1985 NAIA Division II football season

The 1985 NAIA Division II football season, as part of the 1985 college football season in the United States and the 30th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 16th season of play of the NAIA's lower division for football.

1985 NAIA Division II football season
Regular season	August–November 1985
Postseason	November–December 1985
National Championship	Lincoln Bowl Tacoma, WA
Champions	Wisconsin–La Crosse

The season was played from August to November 1985 and culminated in the 1985 NAIA Division II Football National Championship, played at the Lincoln Bowl near the campus of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.

Wisconsin–La Crosse defeated Pacific Lutheran in the championship game, 24–7, to win their first NAIA national title. The Eagles won all three of their playoff games on the road.

Conference realignment

Conference changes

• The Columbia Football League began play this season, with the combined football membership of the former Evergreen (NAIA Division I) and Pacific Northwest (NAIA Division II) conferences. The new league had fourteen members from British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington.
• This was the final season for the Hoosier-Buckeye Conference. Most members would later join the NCAA Division III Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference (now known as the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference), which began play in 1990.

Membership changes

Team	1984 conference	1985 conference
Lewis & Clark	Pacific Northwest	Columbia
Linfield	Pacific Northwest	Columbia
Pacific (OR)	Pacific Northwest	Columbia
Pacific Lutheran	Pacific Northwest	Columbia
Willamette	Pacific Northwest	Columbia

Conference standings

1985 Columbia Football League standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northern Division No. 3 Pacific Lutheran x^ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 1 No. 15 Puget Sound 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Central Washington 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Simon Fraser 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Whitworth 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Western Washington 1 – 4 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 Eastern Oregon 0 – 5 – 1 0 – 8 – 2 Southern Division No. 5 Linfield x^ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 8 Western Oregon * 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Willamette 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 Southern Oregon 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 Oregon Tech 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Lewis & Clark 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Pacific (OR) 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 x – Division champion/co-champions * – NAIA Division I playoff participant ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll for Puget Sound and Western Oregon and NAIA Division II poll for Pacific Lutheran and Linfield	1985 Frontier Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 Carroll (MT) $^ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Western Montana 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Rocky Mountain 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Montana Tech 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1985 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 Baker + 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 No. 16 MidAmerica Nazarene + 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 No. 19 William Jewell + 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Missouri Valley 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Graceland 2 – 4 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Tarkio 2 – 4 – 1 3 – 6 – 1 Culver–Stockton 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Central Methodist 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1985 Hoosier–Buckeye Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Findlay $^ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 No. 11 Bluffton 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 No. 13 Wilmington (OH) 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Hanover 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Manchester (IN) 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Anderson (IN) 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Defiance 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1985 Illini–Badger Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Lakeland $ 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Concordia (IL) 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Eureka 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Concordia (WI) 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Northeastern Illinois 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Principia 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1985 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 15 Southwestern (KS) $ 8 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Bethany (KS) 7 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 No. 17 Bethel (KS) 7 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Sterling 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Ottawa 5 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 St. Mary of the Plains 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Friends 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Tabor 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Kansas Wesleyan 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 McPherson 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1985 Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 14 Midland $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Doane 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 Hastings 2 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Nebraska Wesleyan 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Concordia (NE) 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Dana 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1985 North Dakota College Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 12 Minot State $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 1 No. 18 Dickinson State 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Valley City State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Jamestown 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 1 Mayville State 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 NDSCS–Wahpeton 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1985 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T South Dakota Tech $ 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Huron 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Sioux Falls 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 Dakota Wesleyan 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Black Hills State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Dakota State 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1985 Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Austin + 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Sul Ross + 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Tarleton State 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 McMurry 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1985 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Wisconsin–River Falls $ 6 – 1 – 1 8 – 1 – 1 No. 8 Wisconsin–La Crosse ^ 5 – 1 – 2 11 – 1 – 2 Wisconsin–Stevens Point 5 – 2 – 1 8 – 2 – 1 Wisconsin–Platteville 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Wisconsin–Eau Claire 3 – 4 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Wisconsin–Whitewater 3 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1 Wisconsin–Oshkosh 2 – 5 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Wisconsin–Stout 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Wisconsin–Superior 1 – 6 – 1 2 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion * – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1985 NAIA Division II independents football records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Benedictine (KS) ^   –   10 – 1 – 0 No. 4 Northwestern (IA) ^   –   9 – 1 – 1 No. 9 Azusa Pacific   –   7 – 1 – 1 No. 20 Loras   –   8 – 2 – 1 No. 6 St. Ambrose ^   –   8 – 2 – 1 Texas Lutheran   –   6 – 3 – 0 Chadron State   –   5 – 3 – 1 Geneva   –   5 – 4 – 0 Westminster (PA)   –   5 – 4 – 0 Oklahoma Panhandle State   –   5 – 4 – 1 Evangel   –   4 – 6 – 0 Waynesburg   –   4 – 6 – 0 Peru State   –   3 – 7 – 0 Iowa Wesleyan   –   2 – 7 – 0 Westmar   –   2 – 8 – 0 Cumberland (KY)   –   1 – 9 – 0 ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

Conference champions

Conference	Champion	Record
Columbia	Northern Division: Pacific Lutheran Southern Division: Linfield	6–0 6–0
Frontier	Carroll (MT)	5–1
Heart of America	Baker MidAmerica Nazarene William Jewell	6–1
Hoosier-Buckeye	Findlay	6–0
Kansas	Southwestern (KS)	8–1
Nebraska	Midland Lutheran	5–0
North Dakota	Minot State	5–0
South Dakota	South Dakota Tech	5–1
Texas	Austin Sul Ross	4–2
WSUC	Wisconsin–River Falls	6–1–1

Postseason

	Quarterfinals Campus sites					Semifinals Campus sites					Championship Tacoma, WA
		Wisconsin–La Crosse	24
		Carroll (MT)*	0
							Wisconsin–La Crosse (3OT)	35
							Northwestern (IA) ‡‡	28
		Northwestern (IA)	32
		Benedictine*	22
												Wisconsin–La Crosse	24
												Pacific Lutheran*	7
		Linfield	12
		Pacific Lutheran*	30
							Pacific Lutheran*	40
							Findlay	29
		Saint Ambrose	0
		Findlay ‡	7

• ‡ Game played at Bowling Green, Ohio
• ‡‡ Game played at Vermillion, South Dakota

See also

• 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season
• 1985 NCAA Division II football season
• 1985 NCAA Division III football season