1981 NAIA Division I football season
| 1981 NAIA Division I football season | |
|---|---|
| Regular season | August–November 1981 |
| Postseason | December 5–19, 1981 |
| National Championship | Burlington Memorial Stadium Burlington, NC |
| Champions | Elon (2) |
The 1981 NAIA Division I football season, as part of the 1981 college football season in the United States and 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 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 | |||||||||||||
- † Cameron was disqualified after their first round win over Central Arkansas after it was discovered they had been using ineligible players.
See also
- 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season
- 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season
- 1981 NCAA Division II football season
- 1981 NCAA Division III football season
References
- ^ "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
- ^ "1981 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 22, 2015.