1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1985 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	87 [1]
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. ^[2]

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).

School	1984 Conference	1985 Conference
Eastern Illinois	Mid-Continent	Gateway
Illinois State	Missouri Valley	Gateway+
Northern Iowa	Mid-Continent	Gateway
Southern Illinois	Missouri Valley	Gateway+
Southwest Missouri State	Mid-Continent	Gateway
Western Illinois	Mid-Continent	Gateway

Conference standings

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 Gulf Star Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Stephen F. Austin + 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Sam Houston State + 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Nicholls State 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Northwestern State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Southwest Texas State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Southeastern Louisiana 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions This conference was a hybrid of NCAA Division II and Division I-AA Programs. Sam Houston State was classified as Division II. [3] Stephen F. Austin was also classified as NCAA Division II. [4] All the other teams were I-AA.
1985 Ivy League football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Penn $ 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 1 Harvard 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Princeton 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Brown 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 1 Yale 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Dartmouth 2 – 4 – 1 2 – 7 – 1 Cornell 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Columbia 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion	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. Morgan State was classified as NCAA Division II. [5] All the other teams were I-AA. 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 Davidson 0 – 2 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – 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

See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons

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

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

The top four teams were seeded, and received first-round byes. ^[6]

	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

References

1. "Standings for the 1985 FCS Season" . Retrieved June 26, 2025.
2. "1985 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
3. "NCAA Statistics" . Retrieved January 25, 2025.
4. "NCAA Statistics" . Retrieved January 25, 2025.
5. "Final 1985 Division II Cumulative Football Statistics Report" . Retrieved January 26, 2025.
6. 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.