5 – 0
Arkansas–Pine Bluff   –   5 – 6 – 0
Kentucky State   –   5 – 6 – 0
Morgan State   –   4 – 7 – 0
Central Connecticut   –   3 – 7 – 0
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll

Conference summaries

See also: List of NCAA Division II football seasons
Conference Champion(s)
Association of Mid-Continent Universities Eastern Illinois
California Collegiate Athletic Association Cal Poly
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association North Carolina Central
Far Western Football Conference UC Davis
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hillsdale
Gulf South Conference North Alabama
Heartland Collegiate Conference Franklin and Ashland
Lone Star Conference Southwest Texas State
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association Missouri–Rolla
North Central Conference Northern Colorado
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.