1987 NCAA Division II football season

The 1987 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 1987, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 12, 1987, at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The Troy State Trojans defeated the Portland State Vikings, 31–17, to win their second Division II national title.

1987 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	August – November 1987
Playoffs	November 28 – December 12, 1987
National Championship	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL
Champion	Troy State (2)
Harlon Hill Trophy	Johnny Bailey, Texas A&I

The Harlon Hill Trophy was awarded to Johnny Bailey, running back from Texas A&I.

Conference changes and new programs

• One program departed Division II for Division I-AA prior to the season.

School	1986 Conference	1987 Conference
Central State (OH)	Independent	NAIA Independent
Howard Payne	Lone Star	NAIA Independent
Towson State	Independent	I-AA Independent

Conference standings

1987 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northern No. 15 Hampton xy 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 Virginia State 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 1 Virginia Union 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Norfolk State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Elizabeth City State 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Saint Paul's (VA) 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 11 – 0 Southern No. 12 Winston-Salem State xy$^ 7 – 0 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 Fayetteville State 4 – 1 – 2 6 – 2 – 2 Johnson C. Smith 4 – 2 – 1 4 – 5 – 2 North Carolina Central 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Bowie State 2 – 4 – 1 4 – 6 – 1 Livingstone 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Championship: Winston-Salem State 22, Hampton 12 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll	1987 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 Northern Michigan $^ 4 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Grand Valley State 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Hillsdale 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Saginaw Valley State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Ferris State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Wayne State (MI) 0 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll	1987 Gulf South Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Troy State $^ 8 – 0 – 0 12 – 1 – 1 Mississippi College 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 North Alabama 4 – 3 – 1 7 – 3 – 1 Valdosta State 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Delta State 3 – 4 – 1 6 – 4 – 1 Jacksonville State 3 – 4 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Livingston 3 – 4 – 1 5 – 5 – 1 Tennessee–Martin 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 West Georgia 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1987 Heartland Collegiate Conference standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Butler $ 4 – 0 – 1 8 – 1 – 1 Ashland 3 – 1 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 Indianapolis 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Valparaiso 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Saint Joseph's (IN) 1 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Evansville 0 – 4 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1987 Lone Star Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Texas A&I + 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 No. 9 Angelo State +^ 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 No. 13 Eastern New Mexico 3 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Abilene Christian 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 West Texas State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 East Texas State 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll	1987 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Central Missouri State + 4 – 0 – 1 7 – 3 – 1 SE Missouri State + 4 – 0 – 1 6 – 4 – 1 NE Missouri State 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Missouri–Rolla 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 NW Missouri State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Lincoln (MO) 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1987 North Central Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 Mankato State $^ 8 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 St. Cloud State 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 North Dakota State 6 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Nebraska–Omaha 5 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 South Dakota 5 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 North Dakota 5 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 South Dakota State 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Morningside 3 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Northern Colorado 2 – 7 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Augustana (SD) 1 – 8 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll	1987 Northern California Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 UC Davis $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Chico State 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Humboldt State 2 – 2 – 1 3 – 7 – 1 Sonoma State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Cal State Hayward 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 San Francisco State 0 – 4 – 1 1 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll	1987 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Minnesota Morris $ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 No. 14 Southwest State (MN) 4 – 1 – 1 7 – 4 – 1 No. 16 Moorhead State ^ 4 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 Northern State 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Winona State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Bemidji State 0 – 5 – 1 2 – 7 – 1 Minnesota Duluth 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 11 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Minnesota Duluth forfeited 8 wins including 5 conference wins, over Minnesota Morris, Moorhead State, Northern State, Winona State, and Bemidji State. Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1987 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T East Division No. 2 West Chester xy 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 No. 14 Bloomsburg 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Millersville 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Kutztown 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 East Stroudsburg 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Mansfield 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Cheyney 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 West Division No. 6 IUP xy$^ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 No. 16 Clarion 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 California (PA) 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Shippensburg 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Slippery Rock 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Edinboro 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Lock Haven 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Championship: IUP 21, West Chester 9 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll	1987 Western Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Portland State $^ 6 – 0 – 0 11 – 2 – 1 Cal State Northridge 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Cal Poly 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Santa Clara 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Southern Utah State 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Sacramento State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Cal Lutheran 1 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll	1987 NCAA Division II independents football records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 16 New Haven   –   8 – 2 – 0 Saint Mary's   –   8 – 3 – 0 No. 11 UCF ^   –   9 – 4 – 0 Springfield   –   5 – 3 – 1 Central Connecticut   –   4 – 4 – 1 American International   –   3 – 5 – 2 Liberty   –   3 – 7 – 0 Kentucky State   –   2 – 8 – 1 Michigan Tech   –   2 – 7 – 0 Southern Connecticut State   –   1 – 9 – 0 ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

Conference summaries

See also: List of NCAA Division II football seasons

Conference Champions

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Winston-Salem State Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Northern Michigan Gulf South Conference – Troy State Heartland Collegiate Conference – Butler Lone Star Conference – Angelo State and Texas A&I Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Central Missouri State and Southeast Missouri State North Central Conference – Minnesota State–Mankato Northern California Athletic Conference – UC Davis Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Morris Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Indiana (PA) Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Colorado Mesa South Atlantic Conference – Gardner–Webb Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Alabama A&M and Tuskegee Western Football League – Portland State

Postseason

1987 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	8
Finals Site	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL
Champion	Troy State (2nd title, 2nd title game)
Runner-up	Portland State (1st title game)
Semifinalists	Northern Michigan Central Florida
Winning coach	Rick Rhoades 1st championship

The 1987 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 15th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, for the second time.

Playoff bracket

	First round Campus sites					Semifinals Campus sites					Championship Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL
	Portland State		27
	Mankato State		21
						Portland State		13
						Northern Michigan		7
	Northern Michigan		23*
	Angelo State		20
											Portland State		17
											Troy State		31
	UCF		12
	IUP		10
						UCF		10
						Troy State		31
	Troy State		45
	Winston-Salem State		14

See also

• 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season
• 1987 NCAA Division III football season
• 1987 NAIA Division I football season
• 1987 NAIA Division II football season