The 1985 NAIA Division I football season was the 30th 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 16th season of play of the NAIA's top division for football. 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 First Security Field at Estes Stadium is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Conway, Arkansas. It is home to the Central Arkansas Bears football team, representing the University of Central Arkansas in the NCAA's ASUN Conference. The facili ...

Conway, Arkansas Conway is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Faulkner County, located in the state's most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area, Central Arkansas. Although considered a suburb of Little Rock, Conway is unusual in that ...

, on the campus of the

University of Central Arkansas The University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a public university in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1907 as the Arkansas State Normal School, the university is one of the oldest in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As the state's only n ...

, for the second straight year. 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.

Conference realignment

Conference changes

* The

Columbia Football League The Columbia Football League was a short-lived NAIA intercollegiate athletic football conference that existed during the 1985 through 1987 seasons and was composed of member schools from the states of Oregon and Washington. The league's teams were ...

began play this season, with the combined football membership of the former

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

(NAIA Division I) and

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

(NAIA Division II) conferences. The new league had fourteen members from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Conference realignment

Conference changes

Membership changes

Conference standings

Conference champions

Postseason

See also

References