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

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.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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

See also: List of NCAA Division II football seasons

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

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

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

See also

• 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season
• 1980 NCAA Division III football season
• 1980 NAIA Division I football season
• 1980 NAIA Division II football season