1987 NAIA Division I football season

The 1987 NAIA Division I football season was the 32nd season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 18th season of play of the NAIA's top division for football.

1987 NAIA Division I football season
Regular season	August–November 1987
Postseason	November 28–December 19, 1987
National Championship	Cameron Stadium Lawton, OK
Champions	Cameron
← 1986 NAIA Division I football season 1988 →

The season was played from August to November 1987 and culminated in the 1987 NAIA Champion Bowl playoffs and the 1987 NAIA Champion Bowl, played this year on December 19, 1987 at Cameron Stadium in Lawton, Oklahoma, on the campus of Cameron University.^[1]

Cameron defeated Carson–Newman in the Champion Bowl (a re-match of the previous year's final, won by the Eagles), 30–2, to win their first NAIA national title.^[2]

Conference realignment

Conference changes

• This was the final season that the NAIA officially recognized the football champion from the Central States Intercollegiate Conference (CSIC).^[3] The CSIC played one more season as part of the NAIA before disbanding.

Conference standings

1987 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Central Arkansas $^ 6 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0 Southern Arkansas 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 No. 22 Harding 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 No. 25 Henderson State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 No. 21 Arkansas–Monticello 2 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Ouachita Baptist 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Arkansas Tech 1 – 4 – 1 2 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1987 Central States Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Pittsburg State $^ 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0 No. 24 Washburn 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 No. 12 Emporia State 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Kearney State 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Fort Hays State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Missouri Southern 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Wayne State (NE) 1 – 5 – 1 1 – 8 – 1 Missouri Western 0 – 6 – 1 1 – 9 – 1 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1987 Columbia Football League standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northern Division No. 8 Central Washington * x 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 No. 6 Pacific Lutheran ^ 4 – 1 – 1 11 – 1 – 1 No. 17 Puget Sound 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Simon Fraser 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Western Washington 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 3 – 2 Whitworth 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Lewis & Clark 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 Southern Division Oregon Tech x 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 No. 15 Southern Oregon * 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Linfield 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Pacific (OR) 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 2 Western Oregon 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Willamette 1 – 4 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Eastern Oregon 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 x – Division champion/co-champions * – NAIA Division I playoff participant ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll for Central Washington, Puget Sound, and Southern Oregon and NAIA Division II poll for Pacific Lutheran
1987 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 Northern Michigan $^ 4 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Grand Valley State 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Hillsdale 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Saginaw Valley State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Ferris State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Wayne State (MI) 0 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll	1987 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Minnesota Morris $ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 No. 14 Southwest State (MN) 4 – 1 – 1 7 – 4 – 1 No. 16 Moorhead State ^ 4 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 Northern State 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Winona State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Bemidji State 0 – 5 – 1 2 – 7 – 1 Minnesota Duluth 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 11 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Minnesota Duluth forfeited 8 wins including 5 conference wins, over Minnesota Morris, Moorhead State, Northern State, Winona State, and Bemidji State. Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1987 Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 Northeastern State +^ 3 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 East Central + 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 No. 13 NW Oklahoma State ^ 2 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 SE Oklahoma State 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 2 SW Oklahoma State 0 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1987 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Mesa $^ 6 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0 Adams State * 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 No. 20 New Mexico Highlands 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Western New Mexico 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Fort Lewis 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Western State (CO) 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Colorado Mines 0 – 5 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant * – Adams State forfeited three victories including a conference win over Western New Mexico Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1987 South Atlantic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 Gardner–Webb $^ 6 – 1 – 0 11 – 2 – 0 No. 11 Presbyterian ^ 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 5 – 0 No. 9 Carson–Newman ^ 4 – 3 – 0 10 – 4 – 0 No. 19 Elon 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Lenoir–Rhyne 3 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Newberry 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Catawba 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Mars Hill 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1987 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 Concord $^ 7 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 No. 18 Fairmont State 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 West Liberty State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Shepherd 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Glenville State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 1 West Virginia Tech 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Salem 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 West Virginia State 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant West Virginia State forfeited a shared of the conference title, one tie, and eight victories, including six conference wins, over Concord, Fairmont State, West Liberty, Salem, Glenville State, and West Virginia Tech. Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1987 NAIA Division I independents football records v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Central State (OH) ^   –   10 – 1 – 1 No. 7 Cameron ^   –   11 – 2 – 0 No. 23 Arkansas–Pine Bluff   –   7 – 4 – 0 West Virginia Wesleyan   –   6 – 4 – 0 Central State (OK)   –   2 – 8 – 0 Guilford   –   2 – 8 – 0 Wofford   –   1 – 10 – 0 Langston   –   0 – 10 – 0 ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

Conference champions

Conference	Champion	Record
Arkansas	Central Arkansas	6–0
Central States	Pittsburg State	7–0
NIC	Minnesota–Duluth	5–1
Oklahoma	Northeastern State East Central	3–1
RMAC	Mesa	6–0
South Atlantic	Gardner–Webb	6–1
WVIAC	Concord (WV)	7–1

Postseason

Format

• After nine seasons of an eight-team bracket, the tournament field expanded to sixteen. In turn, the playoffs began during the month of November for the first time since 1975.

Bracket

	First Round November 28, 1987 Campus sites					Quarterfinals December 5, 1987 Campus sites					Semifinals December 12, 1987 Campus sites					1987 Champion Bowl December 19, 1987 Lawton, OK
	Central Washington		14
	Southern Oregon*		21
						Southern Oregon		7
						Mesa State*		38
	Mesa		49
	Southwest State (MN)*		7
											Mesa State		7
											Carson–Newman*		21
	Moorhead State		7
	Gardner–Webb*		27
						Gardner–Webb		24
						Carson–Newman*		27
	Carson–Newman		26
	Central State (OH)*		13
																Carson–Newman		2
																Cameron*		30
	NW Oklahoma State		7
	Central Arkansas*		31
						Central Arkansas		7
						Cameron*		14
	Emporia State		12
	Cameron*		17
											Cameron		20
											Pittsburg State*		10
	Concord		0
	Presbyterian*		41
						Presbyterian		21
						Pittsburg State*		42
	Northeastern State		0
	Pittsburg State*		57

See also

• 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season
• 1987 NCAA Division II football season
• 1987 NCAA Division III football season