# 1989 NAIA Division II football season

The 1989 NAIA Division II football season, as part of the 1989 college football season in the United States and the 34th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 20th season of play of the NAIA Division II for football.
The season was played from August to November 1989 and culminated in the 1989 NAIA Division II Football National Championship, played at a neutral field in Canton, Ohio.
In rematch of the previous year's final, the Westminster Titans repeated as national champion by defeating the Wisconsin–La Crosse Eagles, 51–30, to win their fifth NAIA national title.

## Conference changes

* This is the final season that the NAIA officially recognizes football champions from the Illini–Badger Football Conference and the Wisconsin State University Conference. Both conferences would eventually join NCAA Division III; the IBFC would continue to sponsor football until 2007 while the WSUC, which would evolve into the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1997, continues to sponsor the sport.

## Conference standings

1989 Columbia Football Association standings :
| 1989 Columbia Football Association standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Mount Hood League No. 19 Lewis & Clark x^ 5 –1 –07 –3 –0 Willamette 4 –1 –16 –2 –1 Southern Oregon 4 –1 –15 –3 –1 Oregon Tech 3 –2 –15 –3 –1 Pacific (OR) 2 –3 –13 –5 –1 Western Oregon 1 –5 –01 –7 –0 Eastern Oregon 0 –6 –00 –9 –0 Mount Rainier League No. 2 Central Washington x^ 5 –0 –110 –1 –1 No. 17 Pacific Lutheran 4 –1 –16 –2 –1 No. 21 Western Washington 4 –2 –07 –2 –0 No. 25 Linfield 4 –2 –06 –3 –0 Simon Fraser 1 –5 –03 –6 –0 Whitworth 1 –5 –03 –6 –0 Puget Sound 1 –5 –01 –8 –0 x – League champion/co-champions ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division II poll | 1989 Frontier Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 15 Carroll (MT) $^ 6 –0 –09 –2 –0 Rocky Mountain 3 –3 –05 –5 –0 Western Montana 2 –4 –03 –4 –0 Montana Tech 1 –5 –03 –7 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division II playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division II poll | 1989 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 3 Missouri Valley $^ 7 –0 –010 –2 –0 No. 12 Baker ^ 6 –1 –010 –2 –0 Tarkio 4 –2 –14 –5 –1 William Jewell 4 –3 –05 –5 –0 Evangel 3 –4 –03 –6 –0 Graceland 2 –4 –14 –4 –1 Culver–Stockton 1 –6 –03 –7 –0 MidAmerica Nazarene 0 –7 –00 –9 –0 + – Conference co-champions^ – NAIA Division II playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division II poll |
| 1989 Illini–Badger–Hawkeye Football Conference standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Greenville $ 6 –0 –07 –1 –1 No. 16 Concordia (WI) 5 –0 –08 –1 –0 Iowa Wesleyan 5 –1 –07 –4 –0 Eureka 4 –2 –04 –6 –0 Blackburn 3 –3 –03 –3 –0 MacMurray 1 –4 –03 –7 –0 Concordia (IL) 1 –4 –12 –6 –1 Lakeland 1 –5 –02 –7 –2 $ – Conference championRankings from NAIA Division II poll | 1989 Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Hanover $^ 7 –0 –09 –1 –1 Taylor 5 –1 –17 –2 –1 DePauw 4 –1 –26 –2 –2 Franklin (IN) 5 –2 –06 –4 –0 Wabash 3 –4 –05 –4 –0 Rose–Hulman 3 –4 –05 –4 –1 Anderson (IN) 1 –6 –02 –8 –0 Manchester 0 –7 –00 –10 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant None of the conference members played a full round-robin; each had one or more games against non-conference opponents designated as "wild card" games that counted in the conference standings. | 1989 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 5 St. Mary of the Plains $^ 9 –0 –010 –1 –0 No. 14 Bethany (KS) 8 –1 –08 –1 –0 Southwestern (KS) 7 –2 –07 –3 –0 Kansas Wesleyan 5 –4 –06 –4 –0 Bethel (KS) 4 –5 –05 –5 –0 McPherson 4 –5 –05 –5 –0 Ottawa 3 –6 –03 –7 –0 Friends 2 –7 –03 –7 –0 Sterling 2 –7 –02 –7 –0 Tabor 1 –8 –01 –9 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division II playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division II poll |
| 1989 Mid-South Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 18 Georgetown (KY) $^ 6 –0 –07 –3 –1 Cumberland (KY) 5 –1 –07 –3 –0 Union (KY) 3 –3 –04 –5 –1 Evansville 3 –3 –04 –6 –0 Campbellsville 2 –3 –12 –7 –1 Kentucky Wesleyan 1 –4 –13 –6 –1 Tennessee Wesleyan 0 –6 –00 –10 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division II playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division II poll | 1989 Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 7 Nebraska Wesleyan $^ 5 –0 –010 –2 –0 Midland 3 –2 –05 –4 –0 Doane 3 –2 –05 –4 –1 Dana 2 –3 –06 –4 –0 Hastings 2 –3 –04 –6 –0 Concordia (NE) 0 –5 –01 –8 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division II playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division II poll | 1989 North Dakota College Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 8 Dickinson State $^ 5 –0 –09 –2 –0 Valley City State 4 –1 –06 –3 –0 Minot State 3 –2 –04 –5 –0 Mary 2 –3 –04 –5 –0 Mayville State 1 –4 –04 –5 –0 Jamestown 0 –5 –01 –8 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division II playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division II poll |
| 1989 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Sioux Falls + 4 –1 –07 –2 –1 Black Hills State + 4 –1 –04 –5 –0 Dakota Wesleyan + 4 –1 –05 –5 –0 Huron 2 –3 –04 –6 –0 South Dakota Tech 1 –4 –01 –8 –0 Dakota State 0 –5 –01 –9 –0 + – Conference co-champions | 1989 Tri-State Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 6 Peru State $^ 3 –0 –08 –2 –0 Northwestern (IA) 2 –1 –06 –4 –1 Benedictine (KS) 1 –2 –06 –4 –0 Westmar 0 –3 –04 –6 –1 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division II playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division II poll | 1989 Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 20 Tarleton State +^ 8 –2 –09 –3 –0 No. 23 Howard Payne + 8 –2 –08 –3 –0 Austin 7 –3 –07 –3 –0 Sul Ross 3 –7 –03 –7 –0 McMurry 2 –8 –02 –8 –0 Midwestern State 2 –8 –02 –8 –0 + – Conference co-champions^ – NAIA Division II playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division II poll |
| 1989 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 4 Wisconsin–La Crosse $^ 7 –1 –012 –2 –0 No. 9 Wisconsin–Stevens Point ^ 6 –1 –18 –2 –1 No. 22 Wisconsin–River Falls 6 –2 –07 –3 –0 Wisconsin–Platteville 5 –2 –16 –2 –1 No. 24 Wisconsin–Eau Claire 5 –3 –07 –3 –0 Wisconsin–Whitewater 2 –5 –14 –5 –1 Wisconsin–Stout 2 –6 –03 –7 –0 Wisconsin–Oshkosh 1 –6 –13 –6 –1 Wisconsin–Superior 0 –8 –01 –9 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division II playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division II poll | 1989 NAIA Division II independents football records vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 1 Westminster (PA) ^   –  13 –0 –0 No. 10 Chadron State ^   –  8 –2 –0 No. 13 St. Francis (IL)   –  8 –2 –0 Findlay   –  7 –3 –0 Bluffton   –  6 –3 –0 Geneva   –  6 –3 –0 Wilmington (OH)   –  5 –5 –0 Azusa Pacific   –  4 –5 –0 Waynesburg   –  4 –7 –0 St. Ambrose   –  3 –6 –0 Tiffin   –  2 –8 –0 Oklahoma Panhandle State   –  0 –10 –0 ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division II poll |

## Conference champions

| Conference | Champion | Record |
| Columbia | Mount Rainier League: Central Washington Mount Hood League: Lewis & Clark | 5–0–1 5–1 |
| Frontier | Carroll (MT) | 6–0 |
| Heart of America | Missouri Valley | 7–0 |
| Illini-Badger | Greenville | 8–1 |
| Kansas | St. Mary of the Plains | 9–0 |
| Mid-South | Georgetown (KY) | 6–0 |
| Nebraska | Nebraska Wesleyan | 5–0 |
| North Dakota | Dickinson State | 5–0 |
| South Dakota | Dakota Wesleyan Sioux Falls | 4–1 |
| WSUC | Wisconsin–La Crosse | 7–1 |

## Rankings

Final NAIA Division II poll rankings:
| Rank | Team (first place votes) | Record (thru Nov. 11) | Points |
| 1 | Westminster (PA) (21) | 9–0 | 525 |
| 2 | Central Washington | 8–0–1 | 499 |
| 3 | Missouri Valley | 9–1 | 470 |
| 4 | Wisconsin–La Crosse | 9–1 | 457 |
| 5 | St. Mary of the Plains | 10–0 | 426 |
| 6 | Peru State | 8–1 | 402 |
| 7 | Nebraska Wesleyan | 9–1 | 381 |
| 8 | Dickinson State | 8–1 | 356 |
| 9 | Wisconsin–Stevens Point | 8–1–1 | 351 |
| 10 | Chadron State | 8–1 | 323 |
| 11 | Hanover | 9–0–1 | 320 |
| 12 | Baker | 8–1 | 287 |
| 13 | St. Francis (IL) | 8–2 | 274 |
| 14 | Bethany (KS) | 8–1 | 270 |
| 15 | Carroll (MT) | 9–1 | 261 |
| 16 | Concordia (WI) | 8–1 | 217 |
| 17 | Pacific Lutheran | 6–2–1 | 149 |
| 18 | Georgetown (KY) | 7–2–1 | 140 |
| 19 | Lewis & Clark | 7–2 | 137 |
| 20 | Tarleton State | 8–2 | 116 |
| 21 | Western Washington | 7–2 | 107 |
| 22 | Wisconsin–River Falls | 7–3 | 87 |
| 23 | Howard Payne | 8–3 | 66 |
| 24 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 7–3 | 40 |
| 25 | Linfield | 6–3 | 33 |

## Postseason

| First Round Campus sites | First Round Campus sites | Quarterfinals Campus sites | Quarterfinals Campus sites | Semifinals Campus sites | Semifinals Campus sites | Championship Canton, OH | Championship Canton, OH | Championship Canton, OH |
| Georgetown (KY) | 9 | | | | | | | |
| Westminster (PA)* | 29 | | | | | | | |
| Westminster (PA)* | 29 | Westminster (PA) | 34 | | | | | |
| | | Tarleton State* | 0 | | | | | |
| Tarleton State | 16 | Tarleton State* | 0 | | | | | |
| St. Mary of the Plains* | 6 | | | | | | | |
| St. Mary of the Plains* | 6 | | | Westminster (PA) | 21 | | | |
| | | | | Central Washington ‡ | 10 | | | |
| Carroll (MT) | 28 | | | | | Central Washington ‡ | 10 | | | |
| Dickinson State* | 37 | | | | | | | |
| Dickinson State* | 37 | Dickinson State* | 7 | | | | | |
| | | Central Washington | 49 | | | | | |
| Lewis & Clark | 0 | Central Washington | 49 | | | | | |
| Central Washington* | 51 | | | | | | | |
| Central Washington* | 51 | | | | | | Westminster (PA) | 51 |
| | | | | | | | Wisconsin–La Crosse | 30 |
| Baker | 30 | | | | | | | | Wisconsin–La Crosse | 30 |
| Peru State* | 27 | | | | | | | |
| Peru State* | 27 | Baker | 35 | | | | | |
| | | Missouri Valley* | 28 | | | | | |
| Hanover | 27 | Missouri Valley* | 28 | | | | | |
| Missouri Valley* | 48 | | | | | | | |
| Missouri Valley* | 48 | | | Baker* | 6 | | | |
| | | | | Wisconsin–La Crosse | 21 | | | |
| Nebraska Wesleyan | 46 | | | | | Wisconsin–La Crosse | 21 | | | |
| Chadron State* | 43 | | | | | | | |
| Chadron State* | 43 | Nebraska Wesleyan* | 0 | | | | | |
| | | Wisconsin–La Crosse | 29 | | | | | |
| Wisconsin–Stevens Point | 20 | Wisconsin–La Crosse | 29 | | | | | |
| Wisconsin–La Crosse* | 30 | | | | | | | |
* ‡ Game played at Puyallup, Washington