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1981 NCAA Division III football season
Regular seasonAugust – November 1981
PlayoffsNovember – December 1981
Garrett-Harrison Stadium
Phenix City, AL
Champion Widener
←  1980 · NCAA Division III football seasons ·  1982 →

The 1981 NCAA Division III football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division III level, began in August 1981, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship in December 1981 at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. The Widener Pioneers won their second Division III championship, defeating the defending national champion Dayton by a final score of 17−10. [1]

Conference standings

1981 College Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Rose–Hulman $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 2 – 1
Illinois College 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Sewanee 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Centre 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Southwestern (TN) 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 1
Principia 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1981 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Augustana (IL) $^ 8 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
Elmhurst 7 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Carthage 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Millikin 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Carroll (WI) 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Illinois Wesleyan 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
North Central (IL) 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
North Park 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Wheaton (IL) 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1981 Independent College Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Alfred $^ 3 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
Ithaca 2 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
St. Lawrence 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
RPI 1 – 1 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Hobart 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1981 Iowa Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Central (IA) $ 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 1
Buena Vista 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Wartburg 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Dubuque 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Luther * 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Simpson 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
William Penn 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Upper Iowa 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • * – forfeited one non-conference game
1981 Metropolitan Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
St. John's $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Pace 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Brooklyn 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Marist 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Saint Peter's 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1981 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Hope $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Adrian 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Albion 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Kalamazoo 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Alma 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Olivet 0 – 4 – 1 3 – 5 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1981 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northern
Delaware Valley x 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Juniata x 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 1
Albright 4 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1
Lycoming 4 – 2 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Susquehanna 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Upsala 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Fairleigh Dickinson–Florham 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
Wilkes 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
Southern
Widener x^ 8 – 0 – 0 13 – 0 – 0
Johns Hopkins 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Swarthmore 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Franklin & Marshall 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Gettysburg 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Western Maryland 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 1
Lebanon Valley 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Muhlenberg 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Ursinus 1 – 6 – 1 2 – 6 – 1
Moravian 0 – 7 – 1 2 – 8 – 1
Dickinson 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1981 Midwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Lawrence $^ 8 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
Carleton 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Coe 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Ripon 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Cornell (IA) 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Beloit 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Lake Forest 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Chicago 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 6 – 1
Grinnell 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
Knox 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Monmouth (IL) 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1981 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Concordia–Moorhead $^ 8 – 0 – 0 11 – 0 – 2
No. 15 Saint John's (MN) 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
No. 19 St. Thomas (MN) 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Gustavus Adolphus 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Augsburg 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Macalester 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
St. Olaf 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Bethel (MN) 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Hamline 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1981 New England Football Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Plymouth State $ 9 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
Maine Maritime 7 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Massachusetts Maritime 6 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Western New England 5 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Nichols 5 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Framingham State 4 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Bridgewater State 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Curry 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Western Connecticut State 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
Boston State * 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • * – Boston State's game against Norwich counted in the conference standings.
1981 New Jersey State Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Montclair State $^ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
Ramapo 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 2 – 1
Glassboro State 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Trenton State 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
William Paterson 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Kean 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Jersey City State 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1981 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Moorhead State $* 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 1
Minnesota Duluth 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
Minnesota Morris ^ 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 1
Southwest State (MN) 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Northern State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Winona State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
Bemidji State 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
  • * – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1981 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Blue Division
Wittenberg xy$ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Capital 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Ohio Northern 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Wooster 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Ohio Wesleyan 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Denison 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Muskingum 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Red Division
Baldwin–Wallace xy 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Otterbein 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Mount Union 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Kenyon 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Heidelberg 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Marietta 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
Not competing for championship
Oberlin   –   3 – 6 – 0
Championship: Wittenberg 10, Baldwin–Wallace 7
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
1981 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Washington and Lee $ 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Maryville (TN) 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 1
Randolph–Macon 3 – 1 – 1 5 – 3 – 1
Hampden–Sydney 2 – 2 – 1 2 – 7 – 1
Bridgewater 0 – 4 – 1 2 – 6 – 1
Emory & Henry 0 – 4 – 1 1 – 8 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Washington and Lee won the conference title by virtue of their win over Maryville.
1981 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Carnegie Mellon $ 6 – 0 – 1 7 – 1 – 1
Bethany (WV) 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Hiram 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Thiel 4 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Allegheny 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
John Carroll 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Washington & Jefferson 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Case Western Reserve 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1981 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Whittier $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Claremont-Mudd 4 – 1 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Redlands 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Occidental 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
La Verne 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Pomona-Pitzer 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1981 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 Wisconsin–Eau Claire $ 8 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
Wisconsin–Whitewater 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Wisconsin–Stout 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Wisconsin–La Crosse 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Wisconsin–Platteville 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Wisconsin–Stevens Point 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Wisconsin–Oshkosh 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Wisconsin–River Falls 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Wisconsin–Superior 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1981 NCAA Division III independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
DePauw   –   9 – 1 – 0
San Diego   –   9 – 1 – 0
Wagner   –   9 – 1 – 0
West Georgia ^   –   9 – 1 – 0
Dayton ^   –   12 – 2 – 0
Millsaps   –   7 – 2 – 0
Albany   –   7 – 3 – 0
Georgetown   –   5 – 3 – 0
Cortland   –   6 – 4 – 0
Brockport   –   5 – 5 – 0
Buffalo   –   5 – 5 – 0
Buffalo State   –   3 – 3 – 0
Fordham   –   5 – 5 – 0
Iona   –   5 – 5 – 0
Rochester (NY)   –   4 – 4 – 1
Union (NY)   –   4 – 4 – 1
Colorado College   –   4 – 5 – 0
Duquesne   –   4 – 5 – 0
Frostburg State   –   4 – 5 – 0
Canisius   –   4 – 6 – 0
Hofstra   –   4 – 6 – 0
UCF   –   4 – 6 – 0
Saint Francis (PA)   –   3 – 6 – 1
Norwich   –   3 – 7 – 0
Grove City   –   2 – 7 – 0
Salisbury State   –   2 – 7 – 0
St. Norbert   –   2 – 7 – 0
Catholic University   –   1 – 8 – 0
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

Conference champions

Conference champions

Postseason

The 1981 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the ninth annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama for the ninth consecutive year. Like the previous six championships, eight teams competed in this edition. [2]

Playoff bracket

Quarterfinals
Campus Sites 		Semifinals
Campus Sites 		National Championship Game
Garrett-Harrison Stadium
Phenix City, AL
         
Dayton 19
Augustana (IL) 7
Dayton 38
Lawrence 0
Lawrence 21*
Minnesota–Morris 14
Dayton 10
Widener 17
Montclair State 13
Alfred 12
Montclair State 12
Widener 23
Widener 10
West Georgia 3

See also

References

  1. ^ "All-Time Division III Football Championship Records" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. pp. 4–15. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  2. ^ "1981 NCAA Division III National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
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