1985 NCAA Division II football season

1985 NCAA Division II Football Championship
1985 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	8
Finals Site	Veterans Stadium; McAllen, TX;
Champion	North Dakota State; (2nd title, 4th title game);
Runner-up	North Alabama; (1st title game);
Semifinalists	South Dakota; Bloomsburg;
Winning coach	Earle Solomonson; 1st championship;

1985 NCAA Division II football season
1985 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	August – November 1985
Playoffs	December 1985
National Championship	Palm Bowl; Veterans Stadium; McAllen, TX
Champion	North Dakota State (2)
	← 1984; NCAA Division II football seasons; 1986 →;

The 1985 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 1985, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 14, 1985, 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. The North Dakota State Bison defeated the North Alabama Lions, 35–7, to win their second Division II national title.^[1]

Conference changes and new programs

School	1984 Conference	1985 Conference
Cal Lutheran	-	Western
Sacramento State	NCAC	Western
West Texas State	Missouri Valley (I–A)	Lone Star

Conference standings

1985 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Northern
No. 8 Hampton xy$^	6	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Norfolk State	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Elizabeth City State	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Virginia Union	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Virginia State	3	–	3	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
Saint Paul's (VA)	0	–	7	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Southern
No. 18 Winston-Salem State xy	7	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Livingstone	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
North Carolina Central	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Fayetteville State	3	–	3	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
Johnson C. Smith	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	9	–	0
Bowie State	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	10	–	0
Championship: Hampton 13, Winston-Salem State 7
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

1985 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 Hillsdale $^	5	–	1	–	0	11	–	1	–	1
Saginaw Valley State	4	–	1	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
Ferris State	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Grand Valley State	4	–	2	–	0	0	–	6	–	5
Northwood	2	–	3	–	1	3	–	4	–	2
Wayne State (MI)	1	–	5	–	0	1	–	8	–	1
Michigan Tech	0	–	6	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1985 Gulf South Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 North Alabama $^	7	–	1	–	0	12	–	2	–	0
No. 17 Mississippi College	6	–	1	–	1	7	–	2	–	1
Troy State	6	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Livingston	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Delta State	3	–	4	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
Jacksonville State	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	1
Valdosta State	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
West Georgia	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Tennessee–Martin	0	–	8	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

1985 Heartland Collegiate Conference standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Butler +	5	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Ashland +	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Indiana Central	4	–	1	–	1	7	–	1	–	2
Valparaiso	2	–	4	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Saint Joseph's (IN)	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Franklin (IN)	1	–	4	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
Evansville	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions

1985 Lone Star Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Texas A&I $	5	–	0	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Angelo State	3	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Eastern New Mexico	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Abilene Christian	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	2
East Texas State	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Howard Payne	0	–	5	–	0	2	–	6	–	2

$ – Conference champion

1985 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 11 NE Missouri State $	5	–	0	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Missouri–Rolla	4	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
NW Missouri State	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	1
SE Missouri State	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Central Missouri State	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Lincoln (MO)	0	–	5	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

1985 North Central Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 7 North Dakota State $^	7	–	1	–	1	11	–	2	–	1
No. 4 South Dakota ^	7	–	2	–	0	10	–	3	–	0
South Dakota State	7	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Morningside	5	–	3	–	1	7	–	3	–	1
St. Cloud State	5	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Mankato State	4	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Nebraska–Omaha	4	–	5	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Northern Colorado	2	–	7	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
North Dakota	2	–	7	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Augustana (SD)	1	–	8	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

1985 Northern California Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 UC Davis $^	5	–	0	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Chico State	3	–	1	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
Cal State Hayward	2	–	2	–	1	6	–	3	–	1
San Francisco State	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	6	–	1
Sonoma State	1	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Humboldt State	1	–	4	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

1985 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Minnesota Duluth $	6	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
No. 9 Moorhead State	5	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Bemidji State	3	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Southwest State (MN)	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Minnesota Morris	3	–	3	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Northern State	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	1
Winona State	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1985 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
East Division
No. 3 Bloomsburg xy$^	6	–	0	–	0	12	–	1	–	0
West Chester	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Millersville	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Mansfield	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
East Stroudsburg	2	–	4	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Cheyney	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Kutztown	1	–	5	–	0	1	–	9	–	0
West Division
No. 9 IUP xy	6	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	1
No. 16 Clarion	5	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Edinboro	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	1
Shippensburg	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Slippery Rock	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
California (PA)	1	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Lock Haven	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Championship: Bloomsburg 31, IUP 9
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

1985 Western Football Conference standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 15 Santa Clara $	4	–	0	–	1	8	–	2	–	1
No. 19 Sacramento State	4	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Portland State	2	–	2	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
Cal Poly	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Cal Lutheran	1	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Cal State Northridge	1	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

1985 NCAA Division II independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 14 American International		–		8	–	2	–	0
No. 10 Towson State		–		7	–	2	–	1
No. 5 Central State (OH) ^		–		8	–	3	–	0
Northern Michigan		–		6	–	3	–	0
New Haven		–		6	–	4	–	0
Southern Connecticut State		–		4	–	5	–	0
Liberty		–		3	–	4	–	1
UCF		–		4	–	7	–	0
Central Connecticut		–		3	–	7	–	0
Saint Mary's		–		3	–	8	–	0
Springfield		–		2	–	8	–	0
Kentucky State		–		0	–	11	–	0

^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

Conference summaries

Conference Champions
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Hampton Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Hillsdale Gulf South Conference – North Alabama Heartland Collegiate Conference – Butler and Ashland Lone Star Conference – Texas A&I Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Northeast Missouri State North Central Conference – North Dakota State Northern California Athletic Conference – UC Davis Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Duluth Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Bloomsburg Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Colorado Mesa South Atlantic Conference – Mars Hill Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Albany State and Fort Valley State

Postseason

The 1985 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 13th 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 fifth, and final, time.

Playoff bracket

First round Campus sites		Semifinals Campus sites		Championship McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium McAllen, TX

North Dakota State	31

UC Davis	12
		North Dakota State	16

		South Dakota	7
South Dakota	13**

Central State (OH)	10
				North Dakota State	35

				North Alabama	7
Bloomsburg	38

Hampton	28
		Bloomsburg	0

		North Alabama	34
North Alabama	14

Fort Valley State	7

References

^ "1985 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 4, 2014.

[1] "1985 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 4, 2014.

[1]

v t e NCAA football seasons
Pre-NCAA	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905
NCAA pre-divisional	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961
NCAA University Division	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division I	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
NCAA Division I-A/FBS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA College Division	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division II	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA Division III	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

1985 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	8
Finals Site	Veterans Stadium McAllen, TX
Champion	North Dakota State (2nd title, 4th title game)
Runner-up	North Alabama (1st title game)
Semifinalists	South Dakota Bloomsburg
Winning coach	Earle Solomonson 1st championship