The 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, commenced in August 1985, and concluded with the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 21, 1985, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Furman Paladins by a score of 44–42.
Conference changes and new programs The Mid-Continent Conference stopped sponsoring football after the 1984 season. In 1985, all four members of the Mid-Continent moved their football programs to the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference, which otherwise sponsored only women's sports. The Missouri Valley Conference, a hybrid I-A/I-AA conference since 1982, played its last season of football in 1985. (+ Illinois State and Southern Illinois competed in both the Missouri Valley and the Gateway during the 1985 season).
School 1984 Conference 1985 Conference Eastern Illinois Mid-Continent Gateway Illinois State Missouri Valley Gateway+ Northern Iowa Mid-Continent Gateway Southern Illinois Missouri Valley Gateway+ Southwest Missouri State Mid-Continent Gateway Western Illinois Mid-Continent Gateway
Conference standings
Conference champions
Conference ChampionsBig Sky Conference – Idaho Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Northern Iowa Gulf Star Conference – Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State Ivy League – Penn Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Delaware State Ohio Valley Conference – Middle Tennessee State Southern Conference – Furman Paladins Southland Conference – Arkansas State Southwestern Athletic Conference –Grambling and Jackson State Yankee Conference – Rhode Island
Postseason NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket The top four teams were seeded, and received first-round byes.
References