# 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.
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 :
| 1985 Columbia Football League standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Northern Division No. 3 Pacific Lutheran x^ 6 –0 –010 –1 –1 No. 15 Puget Sound 4 –2 –07 –2 –0 Central Washington 3 –3 –05 –4 –0 Simon Fraser 3 –3 –04 –5 –0 Whitworth 3 –3 –03 –6 –0 Western Washington 1 –4 –12 –6 –1 Eastern Oregon 0 –5 –10 –8 –2 Southern Division No. 5 Linfield x^ 6 –0 –08 –2 –0 No. 8 Western Oregon * 5 –1 –08 –2 –0 Willamette 4 –2 –06 –2 –1 Southern Oregon 2 –3 –02 –6 –1 Oregon Tech 1 –4 –01 –7 –0 Lewis & Clark 1 –5 –03 –6 –0 Pacific (OR) 1 –5 –02 –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 vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 7 Carroll (MT) $^ 5 –1 –08 –2 –0 Western Montana 4 –2 –04 –5 –0 Rocky Mountain 2 –4 –02 –7 –0 Montana Tech 1 –5 –02 –8 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division II playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division II poll | 1985 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 10 Baker + 6 –1 –07 –2 –0 No. 16 MidAmerica Nazarene + 6 –1 –07 –2 –0 No. 19 William Jewell + 6 –1 –07 –3 –0 Missouri Valley 3 –4 –04 –5 –0 Graceland 2 –4 –15 –4 –1 Tarkio 2 –4 –13 –6 –1 Culver–Stockton 2 –5 –02 –8 –0 Central Methodist 0 –7 –02 –8 –0 + – Conference co-championsRankings from NAIA Division II poll |
| 1985 Hoosier–Buckeye Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 1 Findlay $^ 6 –0 –010 –1 –0 No. 11 Bluffton 5 –1 –08 –1 –0 No. 13 Wilmington (OH) 4 –2 –07 –2 –0 Hanover 3 –3 –05 –4 –0 Manchester (IN) 1 –5 –04 –5 –0 Anderson (IN) 1 –5 –03 –6 –0 Defiance 1 –5 –01 –8 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division II playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division II poll | 1985 Illini–Badger Football Conference standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Lakeland $ 4 –1 –07 –2 –0 Concordia (IL) 3 –2 –04 –5 –0 Eureka 2 –3 –04 –5 –0 Concordia (WI) 2 –3 –04 –5 –0 Northeastern Illinois 2 –3 –03 –7 –0 Principia 1 –4 –02 –7 –0 $ – Conference champion | 1985 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 15 Southwestern (KS) $ 8 –1 –08 –2 –0 Bethany (KS) 7 –2 –07 –2 –0 No. 17 Bethel (KS) 7 –2 –07 –2 –0 Sterling 6 –3 –07 –3 –0 Ottawa 5 –4 –05 –5 –0 St. Mary of the Plains 4 –5 –05 –5 –0 Friends 3 –6 –03 –6 –0 Tabor 2 –7 –02 –7 –0 Kansas Wesleyan 2 –7 –02 –8 –0 McPherson 1 –8 –01 –8 –0 $ – Conference championRankings from NAIA Division II poll |
| 1985 Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 14 Midland $ 5 –0 –08 –2 –0 Doane 4 –1 –06 –3 –1 Hastings 2 –3 –07 –3 –0 Nebraska Wesleyan 2 –3 –06 –5 –0 Concordia (NE) 2 –3 –04 –6 –0 Dana 0 –5 –01 –8 –0 $ – Conference championRankings from NAIA Division II poll | 1985 North Dakota College Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 12 Minot State $ 5 –0 –07 –1 –1 No. 18 Dickinson State 4 –1 –07 –2 –0 Valley City State 3 –2 –05 –4 –0 Jamestown 2 –3 –03 –5 –1 Mayville State 1 –4 –01 –7 –0 NDSCS–Wahpeton 0 –5 –02 –7 –0 $ – Conference championRankings from NAIA Division II poll | 1985 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T South Dakota Tech $ 5 –1 –06 –3 –0 Huron 4 –2 –06 –3 –0 Sioux Falls 4 –2 –06 –3 –1 Dakota Wesleyan 3 –3 –05 –5 –0 Black Hills State 2 –4 –03 –7 –0 Dakota State 0 –6 –00 –10 –0 $ – Conference champion |
| 1985 Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Austin + 4 –2 –07 –3 –0 Sul Ross + 4 –2 –05 –5 –0 Tarleton State 3 –3 –03 –7 –0 McMurry 1 –5 –01 –9 –0 + – Conference co-champions | 1985 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Wisconsin–River Falls $ 6 –1 –18 –1 –1 No. 8 Wisconsin–La Crosse ^ 5 –1 –211 –1 –2 Wisconsin–Stevens Point 5 –2 –18 –2 –1 Wisconsin–Platteville 5 –3 –05 –5 –0 Wisconsin–Eau Claire 3 –4 –15 –4 –1 Wisconsin–Whitewater 3 –4 –13 –7 –1 Wisconsin–Oshkosh 2 –5 –14 –5 –1 Wisconsin–Stout 2 –6 –03 –7 –0 Wisconsin–Superior 1 –6 –12 –8 –1 $ – Conference champion * – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll | 1985 NAIA Division II independents football records vteConfOverall TeamW L TW 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 participantRankings 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 | Quarterfinals Campus sites | Semifinals Campus sites | Semifinals Campus sites | Championship Tacoma, WA | Championship Tacoma, WA |
| Wisconsin–La Crosse | 24 | | | | |
| Carroll (MT)* | 0 | | | | |
| Carroll (MT)* | 0 | Wisconsin–La Crosse (3OT) | 35 | | |
| | | Northwestern (IA) ‡‡ | 28 | | |
| Northwestern (IA) | 32 | Northwestern (IA) ‡‡ | 28 | | |
| Benedictine* | 22 | | | | |
| Benedictine* | 22 | | | Wisconsin–La Crosse | 24 |
| | | | | Pacific Lutheran* | 7 |
| Linfield | 12 | | | | | Pacific Lutheran* | 7 |
| Pacific Lutheran* | 30 | | | | |
| Pacific Lutheran* | 30 | Pacific Lutheran* | 40 | | |
| | | Findlay | 29 | | |
| Saint Ambrose | 0 | Findlay | 29 | | |
| Findlay ‡ | 7 | | | | |
* ‡ Game played at Bowling Green, Ohio
* ‡‡ Game played at Vermillion, South Dakota