1982 NAIA Division II football season

The 1982 NAIA Division II football season, as part of the 1982 college football season in the United States and the 27th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 13th season of play of the NAIA's lower division for football.

1982 NAIA Division II football season
Regular season	August–November 1982
Postseason	November–December 1982
National Championship	Maxwell Field McMinnville, OR
Champions	Linfield

The season was played from August to November 1982 and culminated in the 1982 NAIA Division II Football National Championship, played at Maxwell Field on the campus of Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon.

Linfield defeated William Jewell in the championship game, 33–15, to win their first NAIA national title.

Conference standings

1982 Frontier Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Carroll (MT) + 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Western Montana 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Montana Tech 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Rocky Mountain 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1982 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 William Jewell $^ 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 No. 20 Graceland 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Baker 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Missouri Valley 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 MidAmerica Nazarene 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Tarkio 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Central Methodist 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Culver–Stockton 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1982 Hoosier–Buckeye Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 Findlay + 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 No. 8 Wilmington (OH) +^ 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 17 Hanover 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Defiance 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Anderson (IN) 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Taylor 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Bluffton 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Manchester (IN) 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Earlham 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1982 Illini–Badger Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northeastern Illinois $ 4 – 0 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 No. 19 Concordia (WI) 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Concordia (IL) 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Lakeland 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Eureka 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1982 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Southwestern (KS) + 8 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Kansas Wesleyan + 8 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Sterling 7 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Friends 5 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Bethany (KS) 5 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Ottawa 4 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Tabor 4 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Bethel (KS) 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 St. Mary of the Plains 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 McPherson 0 – 9 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1982 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Saint John's (MN) $^ 8 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 No. 12 St. Thomas (MN) 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Gustavus Adolphus 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Concordia–Moorhead 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Hamline # 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Augsburg 2 – 5 – 1 2 – 7 – 1 Bethel (MN) 1 – 6 – 1 1 – 8 – 1 Macalester 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 St. Olaf 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Carleton * 0 – 0 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant # – Hamline initially forfeited 5 conference wins—over Augsburg, St. Olaf, Macalester, Concordia–Moorhead, and Bethel (MN)—because a player was ruled ineligible under NAIA rules, but the player was later ruled eligible under MIAC code, and the wins were restored to Hamline. * – ineligible for conference title Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1982 Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Midland $ 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Concordia (NE) 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Doane 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Hastings 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Nebraska Wesleyan 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Dana 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1982 North Dakota College Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 11 Dickinson State + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Valley City State + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Jamestown 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Mayville State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Minot State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 North Dakota Science 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 1 Bismarck JC 0 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1982 Northwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Linfield $^ 5 – 0 – 0 12 – 0 – 0 No. 13 Pacific Lutheran 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Whitworth 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Pacific (OR) 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Lewis & Clark 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Willamette 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1982 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 14 South Dakota Tech $ 7 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 No. 9 Sioux Falls 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Yankton 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Dakota State 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Huron 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Black Hills State 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Dakota Wesleyan 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 South Dakota–Springfield 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1982 Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Sul Ross $^ 8 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 No. 15 Austin 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Tarleton State 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 McMurry 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Lubbock Christian 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1982 NAIA Division II independents football records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Northwestern (IA) ^   –   12 – 1 – 0 No. 5 Cal Lutheran ^   –   9 – 2 – 0 No. 7 Westminster (PA) ^   –   9 – 2 – 0 No. 18 Chadron State   –   6 – 2 – 0 Loras   –   7 – 3 – 0 Azusa Pacific   –   5 – 3 – 0 Benedictine (KS)   –   6 – 4 – 0 No. 16 Oklahoma Panhandle State   –   7 – 5 – 0 Waynesburg   –   4 – 4 – 1 Geneva   –   4 – 5 – 0 Texas Lutheran   –   4 – 5 – 0 Iowa Wesleyan   –   2 – 8 – 0 Simon Fraser   –   2 – 8 – 0 Peru State   –   1 – 8 – 0 Westmar   –   0 – 9 – 1 ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

Conference champions

Conference	Champion	Record
Frontier	Carroll (MT) Montana Western	4–2
Heart of America	William Jewell	6–1
Hoosier-Buckeye	Findlay Wilmington (OH)	7–1
Kansas	Southwestern (KS) Kansas Wesleyan	8–1
Nebraska	Midland Lutheran	4–1
North Dakota	Dickinson State Valley City State	5–1
Pacific Northwest	Linfield	5–0
South Dakota	South Dakota Tech	7–0
Texas	Sul Ross	8–0

Postseason

	Quarterfinals Campus sites					Semifinals Campus sites					Championship McMinnville, OR
		Saint John's (MN)	28
		Northwestern (IA)*	33
							Northwestern (IA)	10
							William Jewell*	23
		William Jewell	44
		Sul Ross*	43
												William Jewell	15
												Linfield*	33
		Wilmington (OH)	7
		Westminster (PA)*	14
							Westminster (PA)	9
							Linfield*	37
		Cal Lutheran	16
		Linfield*	20

See also

• 1982 NAIA Division I football season
• 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 1982 NCAA Division I-AA football season
• 1982 NCAA Division II football season
• 1982 NCAA Division III football season