1986 NCAA Division II football season

1986 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	August – November 1986
Playoffs	November 29 – December 13, 1986
National Championship	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL
Champion	North Dakota State (3)
Harlon Hill Trophy	Jeff Bentrim, North Dakota State

The 1986 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 1986, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 13, 1986, at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The championship would remain hosted in Florence for the next twenty-eight seasons through 2013 before moving to Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas. The North Dakota State Bison defeated the South Dakota Coyotes, 27–7, to win their third Division II national title.

The first ever Harlon Hill Trophy, given to the best player in Division II, was awarded to Jeff Bentrim, quarterback for North Dakota State.

Conference standings

1986 Lone Star Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T West Texas State $ 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 No. 8 Texas A&I 4 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 No. T–10 Abilene Christian 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Eastern New Mexico 3 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Angelo State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 East Texas State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Howard Payne 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll	1986 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Central Missouri State $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 SE Missouri State 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 NE Missouri State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Missouri–Rolla 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 NW Missouri State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Lincoln (MO) 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1986 North Central Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 North Dakota State $^ 9 – 0 – 0 13 – 0 – 0 No. 6 South Dakota ^ 8 – 1 – 0 11 – 3 – 0 Mankato State 6 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 1 South Dakota State 5 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Nebraska–Omaha 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 St. Cloud State 4 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Augustana (SD) 3 – 6 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Northern Colorado 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 North Dakota 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Morningside 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1986 Northern California Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 UC Davis $^ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 Chico State 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Cal State Hayward 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Sonoma State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 San Francisco State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Humboldt State 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll	1986 Western Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Sacramento State $ 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 1 No. 9 Cal State Northridge 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Portland State 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Southern Utah State 3 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Cal Poly 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Santa Clara 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Cal Lutheran 0 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion 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 – Virginia Union Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Hillsdale Gulf South Conference – Troy State Lone Star Conference – West Texas State Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Central Missouri State North Central Conference – North Dakota State Northern California Athletic Conference – UC Davis Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Morris Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Indiana (PA) Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Colorado Mesa South Atlantic Conference – Carson-Newman Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Albany State

Postseason

1986 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	8
Finals Site	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL
Champion	North Dakota State (3rd title, 5th title game)
Runner-up	South Dakota (1st title game)
Semifinalists	Central State (OH) Troy State
Winning coach	Earle Solomonson 2nd championship

The 1986 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 14th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, for the first time.

Playoff bracket

	First round Campus sites					Semifinals Campus sites					Championship Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL
	North Dakota State		50
	Ashland		0
						North Dakota State		35
						Central State (OH)		12
	Central State (OH)		31
	Towson State		0
											North Dakota State		27
											South Dakota		7
	Troy State		31
	Virginia Union		7
						Troy State		28
						South Dakota		42
	South Dakota		26
	UC Davis		23