The 1983 NAIA Division I football season was the 28th 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 14th season of play of the NAIA's top division for football. The season was played from August to November 1983 and culminated in the 1983 NAIA Champion Bowl, played this year on December 17, 1983 at

Ralph Stocker Stadium Ralph Stocker Stadium is owned by the city of Grand Junction, Colorado. Its current tenants are Colorado Mesa University Mavericks football, District-51 high school football, and the Grand Junction Gladiators semi-pro minor league football team, t ...

Grand Junction, Colorado Grand Junction is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 65,560 at the 2020 United States Census, making Grand Junction the 17th mos ...

on the campus of Mesa College—now known as known as

Colorado Mesa University Colorado Mesa University is a public university in Grand Junction, Colorado. The university's other locations include Bishop Campus, which houses Western Colorado Community College in northwestern Grand Junction, and a regional campus in Mont ...

. Carson–Newman defeated in the Champion Bowl, 36–28, to win their first NAIA national title.

Conference changes

* This is the final season that the

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. CIAA institutions mostly consist of historically black coll ...

Conference changes

Conference standings

Conference champions

Postseason

See also

References