1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1985 NCAA Division I-AA season
1985 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	89
Duration	August–November
Playoff
Duration	November 30–December 21
Championship date	December 21, 1985
Championship site	Tacoma Dome; Tacoma, Washington
Champion	Georgia Southern
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
	«1984 1986»

The 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, commenced in August 1985, and concluded with the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 21, 1985, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Furman Paladins by a score of 44–42.^[1]

Conference changes and new programs

The Mid-Continent Conference stopped sponsoring football after the 1984 season.
In 1985, all four members of the Mid-Continent moved their football programs to the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference, which otherwise sponsored only women's sports.
The Missouri Valley Conference, a hybrid I-A/I-AA conference since 1982, played its last season of football in 1985.

(+ Illinois State and Southern Illinois competed in both the Missouri Valley and the Gateway during the 1985 season).

1985 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 5 Idaho $^	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
No. T–2 Nevada ^	6	–	1	–	0	11	–	2	–	0
Boise State	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Weber State	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Idaho State	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Montana	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Northern Arizona	1	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Montana State	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll

1985 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Northern Iowa $^	5	–	0	–	0	11	–	2	–	0
Southwest Missouri State	2	–	2	–	1	6	–	4	–	1
Western Illinois	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Southern Illinois	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Eastern Illinois	2	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Illinois State	1	–	3	–	1	6	–	3	–	2

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1985 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. T–12 Delaware State $	4	–	0	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Bethune–Cookman	3	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
South Carolina State	2	–	2	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
North Carolina A&T	1	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Howard	0	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Morgan State	0	–	0	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Morgan State games did not count as conference games. Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1985 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Tulsa $	5	–	0	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
West Texas State	3	–	1	–	1	6	–	3	–	1
Illinois State	3	–	1	–	1	6	–	3	–	2
Indiana State	3	–	2	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Wichita State	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Southern Illinois	1	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Drake	1	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion The conference was a hybrid of NCAA Division I-A and I-AA programs. Tulsa and Wichita State were I-A and the other teams were I-AA.

1985 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Middle Tennessee $^	7	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
No. 10 Akron ^	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
No. 17 Murray State	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	1
No. 19 Eastern Kentucky	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Youngstown State	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Austin Peay	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Tennessee Tech	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	10	–	0
Morehead State	0	–	7	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1985 Southern Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. T–2 Furman $^	6	–	0	–	0	12	–	2	–	0
No. T–12 Appalachian State	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Chattanooga	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Marshall	3	–	3	–	1	7	–	3	–	1
The Citadel	2	–	4	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Western Carolina	2	–	4	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
VMI	1	–	4	–	1	3	–	7	–	1
East Tennessee State	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	10	–	1

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1985 Southland Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 6 Arkansas State $^	5	–	1	–	0	9	–	4	–	0
No. 14 Louisiana Tech	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
McNeese State	3	–	1	–	2	6	–	3	–	2
Northeast Louisiana	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
North Texas State	2	–	3	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
UT Arlington	2	–	3	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
Lamar	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1985 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 8 Grambling State +^	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
No. 15 Jackson State +^	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Mississippi Valley State	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
No. 20 Alcorn State	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Southern	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Alabama State	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Texas Southern	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	10	–	0
Prairie View A&M	0	–	7	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1985 Yankee Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 7 Rhode Island $^	5	–	0	–	0	10	–	3	–	0
UMass	4	–	1	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
New Hampshire	2	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Maine	2	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Connecticut	1	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Boston University	1	–	4	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1985 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 9 Georgia Southern ^		–		13	–	2	–	0
No. 11 Eastern Washington ^		–		9	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Richmond		–		8	–	3	–	0
Colgate		–		7	–	3	–	1
Delaware		–		7	–	4	–	0
Tennessee State		–		7	–	4	–	0
No. 16 William & Mary		–		7	–	4	–	0
Lafayette		–		6	–	5	–	0
James Madison		–		5	–	6	–	0
Lehigh		–		5	–	6	–	0
Holy Cross		–		4	–	6	–	1
Florida A&M		–		4	–	7	–	0
Western Kentucky		–		4	–	7	–	0
Bucknell		–		3	–	7	–	0
Northeastern		–		2	–	8	–	0

^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Conference Champions
Big Sky Conference – Idaho Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Northern Iowa Gulf Star Conference – Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State Ivy League – Penn Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Delaware State Ohio Valley Conference – Middle Tennessee State Southern Conference – Furman Paladins Southland Conference – Arkansas State Southwestern Athletic Conference –Grambling and Jackson State Yankee Conference – Rhode Island

The top four teams were seeded, and received first-round byes.^[2]

First Round November 30 Campus sites		Quarterfinals December 7 Campus sites		Semifinals December 14 Campus sites		National Championship Game December 21 Neutral Site

		(1) Middle Tennessee	21
Georgia Southern	27	Georgia Southern	28
Jackson State	0			Georgia Southern	40
				(4) Northern Iowa	33
		(4) Northern Iowa	17
Idaho	38	Eastern Washington	14
Eastern Washington	42					Georgia Southern	44
						(3) Furman	42
		(3) Furman	59
Rhode Island	35	Rhode Island	15
Akron	27			(3) Furman	35
				(2) Nevada	12
		(2) Nevada	24
Arkansas State	10	Arkansas State	23
Grambling State	7

^ "1985 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
^ Hardesty, Abe (November 25, 1985). "Furman in I-AA playoffs". The Greenville News. Greenville, South Carolina. p. 1C. Retrieved May 3, 2019 – via newspapers.com.