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.^[1]

1985 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	August – November 1985
Playoffs	December 1985
National Championship	Palm Bowl Veterans Stadium McAllen, TX
Champion	North Dakota State (2)
← 1984 NCAA Division II football seasons 1986 →

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 v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northern No. 8 Hampton xy$^ 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Norfolk State 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Elizabeth City State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Virginia Union 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Virginia State 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Saint Paul's (VA) 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Southern No. 18 Winston-Salem State xy 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Livingstone 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 North Carolina Central 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Fayetteville State 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Johnson C. Smith 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 Bowie State 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 Championship: Hampton 13, 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	1985 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Hillsdale $^ 5 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 1 Saginaw Valley State 4 – 1 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Ferris State 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Grand Valley State 4 – 2 – 0 0 – 6 – 5 Northwood 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 2 Wayne State (MI) 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 1 Michigan Tech 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1985 Gulf South Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 North Alabama $^ 7 – 1 – 0 12 – 2 – 0 No. 17 Mississippi College 6 – 1 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 Troy State 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Livingston 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Delta State 3 – 4 – 1 4 – 6 – 1 Jacksonville State 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 1 Valdosta State 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 West Georgia 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Tennessee–Martin 0 – 8 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1985 Heartland Collegiate Conference standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Butler + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Ashland + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Indiana Central 4 – 1 – 1 7 – 1 – 2 Valparaiso 2 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Saint Joseph's (IN) 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Franklin (IN) 1 – 4 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Evansville 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1985 Lone Star Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Texas A&I $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Angelo State 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Eastern New Mexico 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Abilene Christian 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 2 East Texas State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Howard Payne 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 2 $ – Conference champion	1985 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 11 NE Missouri State $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Missouri–Rolla 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 NW Missouri State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 1 SE Missouri State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Central Missouri State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Lincoln (MO) 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1985 North Central Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 North Dakota State $^ 7 – 1 – 1 11 – 2 – 1 No. 4 South Dakota ^ 7 – 2 – 0 10 – 3 – 0 South Dakota State 7 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Morningside 5 – 3 – 1 7 – 3 – 1 St. Cloud State 5 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Mankato State 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Nebraska–Omaha 4 – 5 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Northern Colorado 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 North Dakota 2 – 7 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Augustana (SD) 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll	1985 Northern California Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 UC Davis $^ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Chico State 3 – 1 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Cal State Hayward 2 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 San Francisco State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 1 Sonoma State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Humboldt State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll	1985 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Minnesota Duluth $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 9 Moorhead State 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Bemidji State 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Southwest State (MN) 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Minnesota Morris 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Northern State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 1 Winona State 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1985 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T East Division No. 3 Bloomsburg xy$^ 6 – 0 – 0 12 – 1 – 0 West Chester 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Millersville 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Mansfield 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 East Stroudsburg 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Cheyney 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Kutztown 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 West Division No. 9 IUP xy 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 1 No. 16 Clarion 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Edinboro 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 1 Shippensburg 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Slippery Rock 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 California (PA) 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Lock Haven 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Championship: Bloomsburg 31, IUP 9 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll	1985 Western Football Conference standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 15 Santa Clara $ 4 – 0 – 1 8 – 2 – 1 No. 19 Sacramento State 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Portland State 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Cal Poly 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Cal Lutheran 1 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Cal State Northridge 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll	1985 NCAA Division II independents football records v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   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 participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

Conference summaries

See also: List of NCAA Division II football seasons

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

1985 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	8
Finals Site	Veterans Stadium McAllen, TX
Champion	North Dakota State (2nd title, 4th title game)
Runner-up	North Alabama (1st title game)
Semifinalists	South Dakota Bloomsburg
Winning coach	Earle Solomonson 1st championship

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

See also

• 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season
• 1985 NCAA Division III football season
• 1985 NAIA Division I football season
• 1985 NAIA Division II football season