1980 NCAA Division II football season

1980 NCAA Division II Football Championship
1980 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	8
Finals Site	University Stadium; Albuquerque, NM;
Champion	Cal Poly; (1st title, 1st title game);
Runner-up	Eastern Illinois; (2nd title game);
Semifinalists	North Alabama; Santa Clara;
Winning coach	Joe Harper; 1st championship;

1980 NCAA Division II football season
1980 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	August – November 1980
Playoffs	December 1980
National Championship	Zia Bowl; University Stadium; Albuquerque, NM
Champion	Cal Poly
	← 1979; NCAA Division II football seasons; 1981 →;

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
v t e	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
v t e	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
v t e	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
v t e	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
v t e	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
v t e	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
v t e	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
v t e	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
v t e	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
v t e	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
v t e	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
v t e	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
v t e	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
v t e	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

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

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

References

^ "1980 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 4, 2014.

[1] "1980 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 4, 2014.

[1]