| 1981 NCAA Division I-AA season | |
|---|---|
| Regular season | |
| Number of teams | 51[1] |
| Duration | September 5–November 28, 1981[2] |
| Playoff | |
| Duration | December 5–December 19, 1981[3] |
| Championship date | December 19, 1981 |
| Championship site | Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, Texas |
| Champion | Idaho State |
| NCAA Division I-AA football seasons | |
«1980 1982» | |
The1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part ofcollege football in the United States organized by theNational Collegiate Athletic Association at theDivision I-AA level, began in August 1981 and concluded with the1981 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game in thePioneer Bowl on December 19, atMemorial Stadium inWichita Falls, Texas. TheIdaho State Bengals won their first I-AA championship, defeating theEastern Kentucky Colonels, 34−23.[4][5][6]
| School | 1980 Conference | 1981 Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Illinois | Mid-Continent (D-II) | Mid-Continent (I-AA) |
| Northern Iowa | Mid-Continent (D-II) | Mid-Continent (I-AA) |
| Portland State | I-AA Independent | D-II Independent |
| Southwest Missouri State | Mid-Continent (D-II) | Mid-Continent (I-AA) |
| Tennessee State | I-A Independent | I-AA Independent |
| Western Illinois | Mid-Continent (D-II) | Mid-Continent (I-AA) |
| Youngstown State | Mid-Continent (D-II) | Ohio Valley (I-AA) |
| Conference champions |
|---|
Big Sky Conference –Idaho State |
After holding four-team playoffs after the first three I-AA seasons, the NCAA increased thebracket size to eight this postseason. It grew to twelve in1982 and sixteen in1986. The eight-team field was determined via automatic bids to five conference champions (Idaho State, South Carolina State, Eastern Kentucky, Jackson State, and Rhode Island), a bid to the top-ranked independent team (Tennessee State), and twoat-large bids (Boise State and Delaware).[7]
| First Round December 5 Campus sites | Semifinals December 12 Campus sites | National Championship Game Pioneer Bowl December 19 Memorial Stadium—Wichita Falls, TX | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Delaware | 28 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Eastern Kentucky* | 35 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Eastern Kentucky | 23 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Boise State* | 17 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Boise State | 19 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Jackson State* | 7 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Eastern Kentucky | 23 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Idaho State | 34 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Rhode Island | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Idaho State* | 51 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Idaho State* | 41 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | South Carolina State | 12 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Tennessee State | 25 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | South Carolina State* | 26* | ||||||||||||
*Next to team name denotes host institution
*Next to score denotes overtime
Source:[8]