# 1985 NCAA Division II football season

The 1985 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began in August 1985, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 14, 1985, at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen, Texas. During the game's five-year stretch in McAllen, the "City of Palms", it was referred to as the Palm Bowl. The North Dakota State Bison defeated the North Alabama Lions, 35–7, to win their second Division II national title.

## Conference changes and new programs

| School | 1984 Conference | 1985 Conference |
| Cal Lutheran | - | Western |
| Sacramento State | NCAC | Western |
| West Texas State | Missouri Valley (I–A) | Lone Star |

## Conference standings

1985 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings :
| 1985 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Northern No. 8 Hampton xy$^ 6 –1 –010 –2 –0 Norfolk State 5 –2 –06 –4 –0 Elizabeth City State 4 –3 –06 –4 –0 Virginia Union 4 –3 –06 –4 –0 Virginia State 3 –3 –14 –5 –1 Saint Paul's (VA) 0 –7 –02 –8 –0 Southern No. 18 Winston-Salem State xy 7 –1 –09 –2 –0 Livingstone 5 –2 –07 –3 –0 North Carolina Central 4 –4 –04 –6 –0 Fayetteville State 3 –3 –14 –5 –1 Johnson C. Smith 1 –6 –01 –9 –0 Bowie State 0 –7 –00 –10 –0 Championship: Hampton 13, Winston-Salem State 7 $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-championsy – Championship game participant^ – NCAA Division II playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll | 1985 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 2 Hillsdale $^ 5 –1 –011 –1 –1 Saginaw Valley State 4 –1 –14 –5 –1 Ferris State 4 –2 –06 –4 –0 Grand Valley State 4 –2 –00 –6 –5 Northwood 2 –3 –13 –4 –2 Wayne State (MI) 1 –5 –01 –8 –1 Michigan Tech 0 –6 –01 –9 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division I playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division I poll | 1985 Gulf South Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 2 North Alabama $^ 7 –1 –012 –2 –0 No. 17 Mississippi College 6 –1 –17 –2 –1 Troy State 6 –2 –06 –4 –0 Livingston 4 –4 –06 –5 –0 Delta State 3 –4 –14 –6 –1 Jacksonville State 3 –5 –03 –6 –1 Valdosta State 3 –5 –05 –6 –0 West Georgia 3 –5 –05 –5 –0 Tennessee–Martin 0 –8 –01 –10 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division II playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll |
| 1985 Heartland Collegiate Conference standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Butler + 5 –1 –08 –2 –0 Ashland + 5 –1 –06 –4 –0 Indiana Central 4 –1 –17 –1 –2 Valparaiso 2 –4 –06 –4 –0 Saint Joseph's (IN) 2 –4 –03 –7 –0 Franklin (IN) 1 –4 –15 –4 –1 Evansville 1 –5 –02 –8 –0 + – Conference co-champions | 1985 Lone Star Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Texas A&I $ 5 –0 –08 –3 –0 Angelo State 3 –2 –07 –4 –0 Eastern New Mexico 3 –2 –05 –5 –0 Abilene Christian 2 –3 –05 –4 –2 East Texas State 2 –3 –05 –5 –0 Howard Payne 0 –5 –02 –6 –2 $ – Conference champion | 1985 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 11 NE Missouri State $ 5 –0 –08 –3 –0 Missouri–Rolla 4 –1 –07 –3 –0 NW Missouri State 2 –3 –04 –6 –1 SE Missouri State 2 –3 –04 –7 –0 Central Missouri State 2 –3 –03 –7 –0 Lincoln (MO) 0 –5 –01 –10 –0 $ – Conference championRankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll |
| 1985 North Central Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 7 North Dakota State $^ 7 –1 –111 –2 –1 No. 4 South Dakota ^ 7 –2 –010 –3 –0 South Dakota State 7 –2 –07 –4 –0 Morningside 5 –3 –17 –3 –1 St. Cloud State 5 –4 –06 –5 –0 Mankato State 4 –5 –05 –6 –0 Nebraska–Omaha 4 –5 –06 –5 –0 Northern Colorado 2 –7 –02 –9 –0 North Dakota 2 –7 –03 –8 –0 Augustana (SD) 1 –8 –01 –9 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division II playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll | 1985 Northern California Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 1 UC Davis $^ 5 –0 –09 –2 –0 Chico State 3 –1 –14 –4 –1 Cal State Hayward 2 –2 –16 –3 –1 San Francisco State 2 –3 –03 –6 –1 Sonoma State 1 –4 –03 –7 –0 Humboldt State 1 –4 –02 –8 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NCAA Division II playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll | 1985 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Minnesota Duluth $ 6 –0 –08 –2 –0 No. 9 Moorhead State 5 –1 –08 –2 –0 Bemidji State 3 –3 –07 –3 –0 Southwest State (MN) 3 –3 –06 –4 –0 Minnesota Morris 3 –3 –03 –7 –0 Northern State 1 –5 –03 –6 –1 Winona State 0 –6 –02 –9 –0 $ – Conference championRankings from NAIA Division I poll |
| 1985 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T East Division No. 3 Bloomsburg xy$^ 6 –0 –012 –1 –0 West Chester 5 –1 –07 –3 –0 Millersville 4 –2 –08 –2 –0 Mansfield 2 –4 –04 –6 –0 East Stroudsburg 2 –4 –02 –8 –0 Cheyney 1 –5 –02 –8 –0 Kutztown 1 –5 –01 –9 –0 West Division No. 9 IUP xy 6 –0 –08 –2 –1 No. 16 Clarion 5 –1 –08 –2 –0 Edinboro 3 –3 –05 –4 –1 Shippensburg 3 –3 –05 –5 –0 Slippery Rock 2 –4 –05 –5 –0 California (PA) 1 –5 –04 –6 –0 Lock Haven 1 –5 –03 –7 –0 Championship: Bloomsburg 31, IUP 9 $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-championsy – Championship game participant^ – NCAA Division II playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll | 1985 Western Football Conference standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 15 Santa Clara $ 4 –0 –18 –2 –1 No. 19 Sacramento State 4 –1 –08 –3 –0 Portland State 2 –2 –14 –5 –1 Cal Poly 2 –3 –04 –7 –0 Cal Lutheran 1 –4 –06 –5 –0 Cal State Northridge 1 –4 –04 –7 –0 $ – Conference championRankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll | 1985 NCAA Division II independents football records vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 14 American International   –  8 –2 –0 No. 10 Towson State   –  7 –2 –1 No. 5 Central State (OH) ^   –  8 –3 –0 Northern Michigan   –  6 –3 –0 New Haven   –  6 –4 –0 Southern Connecticut State   –  4 –5 –0 Liberty   –  3 –4 –1 UCF   –  4 –7 –0 Central Connecticut   –  3 –7 –0 Saint Mary's   –  3 –8 –0 Springfield   –  2 –8 –0 Kentucky State   –  0 –11 –0 ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participantRankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll |

## Conference summaries

* Conference Champions
* Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Hampton
* Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Hillsdale
* Gulf South Conference – North Alabama
* Heartland Collegiate Conference – Butler and Ashland
* Lone Star Conference – Texas A&I
* Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Northeast Missouri State
* North Central Conference – North Dakota State
* Northern California Athletic Conference – UC Davis
* Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Duluth
* Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Bloomsburg
* Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Colorado Mesa
* South Atlantic Conference – Mars Hill
* Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Albany State and Fort Valley State

## Postseason

The 1985 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 13th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen, Texas, for the fifth, and final, time.

### Playoff bracket

| First round Campus sites | First round Campus sites | First round Campus sites | Semifinals Campus sites | Semifinals Campus sites | Semifinals Campus sites | Championship McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium McAllen, TX | Championship McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium McAllen, TX | Championship McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium McAllen, TX |
| North Dakota State | North Dakota State | 31 | | | | | | |
| UC Davis | UC Davis | 12 | | | | | | |
| UC Davis | UC Davis | 12 | North Dakota State | North Dakota State | 16 | | | |
| | | | South Dakota | South Dakota | 7 | | | |
| South Dakota | South Dakota | 13** | South Dakota | South Dakota | 7 | | | |
| Central State (OH) | Central State (OH) | 10 | | | | | | |
| Central State (OH) | Central State (OH) | 10 | | | | North Dakota State | North Dakota State | 35 |
| | | | | | | North Alabama | North Alabama | 7 |
| Bloomsburg | Bloomsburg | 38 | | | | | | | North Alabama | North Alabama | 7 |
| Hampton | Hampton | 28 | | | | | | |
| Hampton | Hampton | 28 | Bloomsburg | Bloomsburg | 0 | | | |
| | | | North Alabama | North Alabama | 34 | | | |
| North Alabama | North Alabama | 14 | North Alabama | North Alabama | 34 | | | |
| Fort Valley State | Fort Valley State | 7 | | | | | | |