1979 NAIA Division II football season

The 1979 NAIA Division II football season, as part of the 1979 college football season in the United States and the 24th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 10th season of play of the NAIA's lower division for football.

1979 NAIA Division II football season
Regular season	August–November 1979
Postseason	November–December 1979
National Championship	Donnell Stadium Findlay, OH
Champions	Findlay

The season was played from August to November 1979 and culminated in the 1979 NAIA Division II Football National Championship, played at Donnell Stadium in Findlay, Ohio.

The Findlay Oilers defeated the Northwestern Red Raiders in the championship game, 51–6, to win their first NAIA national title.

Conference standings

1979 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Millikin $ 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Elmhurst 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 No. 11 Illinois Wesleyan 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Augustana (IL) 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 North Central (IL) 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 North Park 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Carroll (WI) 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Wheaton (IL) 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Carthage 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1979 Frontier Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Montana Tech $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 Carroll (MT) 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Rocky Mountain 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Western Montana 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1979 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 9 William Jewell + 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Baker + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 No. 12 Missouri Valley 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 1 Graceland 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Ottawa 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Central Methodist 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Tarkio 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1979 Hoosier–Buckeye Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Findlay +^ 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 1 – 1 No. 10 Hanover + 7 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 No. 16 Anderson (IN) 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Wilmington (OH) 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Manchester (IN) 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Bluffton 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Defiance 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Taylor 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Earlham 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1979 Illini–Badger Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Milton + 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 Lakeland + 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Northeastern Illinois 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Eureka 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Concordia (IL) 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Northeastern Illinois forfeited a win over Lakeland.	1979 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Bethany (KS) $^ 8 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0 Tabor 7 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Friends 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Southwestern (KS) 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 McPherson 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Bethel (KS) 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Sterling 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Kansas Wesleyan 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 St. Mary of the Plains 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1979 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 13 Saint John's (MN) + 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 St. Olaf + 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 No. 15 Concordia–Moorhead + 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 No. 17 St. Thomas (MN) + 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Gustavus Adolphus 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Hamline 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Augsburg 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Bethel (MN) 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Macalester 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1979 Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. T–5 Midland $^ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Concordia (NE) 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Hastings 2½ – 2½ – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Doane 1½ – 2½ – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Nebraska Wesleyan 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Dana 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Hastings and Doane played twice; each game counted as ½ of a game in the conference standings. Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1979 North Dakota College Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 8 Jamestown $^ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 No. 19 Dickinson State 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Valley City State 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Wahpeton Science 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 1 Minot State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Mayville State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 1 Bismarck JC 0 – 6 – 0 ? – ? – ? $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1979 Northwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Pacific Lutheran $^ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 No. 14 Linfield 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 Willamette 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 Whitworth 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Lewis & Clark 1 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Pacific (OR) 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1979 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Black Hills State $ 5 – 0 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Dakota State 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 South Dakota Tech 4 – 1 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Sioux Falls 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 South Dakota–Springfield 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Huron 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Dakota Wesleyan 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1979 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Claremont-Mudd $ 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Whittier 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Redlands 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 La Verne 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Pomona-Pitzer 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Occidental 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1979 Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. T–5 Austin $^ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 McMurry 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Tarleton State 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Sul Ross 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Trinity (TX) 1 – 7 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Lubbock Christian 0 – 0 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1979 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Northwestern (IA) $^ 2 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 No. 20 Westmar 2 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Yankton 0 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1979 NAIA Division II independents football records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 Cal Lutheran ^   –   7 – 2 – 1 Waynesburg   –   6 – 3 – 0 No. 18 Peru State   –   6 – 4 – 0 Westminster (PA)   –   4 – 5 – 0 Chadron State   –   4 – 5 – 1 Azusa Pacific   –   3 – 4 – 1 Oklahoma Panhandle State   –   4 – 6 – 0 Texas Lutheran   –   4 – 6 – 0 Geneva   –   3 – 6 – 0 Simon Fraser   –   3 – 6 – 0 Benedictine (KS)   –   2 – 8 – 0 Iowa Wesleyan   –   2 – 8 – 0 ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

Conference champions

Conference	Champion	Record
Frontier	Montana Tech	4–0
Heart of America	William Jewell Baker (KS)	5–1
Hoosier-Buckeye	Findlay Hanover	7–1
Kansas	Bethany	8–0
Minnesota	Concordia–Moorhead Saint John's (MN) St. Olaf St. Thomas (MN)	6–2
Nebraska	Midland Lutheran	5–0
North Dakota	Jamestown	4–0
South Dakota	Black Hills State	5–0–1
Texas	Austin College	7–1

Postseason

	Quarterfinals Campus sites					Semifinals Campus sites					Championship Findlay, OH
		Midland Lutheran	27
		Northwestern (IA)‡	40
							Northwestern (IA)*	49
							Bethany (KS)	21
		Austin	24
		Bethany (KS)*	35
												Northwestern (IA)	6
												Findlay*	51
		Pacific Lutheran	34
		Cal Lutheran*	14
							Pacific Lutheran	0
							Findlay*	9
		Jamestown	15
		Findlay*	41

• ‡ Game played at Vermillion, South Dakota

See also

• 1979 NAIA Division I football season
• 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season
• 1979 NCAA Division II football season
• 1979 NCAA Division III football season