1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season
The 1981 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, began in August 1981 and concluded with the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1981, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Idaho State Bengals won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in the Pioneer Bowl, 34−23.
Conference changes and new programs
- Prior to the 1981 season, the Mid-Continent Conference was shifted from Division II to Division I-AA; its four members, Eastern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Western Illinois, and Southwest Missouri State, all made the transition.
- *Northern Michigan and Youngstown State, who had been members of the Mid-Continent the previous season, departed the league before the shift.
- After the 1981 season, three conferences, and all of their members, were shifted from Division I-A to Division I-AA: the Ivy League, the Southern Conference, and the Southland Conference
| School | 1980 Conference | 1981 Conference |
| Portland State | I-AA Independent | D-II Independent |
| Tennessee State | I-A Independent | I-AA Independent |
| Youngstown State | Mid-Continent | Ohio Valley |
Conference standings
Conference champions
Postseason
After holding four-team playoffs after the first three I-AA seasons, the NCAA increased the bracket size to eight this postseason. It grew to twelve in 1982 and sixteen in 1986. The eight-team field was determined via automatic bids to five conference champions, a bid to the top-ranked independent team, and two at-large bids.NCAA Division I-AA Playoff bracket
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