1987 NAIA Division I football season
| 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 |
The 1987 NAIA Division I football season, as part of the 1987 college football season in the United States and the 32nd season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 18th season of play of the NAIA's top division for football.
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 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 (CO) | 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 State | 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
References
- ^ "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
- ^ "1987 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 23, 2015.