1985 NAIA Division I football season

The 1985 NAIA Division I football season, as part of the 1985 college football season in the United States and the 30th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 16th season of play of the NAIA's top division for football.

1985 NAIA Division I football season
Regular season	August–November 1985
Postseason	December 7–21, 1985
National Championship	Estes Stadium Conway, AR
Champions	Central Arkansas (2) Hillsdale

The season was played from August to November 1985 and culminated in the 1985 NAIA Champion Bowl, played this year on December 21, 1985 at Estes Stadium in Conway, Arkansas, on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas, for the second straight year.[1]

Central Arkansas and Hillsdale played to a tie, 10–10, in the Champion Bowl and both teams were named co-national champions. It was Central Arkansas' second NAIA title (and second straight shared title) and Hillsdale's first.[2]

Conference standings

1985 Central States Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Pittsburg State $^ 6 – 1 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Fort Hays State 5 – 2 – 0     7 – 2 – 1 Missouri Southern 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Emporia State 3 – 4 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Wayne State (NE) 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Kearney State 3 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Washburn 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Missouri Western 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant	1985 Columbia Football League standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Northern Division Pacific Lutheran x^ 6 – 0 – 0     10 – 1 – 1 Puget Sound 4 – 2 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Central Washington 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Simon Fraser 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Whitworth 3 – 3 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Western Washington 1 – 4 – 1     2 – 6 – 1 Eastern Oregon 0 – 5 – 1     0 – 8 – 2 Southern Division Linfield x^ 6 – 0 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Western Oregon * 5 – 1 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Willamette 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 2 – 1 Southern Oregon 2 – 3 – 0     2 – 6 – 1 Oregon Tech 1 – 4 – 0     1 – 7 – 0 Lewis & Clark 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Pacific (OR) 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 x – Division champion/co-champions * – NAIA Division I playoff participant ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant	1985 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T 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
1985 Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T SW Oklahoma State + 3 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 1 East Central + 3 – 1 – 0     5 – 4 – 1 Northeastern State 2 – 2 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 SE Oklahoma State 1 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 NW Oklahoma State 1 – 3 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1985 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Mesa State $^ 7 – 0 – 0     9 – 2 – 0 Fort Lewis 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 New Mexico Highlands 4 – 3 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 Adams State 4 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Southern Utah 2 – 4 – 1     3 – 5 – 0 Western New Mexico 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Western State 2 – 5 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 Colorado Mines 1 – 5 – 1     2 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant	1985 South Atlantic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Mars Hill $ 6 – 1 – 0     8 – 3 – 0 Elon 5 – 2 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 Newberry 4 – 2 – 1     7 – 3 – 1 Presbyterian 4 – 2 – 1     7 – 3 – 1 Carson–Newman 3 – 4 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Gardner–Webb 2 – 5 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Catawba 2 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Lenoir–Rhyne 1 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion

Conference champions

Conference	Champion	Record
Arkansas	Central Arkansas Henderson State	6–1 6–1
Central States	Pittsburg State	6–1
NIC	Minnesota–Duluth	6–0
Oklahoma	East Central State Southwestern Oklahoma State	3–1
RMAC	Mesa (CO)	7–0
South Atlantic	Mars Hill	6–1
WVIAC	Salem (WV)	6–1

Postseason

	Quarterfinals December 7, 1985 Campus sites					Semifinals December 14, 1985 Campus sites					1985 Champion Bowl December 21, 1985 Conway, AR
	Salem (WV)		15
	Hillsdale*		18
						Hillsdale (OT)		24
						Mesa State*		21
	Western Oregon		32
	Mesa State*		39
											Hillsdale		10
											Central Arkansas*		10
	Central State (OK)		15
	Henderson State*		18
						Henderson State		9
						Central Arkansas*		21
	Central Arkansas		32
	Pittsburg State*		22

See also

• 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season
• 1985 NCAA Division II football season
• 1985 NCAA Division III football season

References

1. "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
2. "1985 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 23, 2015.