1981 NCAA Division III football season

1981 NCAA Division III football season
1981 NCAA Division III football season
Regular season	August – November 1981
Playoffs	November – December 1981
National; championship	Garrett-Harrison Stadium; Phenix City, AL
Champion	Widener
	NCAA Division III football seasons

The 1981 NCAA Division III football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division III level, began in August 1981, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship in December 1981 at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. The Widener Pioneers won their second Division III championship, defeating the defending national champion Dayton by a final score of 17−10.^[1]

Conference changes and new programs

Western New England College joined Division III this year after competing for 11 years as a club team.^[2] Buffalo State also abandoned club status to join Division III this year.
West Georgia revived their football program after last fielding a team in 1958.
This was the first year that Mercyhurst fielded a football team, just 12 years after the school started admitting male students. They joined Division III as an independent.^[3]

School	1980 Conference	1981 Conference
Buffalo State	Club Team	D-III Independent
Iona	MIC	D-III independent
Mercyhurst	New program	Independent (D-III)
New Haven	NEFC	D-II Independent
Saint Mary's	D-III Independent	D-II Independent
West Georgia	Revived Program	D-III Independent
Western New England	Club Team	NEFC

Conference standings

1981 College Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Rose–Hulman $	5	–	0	–	0	6	–	2	–	1
Illinois College	4	–	1	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Sewanee	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Centre	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Southwestern (TN)	1	–	4	–	0	3	–	5	–	1
Principia	0	–	5	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1981 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Augustana (IL) $^	8	–	0	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
Elmhurst	7	–	1	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Carthage	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Millikin	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Carroll (WI)	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Illinois Wesleyan	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
North Central (IL)	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
North Park	2	–	6	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Wheaton (IL)	1	–	7	–	0	2	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1981 Independent College Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Alfred $^	3	–	0	–	0	10	–	1	–	0
Ithaca	2	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
St. Lawrence	2	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
RPI	1	–	1	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Hobart	0	–	4	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1981 Iowa Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Central (IA) $	6	–	1	–	0	6	–	2	–	1
Buena Vista	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Wartburg	6	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Dubuque	4	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Luther *	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Simpson (IA)	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
William Penn	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Upper Iowa	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion * – forfeited one non-conference game

1981 Metropolitan Intercollegiate Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
St. John's $	4	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Pace	3	–	1	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Brooklyn	2	–	2	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Marist	1	–	3	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Saint Peter's	0	–	4	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1981 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Hope $	5	–	0	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Adrian	4	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Albion	2	–	2	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
Kalamazoo	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Alma	1	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Olivet	0	–	4	–	1	3	–	5	–	1

$ – Conference champion

1981 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Northern Division
Delaware Valley x	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Juniata x	6	–	1	–	0	6	–	2	–	1
Albright	4	–	2	–	1	5	–	3	–	1
Lycoming	4	–	2	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
Susquehanna	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Upsala	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Fairleigh Dickinson–Florham	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	8	–	0
Wilkes	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	9	–	0
Southern Division
Widener x^	8	–	0	–	0	13	–	0	–	0
Johns Hopkins	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Swarthmore	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Franklin & Marshall	5	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Gettysburg	5	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Western Maryland	5	–	3	–	0	5	–	3	–	1
Lebanon Valley	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Muhlenberg	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Ursinus	1	–	6	–	1	2	–	6	–	1
Moravian	0	–	7	–	1	2	–	8	–	1
Dickinson	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1981 Midwest Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Lawrence $^	8	–	0	–	0	10	–	1	–	0
Carleton	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Coe	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Ripon	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Cornell (IA)	5	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Beloit	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Lake Forest	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Chicago	2	–	6	–	0	2	–	6	–	1
Grinnell	2	–	6	–	0	2	–	6	–	0
Knox	2	–	6	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Monmouth (IL)	1	–	7	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1981 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Concordia–Moorhead $^	8	–	0	–	0	11	–	0	–	2
No. 15 Saint John's (MN)	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
No. 19 St. Thomas (MN)	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Gustavus Adolphus	5	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Augsburg	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Macalester	2	–	6	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
St. Olaf	2	–	6	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Bethel (MN)	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Hamline	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1981 New England Football Conference standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Plymouth State $	9	–	0	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
Maine Maritime	7	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Massachusetts Maritime	6	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Western New England	5	–	4	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Nichols	5	–	4	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Framingham State	4	–	5	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Bridgewater State	3	–	6	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Curry	3	–	6	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Western Connecticut State	1	–	7	–	0	1	–	8	–	0
Boston State *	1	–	8	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion * – Boston State's game against Norwich counted in the conference standings.

1981 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Middlebury	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	1	–	0
Tufts	5	–	2	–	1	5	–	2	–	1
Bates	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	2	–	0
Amherst	5	–	3	–	0	5	–	3	–	0
Trinity (CT)	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	2	–	0
Wesleyan	3	–	3	–	1	4	–	3	–	1
Williams	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Bowdoin	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	6	–	0
Colby	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	6	–	0
Hamilton	0	–	5	–	0	0	–	8	–	0

The NESCAC did not recognize an official conference champion until 2000

1981 New Jersey State Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Montclair State $^	6	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Ramapo	4	–	1	–	1	6	–	2	–	1
Glassboro State	4	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Trenton State	3	–	2	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
William Paterson	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Kean	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Jersey City State	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1981 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Moorhead State $*	6	–	0	–	0	10	–	1	–	1
Minnesota Duluth	5	–	1	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
Minnesota Morris ^	4	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	1
Southwest State (MN)	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Northern State	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Winona State	1	–	5	–	0	1	–	9	–	0
Bemidji State	0	–	6	–	0	0	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant * – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1981 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Blue Division
Wittenberg xy$	6	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Capital	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Ohio Northern	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Wooster	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Ohio Wesleyan	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Denison	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Muskingum	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Red Division
Baldwin–Wallace xy	5	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Otterbein	3	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Mount Union	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Kenyon	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Heidelberg	2	–	3	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Marietta	0	–	5	–	0	0	–	9	–	0
Not competing for championship
Oberlin			–			3	–	6	–	0
Championship: Wittenberg 10, Baldwin–Wallace 7
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

1981 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Washington and Lee $	4	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Maryville (TN)	4	–	1	–	0	5	–	4	–	1
Randolph–Macon	3	–	1	–	1	5	–	3	–	1
Hampden–Sydney	2	–	2	–	1	2	–	7	–	1
Bridgewater	0	–	4	–	1	2	–	6	–	1
Emory & Henry	0	–	4	–	1	1	–	8	–	1

$ – Conference champion Washington and Lee won the conference title by virtue of their win over Maryville.

1981 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Carnegie Mellon $	6	–	0	–	1	7	–	1	–	1
Bethany (WV)	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Hiram	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Thiel	4	–	2	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
Allegheny	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
John Carroll	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Washington & Jefferson	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Case Western Reserve	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1981 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Whittier $	5	–	0	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Claremont-Mudd	4	–	1	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Redlands	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Occidental	1	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
La Verne	1	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Pomona-Pitzer	1	–	4	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1981 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Division II
Morris Brown *	6	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Alabama A&M x	2	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Fort Valley State	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Tuskegee	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Savannah State	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Morehouse	3	–	6	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Albany State	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	10	–	0
Division III
Knoxville x	4	–	1	–	0	6	–	2	–	0
Clark	3	–	3	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Miles	2	–	3	–	1	2	–	7	–	1
Lane	2	–	3	–	1	2	–	7	–	1
Fisk	0	–	6	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

x – Division champion/co-champions * – Morris Brown was stripped of their division title for using ineligible players. Alabama A&M is recognized as the Division II champion by the SIAC.

1981 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 9 Wisconsin–Eau Claire $	8	–	0	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
Wisconsin–Whitewater	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Wisconsin–Stout	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Wisconsin–La Crosse	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Wisconsin–Platteville	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Wisconsin–Stevens Point	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Wisconsin–Oshkosh	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Wisconsin–River Falls	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Wisconsin–Superior	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1981 NCAA Division III independents football records
	Conf.			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
DePauw		–		9	–	1	–	0
San Diego		–		9	–	1	–	0
Wagner		–		9	–	1	–	0
West Georgia ^		–		9	–	1	–	0
Dayton ^		–		12	–	2	–	0
Wabash		–		8	–	1	–	0
Millsaps		–		7	–	2	–	0
WPI		–		6	–	2	–	0
Albany		–		7	–	3	–	0
Georgetown		–		5	–	3	–	0
Cortland		–		6	–	4	–	0
Brockport		–		5	–	5	–	0
Buffalo		–		5	–	5	–	0
Buffalo State		–		3	–	3	–	0
Fordham		–		5	–	5	–	0
Iona		–		5	–	5	–	0
Mercyhurst		–		4	–	2	–	1
Rochester (NY)		–		4	–	4	–	1
Union (NY)		–		4	–	4	–	1
Colorado College		–		4	–	5	–	0
Duquesne		–		4	–	5	–	0
Frostburg State		–		4	–	5	–	0
Canisius		–		4	–	6	–	0
Hofstra		–		4	–	6	–	0
UCF		–		4	–	6	–	0
Saint Francis (PA)		–		3	–	6	–	1
Norwich		–		3	–	7	–	0
Grove City		–		2	–	7	–	0
Salisbury State		–		2	–	7	–	0
St. Norbert		–		2	–	7	–	0
Catholic University		–		1	–	8	–	0
Merchant Marine		–		1	–	9	–	0

^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

Conference champions

Conference champions
College Athletic Conference – Rose-Hulman College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Augustana (IL) Independent College Athletic Conference – Alfred Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Central (IA) Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Hope Middle Atlantic Conference – Delaware Valley and Juniata (North), Widener (South) Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference – Lawrence Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Concordia–Moorhead New England Football Conference – Plymouth State New Jersey State Athletic Conference – Montclair State Northwest Conference – Pacific Lutheran Ohio Athletic Conference – Baldwin Wallace (Red Division), Wittenberg (Blue Division) Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Washington & Lee Presidents' Athletic Conference – Carnegie Mellon Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Whittier Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Austin and Sul Ross Twin Rivers Conference – Concordia–St. Paul and Northwestern–St. Paul Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–Eau Claire

Postseason

The 1981 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the ninth annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama for the ninth consecutive year. Like the previous six championships, eight teams competed in this edition.^[4]

Playoff bracket

Quarterfinals Campus Sites		Semifinals Campus Sites		National Championship Game Garrett-Harrison Stadium Phenix City, AL

Dayton	19

Augustana (IL)	7
		Dayton	38

		Lawrence	0
Lawrence	21*

Minnesota–Morris	14
				Dayton	10

				Widener	17
Montclair State	13

Alfred	12
		Montclair State	12

		Widener	23
Widener	10

West Georgia	3

References

^ "All-Time Division III Football Championship Records" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. pp. 4–15. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
^ https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-post-star-western-new-england/184091272/
^ https://www.newspapers.com/image/146788300/?match=1&clipping_id=184103391
^ "1981 NCAA Division III National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved November 6, 2014.

[1] "All-Time Division III Football Championship Records" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. pp. 4–15. Retrieved November 6, 2014.

[2] ttps://www.newspapers.com/article/the-post-star-western-new-england/184091272/

[3] ttps://www.newspapers.com/image/146788300/?match=1&clipping_id=184103391

[4] "1981 NCAA Division III National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved November 6, 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

NCAA football seasons
Pre-NCAA	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905
NCAA pre-divisional	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961
NCAA University Division	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division I	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
NCAA Division I-A/FBS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
NCAA College Division	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division II	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
NCAA Division III	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025