The 1986 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 1986, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 13, 1986, at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The championship would remain hosted in Florence for the next twenty-eight seasons through 2013 before moving to Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas. The North Dakota State Bison defeated the South Dakota Coyotes, 27–7, to win their third Division II national title.[1]

The first Harlon Hill Trophy, given to the best player in Division II, was awarded to Jeff Bentrim, quarterback for North Dakota State.

Conference changes and new programs

Indiana Central University changed its name to the University of Indianapolis.[2]

School1985 Conference1986 Conference
Michigan TechGLIACD-II Independent
Southern UtahRMAC (NAIA)Western
West Texas StateMVC (I-AA)Lone Star (D-II)

Conference standings

1986 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Northern Division
No. 5 Virginia Union xy$^7–0–011–1–0
Virginia State5–2–06–4–0
Elizabeth City State3–3–14–5–1
Norfolk State3–4–04–6–0
Hampton2–4–13–6–1
Saint Paul's (VA)0–7–01–8–1
Southern Division
Winston-Salem State xy7–0–07–4–0
North Carolina Central6–1–06–4–0
Johnson C. Smith4–3–05–5–0
Livingstone2–4–13–5–2
Fayetteville State1–5–12–7–1
Bowie State0–7–00–9–0
Championship: Virginia Union 14, Winston-Salem State 7
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1986 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 3 Hillsdale $^5–0–010–2–0
No. 17 Grand Valley State4–1–09–2–0
Saginaw Valley State3–2–05–4–0
Ferris State2–3–05–5–0
Northwood1–4–01–8–0
Wayne State (MI)0–5–03–7–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll for Hillsdale and NCAA Division II Football Committee poll for Grand Valley State
1986 Gulf South Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 3 Troy State $^8–0–010–2–0
No. 13 Valdosta State7–1–09–2–0
Mississippi College5–3–07–4–0
Delta State4–3–16–4–1
Jacksonville State4–3–15–4–1
West Georgia2–6–04–7–0
Livingston2–6–03–8–0
Tennessee–Martin2–6–03–8–0
North Alabama1–7–04–7–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1986 Heartland Collegiate Conference standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Ashland $^6–0–09–2–0
Indianapolis5–1–07–2–0
Butler3–3–05–5–0
Valparaiso3–3–03–7–0
Saint Joseph's (IN)2–4–06–4–0
Franklin (IN)2–4–03–7–0
Evansville0–6–02–8–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
1986 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
West Texas State $6–0–07–4–0
No. 8 Texas A&I4–2–09–2–0
No. T–10 Abilene Christian4–2–07–3–0
Eastern New Mexico3–3–08–3–0
Angelo State3–3–06–5–0
East Texas State1–5–02–9–0
Howard Payne0–6–00–10–0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1986 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Central Missouri State $5–0–08–3–0
SE Missouri State4–1–06–5–0
NE Missouri State3–2–05–5–0
Missouri–Rolla2–3–05–6–0
NW Missouri State1–4–02–9–0
Lincoln (MO)0–5–01–10–0
  • $ – Conference champion
1986 North Central Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 North Dakota State $^9–0–013–0–0
No. 6 South Dakota ^8–1–011–3–0
Mankato State6–3–06–4–1
South Dakota State5–4–06–5–0
Nebraska–Omaha4–5–05–6–0
St. Cloud State4–5–04–7–0
Augustana (SD)3–6–05–6–0
Northern Colorado3–6–03–8–0
North Dakota2–7–02–9–0
Morningside1–8–01–10–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1986 Northern California Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 2 UC Davis $^5–0–010–1–0
Chico State4–1–07–3–0
Cal State Hayward3–2–07–3–0
Sonoma State2–3–04–6–0
San Francisco State1–4–02–9–0
Humboldt State0–5–02–9–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1986 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 11 Minnesota Morris $5–0–17–1–2
No. 17 Northern State5–1–09–2–0
Bemidji State3–2–16–4–1
Winona State2–3–13–7–1
Moorhead State2–4–06–5–0
Southwest State (MN)2–4–04–6–0
Minnesota Duluth0–6–00–11–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Minnesota Duluth forfeited 8 wins and 2 ties including 4 conference wins—over Northern State, Winona State; Moorhead State, and Southwest State—and 2 conference ties—with Minnesota Morris and Bemidji State.
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1986 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
East Division
No. T–10 West Chester xy6–0–08–3–0
No. 16 Millersville5–1–09–1–0
Bloomsburg3–2–17–2–1
Kutztown3–2–15–4–1
Mansfield1–5–03–7–0
Cheyney1–5–02–8–0
East Stroudsburg1–5–01–9–0
West Division
No. 14 IUP xy$6–0–09–2–0
Edinboro5–1–07–3–0
California (PA)3–3–06–4–0
Slippery Rock3–3–03–7–0
Clarion2–4–05–5–0
Shippensburg2–4–03–7–0
Lock Haven0–6–01–9–0
Championship: IUP 20, West Chester 6
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1986 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Division II
No. 18 Albany State x6–1–09–2–0
No. 15 Fort Valley State5–2–07–3–0
Savannah State3–3–06–4–0
Alabama A&M2–2–15–4–1
Morehouse2–4–04–5–1
Tuskegee2–5–13–7–1
Morris Brown1–5–12–7–1
Clark0–6–01–9–0
Division III
Knoxville x4–0–08–1–0
Lane2–2–04–6–0
Miles0–4–00–11–0
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from 1986 NCAA Division II football rankings
1986 Western Football Conference standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Sacramento State $5–1–06–4–1
No. 9 Cal State Northridge4–2–08–3–0
Portland State4–2–06–5–0
Southern Utah State3–3–08–3–0
Cal Poly3–3–05–5–0
Santa Clara2–4–04–7–0
Cal Lutheran0–6–03–8–0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1986 NCAA Division II independents football records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Central State (OH) ^ – 10–1–1
No. T–18 New Haven – 8–2–0
No. 7 Towson State ^ – 8–3–1
Southern Connecticut State – 7–3–0
American International – 6–4–0
UCF – 6–5–0
Northern Michigan – 5–5–0
Saint Mary's – 5–5–0
Springfield – 4–5–0
Michigan Tech – 3–6–0
Kentucky State – 1–9–0
Liberty – 1–9–0
Central Connecticut – 0–10–0
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

Conference summaries

Conference Champions

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Virginia Union
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Hillsdale
Gulf South Conference – Troy State
Heartland Collegiate Conference – Ashland
Lone Star Conference – West Texas State
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Central Missouri State
North Central Conference – North Dakota State
Northern California Athletic Conference – UC Davis
Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Morris
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Indiana (PA)
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Colorado Mesa
South Atlantic Conference – Carson-Newman
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Albany State
Western Football Conference - Sacramento State

Postseason

The 1986 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 14th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, for the first time.

Playoff bracket

First round
Campus sites 		Semifinals
Campus sites 		Championship
Braly Municipal Stadium
Florence, AL
         
North Dakota State 50
Ashland 0
North Dakota State 35
Central State (OH) 12
Central State (OH) 31
Towson State 0
North Dakota State 27
South Dakota 7
Troy State 31
Virginia Union 7
Troy State 28
South Dakota 42
South Dakota 26
UC Davis 23

See also

References

  1. ↑ "1986 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  2. ↑ "University of Indianapolis Complete Catalog 2017-2019" (PDF). University of Indianapolis.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_NCAA_Division_II_Football_Championship_playoffs