1979 NCAA Division II football season

The 1979 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began in August 1979, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship in December 1979 at University Stadium in Albuquerque, NM. During the game's two-year stretch in New Mexico, it was referred to as the Zia Bowl. The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens defeated the Youngstown State Penguins, 38–21, to win their first Division II national title.

1979 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	August – November 1979
Playoffs	December 1979
National Championship	Zia Bowl University Stadium Albuquerque, NM
Champion	Delaware

Conference changes and new programs

• One program upgraded to Division I-AA while two others downgraded back to Division II.

School	1978 Conference	1979 Conference
Bethune-Cookman	SIAC (II)	MEAC (I-AA)
Eastern Washington	Evergreen (NAIA)	Independent
Morgan State	MEAC (I-AA)	Independent
Nicholls State	Gulf South	Independent
North Carolina Central	MEAC (I-AA)	CIAA (II)
Northern Colorado	Independent	North Central
Southeastern Louisiana	Gulf South	Independent

Conference standings

1979 Association of Mid-Continent Universities football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Youngstown State $^ 5 – 0 – 0 11 – 2 – 0 Northern Iowa 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Akron 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Eastern Illinois 1 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Northern Michigan 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Western Illinois 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll	1979 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 Cal Poly $ 2 – 0 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Cal State Northridge 1 – 1 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Cal Poly Pomona 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 11 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll	1979 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 Virginia Union $^ 8 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Winston-Salem State 6 – 1 – 1 8 – 2 – 1 Norfolk State 6 – 1 – 1 8 – 3 – 1 Virginia State 5 – 2 – 1 6 – 4 – 1 Fayetteville State 4 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Elizabeth City State 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Hampton 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Livingstone 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Johnson C. Smith 1 – 6 – 1 1 – 9 – 1 Saint Paul's (VA) 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 Bowie State * 0 – 0 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant * – ineligible for conference title Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll
1979 Far Western Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T UC Davis $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 1 Humboldt State 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Chico State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Sacramento State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 San Francisco State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Cal State Hayward 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Adjusted for Cal Poly Pomona forfeits to UC Davis and Sacramento State	1979 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 8 Saginaw Valley State $^ 4 – 0 – 1 8 – 2 – 1 Wayne State (MI) 3 – 1 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Ferris State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 1 Grand Valley State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Northwood 1 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Hillsdale 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1979 Gulf South Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 Mississippi College $^ 5 – 1 – 0 10 – 3 – 0 Troy State 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 Tennessee–Martin 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 North Alabama 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Delta State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Jacksonville State 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Livingston 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP Poll
1979 Heartland Collegiate Conference standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Saint Joseph's (IN) $ 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Franklin (IN) 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Butler 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Valparaiso 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Indiana Central 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Evansville 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Georgetown (KY) * 3 – 0 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Ashland * 0 – 1 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion * – ineligible for conference title	1979 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T NW Missouri State $ 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 SE Missouri State 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 1 Missouri-Rolla 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 1 SW Missouri State 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 NE Missouri State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Central Missouri State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Lincoln (MO) 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant	1979 North Central Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 North Dakota $^ 5 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 No. 8 South Dakota State * ^ 4 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 North Dakota State 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Nebraska–Omaha 3 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 South Dakota * 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Augustana (SD) 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Morningside 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 Northern Colorado † 0 – 0 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant * – South Dakota State won two head-to-head games over South Dakota, which counted as one game for each team in the conference standings. † – Northern Colorado was ineligible for the conference title. Rankings from AP Poll
1979 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Minnesota Duluth + 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Moorhead State + 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Minnesota Morris ^ 6 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 St. Cloud State 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Mankato State 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Michigan Tech 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Southwest State (MN) 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Bemidji State 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 1 Winona State 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 11 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	1979 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T East Division Cheyney xy 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Millersville x^ 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 East Stroudsburg 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Kutztown 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Bloomsburg 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Mansfield 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 West Division Lock Haven xy$ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Clarion 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Indiana (PA) 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Slippery Rock 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Edinboro 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Shippensburg 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 California (PA) 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Championship: Lock Haven 48, Cheyney 14 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant	1979 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northern Division No. 10 Fairmont State xy$ 7 – 1 – 1 9 – 1 – 1 No. T–15th West Liberty State x 7 – 1 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 Salem 6 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Shepherd 5 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 West Virginia Wesleyan 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Southern Division West Virginia State xy 6 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Concord 4 – 3 – 2 5 – 3 – 2 Glenville State 3 – 6 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 West Virginia Tech 1 – 6 – 2 1 – 6 – 2 Bluefield State 1 – 7 – 1 1 – 8 – 1 Championship: Fairmont State 14, West Virginia State 13 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1979 NCAA Division II independents football records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Delaware ^   –   13 – 1 – 0 Towson State   –   9 – 1 – 0 No. 4 Morgan State ^   –   9 – 2 – 0 Eastern Washington   –   7 – 2 – 0 Nicholls State   –   8 – 3 – 0 United States International   –   8 – 3 – 0 American International   –   6 – 3 – 0 No. 10 Santa Clara   –   6 – 3 – 0 Kentucky State   –   6 – 5 – 0 Central State (OH)   –   5 – 5 – 0 Central Connecticut   –   4 – 5 – 0 James Madison   –   4 – 5 – 0 West Chester   –   4 – 7 – 0 Southern Connecticut State   –   3 – 7 – 0 Arkansas–Pine Bluff   –   2 – 8 – 0 ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll

Conference summaries

See also: List of NCAA Division II football seasons

Conference	Champions
Association of Mid-Continent Universities	Youngstown State
California Collegiate Athletic Association	Cal Poly
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Virginia Union
Far Western Football Conference	UC Davis
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Saginaw Valley State
Gulf South Conference	Mississippi College
Heartland Collegiate Conference	Saint Joseph's
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Northwest Missouri State
North Central Conference	North Dakota
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Alabama A&M

Postseason

1979 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	8
Finals Site	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM
Champion	Delaware (1st title, 3rd title game)
Runner-up	Youngstown State (1st title game)
Semifinalists	Mississippi College Alabama A&M
Winning coach	Tubby Raymond 1st championship

The 1979 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the sixth single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at University Stadium in Albuquerque, NM for the first time. With the game being played in New Mexico for the next two years, it was deemed the Zia Bowl.

Playoff bracket

	First round Campus sites					Semifinals Campus sites					Championship University Stadium Albuquerque, NM
	Delaware		58
	Virginia Union		28
						Delaware		60
						Mississippi College		10
	Mississippi College		35
	North Dakota		15
											Delaware		38
											Youngstown State		21
	Youngstown State		51
	South Dakota State		7
						Youngstown State		52
						Alabama A&M		0
	Alabama A&M		27
	Morgan State		7

See also

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