1985 NCAA Division II football season

1985 NCAA Division II football season
Regular seasonAugust – November 1985
PlayoffsDecember 1985
National ChampionshipPalm Bowl
Veterans Stadium
McAllen, TX
ChampionNorth Dakota State (2)

The 1985 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 1985, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 14, 1985, at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen, Texas. During the game's five-year stretch in McAllen, the "City of Palms", it was referred to as the Palm Bowl. The North Dakota State Bison defeated the North Alabama Lions, 35–7, to win their second Division II national title.[1]

Conference changes and new programs

School 1984 Conference 1985 Conference
Cal Lutheran - Western
Sacramento State NCAC Western
West Texas State Missouri Valley (I–A) Lone Star

Conference standings

1985 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northern
No. 8 Hampton xy$^ 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
Norfolk State 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Elizabeth City State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Virginia Union 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Virginia State 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
Saint Paul's (VA) 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Southern
No. 18 Winston-Salem State xy 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Livingstone 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
North Carolina Central 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Fayetteville State 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
Johnson C. Smith 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
Bowie State 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0
Championship: Hampton 13, Winston-Salem State 7
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1985 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Hillsdale $^ 5 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 1
Saginaw Valley State 4 – 1 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
Ferris State 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Grand Valley State 4 – 2 – 0 0 – 6 – 5
Northwood 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 2
Wayne State (MI) 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 1
Michigan Tech 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1985 Gulf South Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 North Alabama $^ 7 – 1 – 0 12 – 2 – 0
No. 17 Mississippi College 6 – 1 – 1 7 – 2 – 1
Troy State 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Livingston 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Delta State 3 – 4 – 1 4 – 6 – 1
Jacksonville State 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 1
Valdosta State 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
West Georgia 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Tennessee–Martin 0 – 8 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1985 Heartland Collegiate Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Butler + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Ashland + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Indiana Central 4 – 1 – 1 7 – 1 – 2
Valparaiso 2 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Saint Joseph's (IN) 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Franklin (IN) 1 – 4 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Evansville 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1985 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Texas A&I $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Angelo State 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Eastern New Mexico 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Abilene Christian 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 2
East Texas State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Howard Payne 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 2
  • $ – Conference champion
1985 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 11 NE Missouri State $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Missouri–Rolla 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
NW Missouri State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 1
SE Missouri State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Central Missouri State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Lincoln (MO) 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1985 North Central Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 North Dakota State $^ 7 – 1 – 1 11 – 2 – 1
No. 4 South Dakota ^ 7 – 2 – 0 10 – 3 – 0
South Dakota State 7 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Morningside 5 – 3 – 1 7 – 3 – 1
St. Cloud State 5 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Mankato State 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Nebraska–Omaha 4 – 5 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Northern Colorado 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
North Dakota 2 – 7 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Augustana (SD) 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1985 Northern California Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 UC Davis $^ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Chico State 3 – 1 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Cal State Hayward 2 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1
San Francisco State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 1
Sonoma State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Humboldt State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1985 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Minnesota Duluth $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
No. 9 Moorhead State 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Bemidji State 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Southwest State (MN) 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Minnesota Morris 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Northern State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 1
Winona State 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1985 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
East Division
No. 3 Bloomsburg xy$^ 6 – 0 – 0 12 – 1 – 0
West Chester 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Millersville 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Mansfield 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
East Stroudsburg 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Cheyney 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Kutztown 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
West Division
No. 9 IUP xy 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 1
No. 16 Clarion 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Edinboro 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 1
Shippensburg 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Slippery Rock 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
California (PA) 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Lock Haven 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Championship: Bloomsburg 31, IUP 9
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1985 Western Football Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 15 Santa Clara $ 4 – 0 – 1 8 – 2 – 1
No. 19 Sacramento State 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Portland State 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
Cal Poly 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Cal Lutheran 1 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Cal State Northridge 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1985 NCAA Division II independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 14 American International   –   8 – 2 – 0
No. 10 Towson State   –   7 – 2 – 1
No. 5 Central State (OH) ^   –   8 – 3 – 0
Northern Michigan   –   6 – 3 – 0
New Haven   –   6 – 4 – 0
Southern Connecticut State   –   4 – 5 – 0
Liberty   –   3 – 4 – 1
UCF   –   4 – 7 – 0
Central Connecticut   –   3 – 7 – 0
Saint Mary's   –   3 – 8 – 0
Springfield   –   2 – 8 – 0
Kentucky State   –   0 – 11 – 0
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

Conference summaries

See also: List of NCAA Division II football seasons
Conference Champions

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Hampton
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Hillsdale
Gulf South Conference – North Alabama
Heartland Collegiate Conference – Butler and Ashland
Lone Star Conference – Texas A&I
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Northeast Missouri State
North Central Conference – North Dakota State
Northern California Athletic Conference – UC Davis
Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Duluth
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Bloomsburg
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Colorado Mesa
South Atlantic Conference – Mars Hill
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Albany State and Fort Valley State

Postseason

1985 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams8
Finals Site
Champion
Runner-up
Semifinalists
Winning coach

The 1985 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 13th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen, Texas, for the fifth, and final, time.

Playoff bracket

First round
Campus sites 		Semifinals
Campus sites 		Championship
McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium
McAllen, TX
         
North Dakota State 31
UC Davis 12
North Dakota State 16
South Dakota 7
South Dakota 13**
Central State (OH) 10
North Dakota State 35
North Alabama 7
Bloomsburg 38
Hampton 28
Bloomsburg 0
North Alabama 34
North Alabama 14
Fort Valley State 7

See also

References

  1. ^ "1985 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 4, 2014.