The 1981 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 1981, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 12, 1981, 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.
Southwest Texas State defeated North Dakota State in the championship game, 42–13, to win their first Division II national title.[1]
Prior to the 1981 season, the Mid-Continent Conference was shifted from Division II to Division I-AA; its four members, Eastern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Western Illinois, and Southwest Missouri State (now Missouri State), all made the transition. Northern Michigan and Youngstown State, who had been members of the Mid-Continent the previous season, departed the league before the shift. NMU remained in Division II while YSU departed for the Ohio Valley Conference in Division I-AA.
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
Far Western Football Conference – UC Davis and Cal State–Hayward
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Grand Valley State
Gulf South Conference – Jacksonville State
Lone Star Conference – Southwest Texas State
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Northeast Missouri State
North Central Conference – North Dakota State
Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota State–Moorhead
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Shippensburg
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – New Mexico Highlands
South Atlantic Conference – Elon
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Alabama A&M
Postseason[]
1981 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams
8
Finals Site
Veterans Stadium
McAllen, TX
Champion
Southwest Texas State
(1st title, 1st title game)
Runner-up
North Dakota State
(1st title game)
Semifinalists
Northern Michigan
Shippensburg State
Winning coach
Jim Wacker
1st championship
The 1981 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the ninth 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 first time.
Playoff bracket[]
First round Campus sites
Semifinals Campus sites
Championship McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium McAllen, TX