The 1981 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason

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 ...

game between the

Eastern Kentucky Colonels The Eastern Kentucky Colonels are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Eastern Kentucky University (EKU), located in Richmond, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the ASUN Confe ...

and the

Idaho State Bengals The Idaho State Bengals are the varsity intercollegiate athletic teams representing Idaho State University, located in Pocatello, Idaho. The university sponsors thirteen teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, tennis, and trac ...

. The game was played on December 19, 1981, at Memorial Stadium in

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accordin ...

. The culminating game of the

1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season The 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1981 and concluded with the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA F ...

, it was won by Idaho State, 34–23. The game was also known as the

Pioneer Bowl The Pioneer Bowl was the name of some December college football bowl games played in two different eras. Between 1971 and 1982, the game was contested 10 times in Texas as an NCAA College Division regional final, or as a playoff game for Divisio ...

, a name that had been used starting in 1971 for various NCAA playoff games held in Wichita Falls. The Colonels were making their third consecutive appearance in the I-AA championship game.

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1981 I-AA Playoffs, which began with an eight-team

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Eastern Kentucky Colonels

Eastern Kentucky finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (8–0 in conference); their only loss was to

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

. Ranked first in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll and seeded first in the tournament, the Colonels defeated seventh-seed

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

and fourth-seed Boise State to reach the final. This was the third appearance for Eastern Kentucky in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1979 and having lost in 1980.

Idaho State Bengals

Idaho State finished their regular season with a 9–1 record (6–1 in conference); their only loss was an away game at

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. Ranked second in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll and seeded second in the tournament, the Bengals defeated eighth-seed

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

and third-seed

South Carolina State South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only public, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina, is a me ...

to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Idaho State in a Division I-AA championship game.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Game statistics

References

External links

Highlights from the 1981 1-AA National Championship Team—the ISU Bengals
via

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* EKU vs Idaho State - 198
Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4
via YouTube {{1981–82 NCAA Division I championships navbox

Championship Game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

NCAA Division I Football Championship Games Eastern Kentucky Colonels football games Idaho State Bengals football games American football competitions in Texas Sports in Wichita Falls, Texas NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game