1980 NAIA Division II football season

The 1980 NAIA Division II football season, as part of the 1980 college football season in the United States and the 25th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 11th season of play of the NAIA's lower division for football.

1980 NAIA Division II football season
Regular season	August–November 1980
Postseason	November–December 1980
National Championship	Lincoln Bowl Tacoma, WA
Champions	Pacific Lutheran

The season was played from August to November 1980 and culminated in the 1980 NAIA Division II Football National Championship, played at the Lincoln Bowl in Tacoma, Washington.

The Pacific Lutheran Lutes defeated the Wilmington Quakers) in the championship game, 38–10, to win their first NAIA national title.

Conference realignment

Conference changes

• This was the final season for the Tri-State Conference. Its three remaining members, from Iowa and South Dakota, would all become independents.

Conference standings

1980 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Elmhurst + 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 No. 17 Illinois Wesleyan + 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Augustana (IL) 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Carthage 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Millikin 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 North Central (IL) 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 North Park 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Wheaton (IL) 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Carroll (WI) 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1980 Frontier Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Carroll (MT) + 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Western Montana + 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Montana Tech 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Rocky Mountain 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1980 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 William Jewell +^ 7 – 0 – 1 11 – 1 – 1 No. 7 Baker +^ 7 – 0 – 1 9 – 1 – 1 Graceland 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Missouri Valley 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Ottawa 4 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Culver–Stockton 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 MidAmerica Nazarene 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Central Methodist 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Tarkio 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1980 Hoosier–Buckeye Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 9 Anderson (IN) + 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 No. 2 Wilmington (OH) +^ 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 No. 5 Hanover +^ 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Findlay 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Defiance 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Earlham 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Bluffton 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 Taylor 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Manchester (IN) 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1980 Illini–Badger Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Milton $ 4 – 0 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Concordia (IL) 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Northeastern Illinois 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Eureka 2 – 2 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Lakeland 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Concordia (WI) 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1980 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 12 Bethany (KS) $ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Kansas Wesleyan 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 St. Mary of the Plains 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Southwestern (KS) 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Bethel (KS) 3 – 4 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Friends 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Sterling 2 – 5 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 McPherson 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Tabor 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1980 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Concordia–Moorhead $ 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No.16 Gustavus Adolphus 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Saint John's (MN) 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Hamline 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 St. Olaf 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Augsburg 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 St. Thomas (MN) 2 – 5 – 1 3 – 6 – 1 Bethel (MN) 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Macalester 0 – 7 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1980 Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 13 Hastings $ 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Midland 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Concordia (NE) 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Doane 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Nebraska Wesleyan 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Dana 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Hastings and Doane played twice; each game counted as ½ of a game in the conference standings. Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1980 North Dakota College Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 Valley City State $^ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 No. 18 Dickinson State 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Jamestown 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Mayville State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Minot State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 North Dakota Science 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Bismarck JC 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1980 Northwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Linfield $^ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 No. 1 Pacific Lutheran ^ 4 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0 Willamette 2 – 2 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Whitworth 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Lewis & Clark 1 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Pacific (OR) 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Whitworth forfeited two games Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1980 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 11 South Dakota Tech $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Black Hills State 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Sioux Falls 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Dakota State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Huron 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 South Dakota–Springfield 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Dakota Wesleyan 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1980 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Redlands $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Claremont-Mudd 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Whittier 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Occidental 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 La Verne 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Pomona-Pitzer 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1980 Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 8 McMurry $^ 9 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 No. 15 Austin 8 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Sul Ross 6 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Trinity (TX) 4 – 6 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Tarleton State 3 – 7 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Lubbock Christian 0 – 10 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1980 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northwestern (IA) 2 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Westmar 1 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Yankton 0 – 2 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1980 NAIA Division II independents football records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 Peru State   –   9 – 1 – 0 No. 20 Azusa Pacific   –   8 – 2 – 0 No. 14 Cal Lutheran   –   7 – 2 – 1 No. 19 Oklahoma Panhandle State   –   7 – 3 – 0 Waynesburg   –   5 – 3 – 0 Westminster (PA)   –   5 – 3 – 0 Simon Fraser   –   5 – 4 – 0 Chadron State   –   5 – 5 – 0 Loras   –   5 – 5 – 0 Geneva   –   4 – 5 – 0 Iowa Wesleyan   –   4 – 6 – 0 Texas Lutheran   –   4 – 6 – 0 Benedictine (KS)   –   3 – 7 – 0 Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

Conference champions

Conference	Champion	Record
Frontier	Carroll (MT) Montana Western	4–2
Heart of America	William Jewell Baker (KS)	7–0–1
Hoosier-Buckeye	Anderson (IN) Hanover Wilmington (OH)	7–1
Kansas	Bethany	7–1
Minnesota	Concordia–Moorhead	7–1
Nebraska	Hastings	4–1
North Dakota	Valley City State	4–0
Northwest	Linfield	5–0
South Dakota	South Dakota Tech	6–0
Texas	McMurry	9–1

Postseason

	Quarterfinals Campus sites					Semifinals Campus sites					Championship Tacoma, WA
		Linfield	20
		Pacific Lutheran*	35
							Pacific Lutheran*	32
							Valley City State	0
		Valley City State	16
		McMurry (TX)*	7
												Pacific Lutheran*	38
												Wilmington (OH)	10
		Baker	17
		William Jewell*	20
							William Jewell*	17
							Wilmington (OH)	31
		Hanover	49
		Wilmington (OH)* (4OT)	56

See also

• 1980 NAIA Division I football season
• 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season
• 1980 NCAA Division II football season
• 1980 NCAA Division III football season