The 1984 NCAA Division II football season, part 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

in the United States organized by the

National Collegiate Athletic Association 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 ...

at the Division II level, began in August 1984, and concluded with the

NCAA Division II Football Championship The NCAA Division II Football Championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination tournament with eight teams. The tourna ...

on December 8, 1984, at

McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium McAllen Stadium is a high school football stadium in McAllen, Texas, United States. It has been used for college and high school football and soccer games and track and field meets. The stadium contains a full track and full-color video scoreboard ...

McAllen, Texas McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...

. During the game's five-year stretch in McAllen, the "City of Palms", it was referred to as the

Palm Bowl Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

. Troy State defeated

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North ...

in the championship game, 18–17, to win their first Division II national title.

Conference changes and new programs

*Four programs departed Division II for Division I-AA prior to the season. Three were members of 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 T ...

, invited to join the newly formed, Division I-AA

Gulf Star Conference The Gulf Star Conference was an NCAA Division II conference that existed from 1984–85 to 1986–87, three academic years. All of the schools subsequently joined the Southland Conference. Dave Waples was the only Commissioner, with the ...

Conference standings

Conference summaries

Postseason

The 1984

playoffs were the 12th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

college football. The championship game was held at

, for the fourth consecutive time.

Playoff bracket

References