1988 NAIA Division I football season

1988 NAIA Division I football season
Regular seasonAugust–November 1988
PostseasonNovember 26–December 17, 1988
National ChampionshipBurke–Tarr Stadium
Jefferson City, TN
ChampionsCarson–Newman (4)

The 1988 NAIA Division I football season was the 33rd season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 19th season of play of the NAIA's top division for football.

The season was played from August to November 1988 and culminated in the 1988 NAIA Champion Bowl playoffs and the 1988 NAIA Champion Bowl, played this year on December 17, 1988 at Burke–Tarr Stadium in Jefferson City, Tennessee, on the campus of Carson–Newman College.[1]

Carson–Newman defeated Adams State in the Champion Bowl, 56–21, to win their fourth NAIA national title. It was the Eagles' third straight appearance in the Champion Bowl, going 1–1 in the previous two.[2]

Conference standings

1988 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Central Arkansas $^ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
No. 7 Arkansas–Monticello ^ 5 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 17 Arkansas Tech 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Henderson State 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
Ouachita Baptist 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
Harding 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Southern Arkansas 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1988 Central States Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Pittsburg State $^ 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 11 Emporia State ^ 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 14 Washburn ^ 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
No. 24 Kearney State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Fort Hays State 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 1
Missouri Western 2 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Missouri Southern 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Wayne State (NE) 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1988 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Hillsdale $^ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 19 Northern Michigan 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Grand Valley State 3 – 2 – 0 0 – 7 – 4
No. 25 Saginaw Valley State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Ferris State 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Wayne State (MI) 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll for Northern Michigan and NAIA Division I poll for Hillsdale and Saginaw Valley State
1988 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Texas A&I $^ 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 3 – 0
No. 15 East Texas State 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Angelo State 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
No. 18 Cameron 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 1
Central State (OK) 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Abilene Christian 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
West Texas State 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Eastern New Mexico 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll for Texas A&I and East Texas State and NAIA Division I poll for Cameron
1988 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 12 Moorhead State $^ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 15 Northern State ^ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Minnesota Duluth 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Minnesota Morris 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Southwest State (MN) 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Winona State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Bemidji State 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1988 Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 SE Oklahoma State $^ 4 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
No. 21 SW Oklahoma State 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
East Central 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Northeastern State 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
NW Oklahoma State 0 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I pol
1988 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Mesa State $^ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
No. 16 Adams State ^ 3 – 1 – 1 10 – 3 – 1
No. 23 Western New Mexico 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Western State (CO) 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Colorado Mines 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Fort Lewis 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1988 South Atlantic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Carson–Newman +^ 5 – 2 – 0 12 – 2 – 0
No. 13 Catawba +^ 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
No. 20 Lenoir–Rhyne + 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
No. 22 Elon 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Mars Hill 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Gardner–Webb 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 1
Newberry 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Presbyterian 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1988 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Fairmont State +^ 5 – 0 – 2 7 – 2 – 2
No. 19 Shepherd + 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
No. 9 Concord ^ 5 – 1 – 1 7 – 2 – 1
West Virginia State 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
West Liberty State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Glenville State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Salem 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
West Virginia Tech 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1988 NAIA Division I independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Central State (OH) ^   –   11 – 2 – 0
West Virginia Wesleyan   –   6 – 4 – 0
Arkansas–Pine Bluff   –   4 – 6 – 1
Langston   –   2 – 7 – 0
Guilford   –   2 – 8 – 0
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

Conference champions

Conference Champion Record
Arkansas Intercollegiate Central Arkansas 6–0
NIC Moorhead State (MN) 6–0
Oklahoma Southeastern Oklahoma State 4–0
RMAC Mesa State 5–0
South Atlantic Carson–Newman
Catawba 		5–2
WVIAC Fairmont State 5–0–2

Rankings

Final NAIA Division I poll rankings:

Rank Team (first place votes) Record (thru Nov. 19) Points
1 Central Arkansas (15) 10–0 375
2 Pittsburg State 9–0 350
3 Mesa State 8–1 343
4 Southeastern Oklahoma State 9–0 324
5 Hillsdale 9–1 313
6 Central State (OH) 9–1 306
7 Arkansas–Monticello 9–1 287
8 Carson–Newman 8–2 259
9 Concord 7–1–1 248
10 Fairmont State 7–1–2 238
11 Emporia State 8–2 218
12 Moorhead State 8–2 206
13 Catawba 8–3 200
14 Washburn 7–3 179
15 Northern State 8–3 162
16 Adams State 7–2–1 153
17 Arkansas Tech 6–4 126
18 Cameron 5–3–1 122
19 Shepherd 6–4 98
20 Lenoir–Rhyne 6–5 93
21 Southwestern Oklahoma State 6–4 84
22 Elon 6–5 55
23 Western New Mexico 7–2–1 79
24 Kearney State 4–4–1 43
25 Saginaw Valley State 4–5 15

[3]

Postseason

First Round
November 26, 1988
Campus sites 		Quarterfinals
December 3, 1988
Campus sites 		Semifinals
December 10, 1988
Campus sites 		1988 Champion Bowl
December 17, 1988
Jefferson City, TN
            
  Washburn 13
  Arkansas–Monticello* 20
  Arkansas–Monticello 7
  Pittsburg State* 23
  Northern State 14
  Pittsburg State* 38
  Pittsburg State 10
  Adams State* 13
  Adams State 14
  Emporia State* 10
  Adams State 38
  SE Oklahoma State* 7
  Central Arkansas 14
  SE Oklahoma State* (OT) 21
  Adams State 21
  Carson–Newman* 56
  Mesa State 16
  Moorhead State* 26
  Moorhead State 6
  Carson–Newman* 42
  Concord 29
  Carson–Newman* 62
  Carson–Newman 13
  Central State (OH)* 0
  Catawba 10
  Central State (OH)* 24
  Central State (OH) 14
  Hillsdale* 7
  Fairmont State 7
  Hillsdale* 24

See also

References

  1. ^ "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  2. ^ "1988 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  3. ^ "NAIA Division I Poll". La Crosse Tribune. La Crosse, Wisconsin. Associated Press. November 21, 1988. p. 14. Retrieved May 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.