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1979 NCAA Division II football season

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The 1979 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began in August 1979, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship in December 1979 at University Stadium in Albuquerque, NM. During the game's two-year stretch in New Mexico, it was referred to as the Zia Bowl. The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens defeated the Youngstown State Penguins, 38–21, to win their first Division II national title.[1]

Regular seasonAugust – November 1979
PlayoffsDecember 1979
National ChampionshipZia Bowl
University Stadium
Albuquerque, NM
ChampionDelaware
Quick facts Regular season, Playoffs ...
1979 NCAA Division II football season
Regular seasonAugust – November 1979
PlayoffsDecember 1979
National ChampionshipZia Bowl
University Stadium
Albuquerque, NM
ChampionDelaware
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Conference changes and new programs

More information School, 1978 Conference ...
School1978 Conference1979 Conference
Bowie StateD-III IndependentCIAA
Eastern WashingtonEvergreen (NAIA)Independent
James MadisonD-III IndependentD-II Independent
Nicholls StateGulf SouthIndependent
Northern ColoradoIndependentNorth Central
ShawCIAADropped Program
Southeastern LouisianaGulf SouthIndependent
Towson StateD-III IndependentD-II Independent
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Conference standings

More information Conf., Overall ...
1979 Association of Mid-Continent Universities football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 2 Youngstown State $^5–0–011–2–0
Northern Iowa4–1–06–5–0
Akron3–2–06–5–0
Eastern Illinois1–4–07–4–0
Northern Michigan1–4–04–6–0
Western Illinois1–4–03–8–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll
1979 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 7 Cal Poly $2–0–07–3–0
Cal State Northridge1–1–03–7–0
Cal Poly Pomona0–2–00–11–0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll
1979 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 6 Virginia Union $^8–0–010–2–0
Winston-Salem State6–1–18–2–1
Norfolk State6–1–18–3–1
Virginia State5–2–16–4–1
Fayetteville State4–3–14–4–1
Elizabeth City State2–6–03–7–0
Hampton2–6–03–8–0
Livingstone2–6–03–8–0
Johnson C. Smith1–6–11–9–1
Saint Paul's (VA)0–8–00–9–0
Bowie State *0–0–02–8–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
  • * – ineligible for conference title
Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll
1979 Far Western Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
UC Davis $5–0–07–2–1
Humboldt State4–1–08–2–0
Chico State2–3–05–6–0
Sacramento State2–3–04–6–0
San Francisco State1–4–03–7–0
Cal State Hayward1–4–02–8–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Adjusted for Cal Poly Pomona forfeits to UC Davis and Sacramento State
1979 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 8 Saginaw Valley State $^4–0–18–2–1
Wayne State (MI)3–1–13–5–1
Ferris State3–2–05–4–1
Grand Valley State2–3–04–5–0
Northwood1–4–05–4–0
Hillsdale1–4–03–8–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1979 Gulf South Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 Mississippi College $^5–1–010–3–0
Troy State4–1–06–3–1
Tennessee–Martin3–2–05–5–0
North Alabama3–3–06–5–0
Delta State2–4–04–6–0
Jacksonville State1–5–04–6–0
Livingston1–5–03–8–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from AP Poll
1979 Heartland Collegiate Conference standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Saint Joseph's (IN) $4–1–08–2–0
Franklin (IN)5–2–06–4–0
Butler3–2–05–5–0
Valparaiso2–3–05–4–0
Indiana Central2–4–03–6–0
Evansville0–6–02–9–0
Georgetown (KY) *3–0–04–6–0
Ashland *0–1–03–6–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • * – ineligible for conference title
1979 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Morgan State $5–0–09–2–0
South Carolina State4–1–08–3–0
North Carolina A&T2–2–14–6–1
Howard2–3–05–6–0
Delaware State1–4–14–5–1
North Carolina Central1–4–02–8–1
Maryland Eastern Shore0–0–03–7–1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Maryland Eastern Shore games did not count as conference games in 1979
1979 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
NW Missouri State $5–1–06–5–0
SE Missouri State5–1–06–4–1
Missouri-Rolla3–3–07–3–1
SW Missouri State3–3–07–4–0
NE Missouri State3–3–04–7–0
Central Missouri State1–5–02–8–0
Lincoln (MO)1–5–04–7–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
1979 North Central Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 3 North Dakota $^5–1–010–2–0
No. 8 South Dakota State * ^4–2–09–3–0
North Dakota State4–2–06–4–0
Nebraska–Omaha3–3–08–3–0
South Dakota *3–3–05–6–0
Augustana (SD)2–4–04–5–0
Morningside0–6–00–10–0
Northern Colorado †0–0–02–8–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
  • * – South Dakota State won two head-to-head games over South Dakota, which counted as one game for each team in the conference standings.
    † – Northern Colorado was ineligible for the conference title.
Rankings from AP Poll
1979 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Minnesota Duluth +7–1–08–2–0
Moorhead State +7–1–08–3–0
Minnesota Morris ^6–2–09–2–0
St. Cloud State5–3–05–6–0
Mankato State4–4–05–5–0
Michigan Tech4–4–04–6–0
Southwest State (MN)2–6–04–7–0
Bemidji State1–7–01–8–1
Winona State0–8–00–11–0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1979 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
East Division
Cheyney xy4–1–09–2–0
Millersville x^4–1–08–2–0
East Stroudsburg3–2–07–3–0
Kutztown3–2–06–3–0
Bloomsburg1–4–02–8–0
Mansfield0–5–00–9–0
West Division
Lock Haven xy$6–0–09–2–0
Clarion5–1–09–1–0
Indiana (PA)3–3–07–3–0
Slippery Rock2–4–03–6–0
Edinboro2–4–04–6–0
Shippensburg2–4–04–6–0
California (PA)1–5–03–7–0
Championship: Lock Haven 48, Cheyney 14
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1979 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Division I
No. 9 Alabama A&M x^5–0–08–3–0
Morris Brown6–2–06–5–0
Tuskegee3–2–05–6–0
Bethune-Cookman1–3–05–6–0
Albany State1–6–01–9–1
Division II
Morehouse x6–2–06–3–0
Savannah State5–2–16–3–1
Knoxville2–4–06–4–0
Fort Valley State4–4–14–4–1
Fisk2–3–12–4–1
Clark2–5–12–5–1
Lane1–5–01–7–0
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1979 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Northern Division
No. 10 Fairmont State xy$7–1–19–1–1
No. T–15th West Liberty State x7–1–17–2–1
Salem6–2–16–3–1
Shepherd5–4–05–5–0
West Virginia Wesleyan1–8–01–8–0
Southern Division
West Virginia State xy6–3–06–5–0
Concord4–3–25–3–2
Glenville State3–6–04–6–0
West Virginia Tech1–6–21–6–2
Bluefield State1–7–11–8–1
Championship: Fairmont State 14, West Virginia State 13
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1979 NCAA Division II independents football records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Delaware ^ – 13–1–0
Towson State – 9–1–0
No. 4 Morgan State ^ – 9–2–0
Springfield – 8–2–0
Eastern Washington – 7–2–0
Nicholls State – 8–3–0
United States International – 8–3–0
American International – 6–3–0
No. 10 Santa Clara – 6–3–0
Kentucky State – 6–5–0
Alabama State – 6–5–0
Southeastern Louisiana – 6–5–0
Central State (OH) – 5–5–0
C.W. Post – 5–4–0
Central Connecticut – 4–5–0
James Madison – 4–5–0
West Chester – 4–7–0
Southern Connecticut State – 3–7–0
Arkansas–Pine Bluff – 2–8–0
Northern Colorado – 2–8–0
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
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Conference summaries

See also: List of NCAA Division II football seasons
More information Conference, Champions ...
ConferenceChampions
Association of Mid-Continent UniversitiesYoungstown State
California Collegiate Athletic AssociationCal Poly
Central Intercollegiate Athletic AssociationVirginia Union
Far Western Football ConferenceUC Davis
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceSaginaw Valley State
Gulf South ConferenceMississippi College
Heartland Collegiate ConferenceSaint Joseph's
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic AssociationNorthwest Missouri State
North Central ConferenceNorth Dakota
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceAlabama A&M
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Postseason

Quick facts II Football Championship, Teams ...
1979 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams8
Finals Site
Champion
Runner-up
Semifinalists
Winning coach
Close

The 1979 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the sixth single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at University Stadium in Albuquerque, NM for the first time. With the game being played in New Mexico for the next two years, it was deemed the Zia Bowl.

Playoff bracket

First round
Campus sites 		Semifinals
Campus sites 		Championship
University Stadium
Albuquerque, NM
         
Delaware 58
Virginia Union 28
Delaware 60
Mississippi College 10
Mississippi College 35
North Dakota 15
Delaware 38
Youngstown State 21
Youngstown State 51
South Dakota State 7
Youngstown State 52
Alabama A&M 0
Alabama A&M 27
Morgan State 7

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