The 1981 NAIA Division I football season was the 26th season of

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

sponsored by the NAIA, was the 12th season of play of the NAIA's top division for football. The season was played from August to November 1981 and culminated in the 1981 NAIA Division I Champion Bowl, played this year on December 19, 1981 at

Burlington Memorial Stadium Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, now ...

Burlington, North Carolina Burlington is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

(near the campus of

Elon College Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or professional doctorate d ...

). Defending national champion Elon defeated in the Champion Bowl, 3–0, to win their second NAIA national title.

Conference changes

* This is the final season the NAIA officially recognizes a football champion from the

Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is a competitive List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level. ...

and the

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in Tex ...

. Both the GLIAC and the Lone Star became an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division II conferences, where both continue to sponsor football (with the exception of a ten-year hiatus for the GLIAC between 1989 and 1999).

Conference standings

Conference champions

Postseason

*† Cameron was disqualified after their first round win over

Central Arkansas Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of ...

after it was discovered they had been using ineligible players.

References

{{NAIA football NAIA Football National Championship

Conference changes

Conference standings

Conference champions

Postseason

See also

References