1986 NCAA Division III football season

1986 NCAA Division III football season
1986 NCAA Division III football season
Regular season	August – November 1986
Playoffs	November – December 1986
National; championship	Garrett-Harrison Stadium; Phenix City, AL
Champion	Augustana (IL)
	NCAA Division III football seasons

The 1986 NCAA Division III football season, part of the college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States, began in August 1986, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 1986 at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. The Augustana (IL) Vikings won the fourth of their four consecutive Division III championships by defeating the Salisbury State Sea Gulls by a final score of 31−3.^[1]

Conference Changes

Loras College, which had cut its varsity program following the 1954 season and had fielded a club team since then, returned to varsity status in 1986.

Wesley College and Menlo College, both former junior colleges who competed in the NJCAA, began sponsoring four year football in 1986.

UC Santa Barbara, a former Division I program which had dropped football in 1971, revived their program at the Division III level in 1986.

School	1985 Conference	1986 Conference
Aurora	Revived Program	D-III Independent
Drake	MVC (I-AA)	D-III Independent
Fitchburg State	D-III Independent	NEFC
Loras	Club Program	Iowa Conference
Menlo	NJCAA	D-III Independent
UC Santa Barbara	Revived Program	D-III Independent
Wesley	NJCAA	D-III Independent
Western Connecticut	NEFC	D-III Independent

Conference standings

1986 Centennial Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Franklin & Marshall +	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Muhlenberg +	6	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Gettysburg	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Swarthmore	4	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Johns Hopkins	2	–	4	–	1	3	–	5	–	1
Ursinus	2	–	4	–	1	2	–	6	–	1
Dickinson	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Western Maryland	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	10	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions

1986 College Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Rose–Hulman $	4	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
No. 13 Centre	3	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Rhodes	2	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Sewanee	1	–	3	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Earlham	0	–	4	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division III poll

1986 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 6 Augustana (IL) $^	7	–	0	–	1	12	–	0	–	1
Millikin	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Wheaton (IL)	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Illinois Wesleyan	4	–	3	–	1	5	–	3	–	1
North Central (IL)	4	–	3	–	1	5	–	3	–	1
Carthage	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Elmhurst	2	–	5	–	1	2	–	6	–	1
Carroll (WI)	2	–	6	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
North Park	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division III poll

1986 Independent College Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 Ithaca $^	3	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
Alfred	2	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Hobart	2	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
St. Lawrence	1	–	3	–	0	3	–	5	–	1
RPI	0	–	2	–	0	3	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division III poll

1986 Iowa Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 3 Central (IA) $^	8	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
No. T–15 Buena Vista ^	7	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Luther	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Loras	5	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Wartburg	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
William Penn	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	1
Dubuque	2	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Simpson (IA)	1	–	7	–	0	1	–	8	–	0
Upper Iowa	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division III poll

1986 Liberty Football Conference standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Merchant Marine $	4	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Fordham	3	–	1	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
St. John's	3	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Pace	2	–	2	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
C. W. Post	2	–	3	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Iona	0	–	5	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1986 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 11 Hope $^	4	–	0	–	1	7	–	2	–	1
Adrian	4	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Albion	3	–	1	–	1	6	–	2	–	1
Alma	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Kalamazoo	1	–	4	–	0	1	–	8	–	0
Olivet	0	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division III poll

1986 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 7 Susquehanna $^	9	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
Juniata	7	–	2	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Lycoming	7	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Wilkes	6	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Widener	6	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Moravian	3	–	5	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
Delaware Valley	3	–	5	–	1	3	–	6	–	1
Albright	2	–	7	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Lebanon Valley	1	–	8	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Upsala	0	–	9	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division III poll

1986 Midwest Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
North Division
Lawrence xy	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Lake Forest	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	3	–	0
Beloit	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
St. Norbert	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Chicago	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Ripon	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
South Division
Coe xy$	7	–	0	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
Monmouth (IL)	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Cornell (IA)	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Knox	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	5	–	1
Grinnell	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Illinois College	0	–	7	–	0	1	–	8	–	0
Championship: Lawrence 14, Coe 10
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

1986 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 10 Concordia–Moorhead $^	9	–	0	–	0	11	–	2	–	0
Macalester	6	–	2	–	1	7	–	2	–	1
Carleton	6	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
St. Thomas (MN)	6	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Saint John's (MN)	4	–	4	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
St. Olaf	4	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Gustavus Adolphus	4	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Hamline	4	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Augsburg	1	–	8	–	0	1	–	9	–	0
Bethel (MN)	0	–	9	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division III poll

1986 New England Football Conference standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Plymouth State $	8	–	0	–	1	9	–	1	–	1
Curry	8	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Bridgewater State	6	–	1	–	2	6	–	1	–	2
Framingham State	6	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Westfield State	5	–	4	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Massachusetts Maritime	5	–	4	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
Worcester State	4	–	5	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Nichols	3	–	6	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Western New England	2	–	7	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Maine Maritime	1	–	8	–	0	1	–	9	–	0
Fitchburg State	0	–	9	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1986 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Tufts	6	–	1	–	0	7	–	1	–	0
Hamilton	5	–	1	–	0	5	–	3	–	0
Amherst	6	–	2	–	0	6	–	2	–	0
Trinity (CT)	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	3	–	0
Williams	4	–	3	–	0	4	–	4	–	0
Middlebury	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	4	–	0
Wesleyan	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Bates	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	6	–	0
Bowdoin	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	6	–	0
Colby	0	–	6	–	0	1	–	7	–	0

The NESCAC did not recognize an official conference champion until 2000

1986 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 8 Montclair State $^	6	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Glassboro State	4	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
William Paterson	3	–	2	–	1	6	–	3	–	1
Jersey City State	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Trenton State	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Kean	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Ramapo	0	–	5	–	1	0	–	9	–	1

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division III poll

1986 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. T–15 Denison $	6	–	0	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
Case Western Reserve	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	1	–	1
Allegheny	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Wooster	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Kenyon	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Oberlin	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Ohio Wesleyan	0	–	6	–	0	0	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division III poll

1986 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Mount Union $^	8	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
Baldwin–Wallace	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Muskingum	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Wittenberg	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Marietta	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Heidelberg	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Capital	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Otterbein	1	–	7	–	0	1	–	9	–	0
Ohio Northern	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division III poll

1986 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 14 Emory & Henry $^	5	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Hampden–Sydney	4	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Randolph–Macon	3	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Maryville (TN)	1	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Bridgewater	1	–	4	–	0	2	–	6	–	1
Washington and Lee	1	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division III poll

1986 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 18 Washington & Jefferson $^	6	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Carnegie Mellon	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Grove City	4	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Hiram	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	3	–	1
John Carroll	2	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Thiel	1	–	5	–	0	1	–	7	–	0
Bethany (WV)	1	–	5	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division III poll

1986 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 19 Claremont-Mudd $	4	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
La Verne	3	–	1	–	1	6	–	3	–	0
Occidental	3	–	1	–	1	5	–	3	–	1
Whittier	2	–	2	–	1	5	–	5	–	0
Pomona-Pitzer	1	–	3	–	1	3	–	6	–	0
Redlands	0	–	5	–	0	0	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion Each team played one other conference member twice. A head-to-head sweep of the two games counted as one win for the winner and one loss for the loser in the conference standings. A split of the two games counted as a tie for each team. Rankings from NCAA Division III poll

1986 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Division II
No. 18 Albany State x	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
No. 15 Fort Valley State	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Savannah State	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Alabama A&M	2	–	2	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
Morehouse	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	1
Tuskegee	2	–	5	–	1	3	–	7	–	1
Morris Brown	1	–	5	–	1	2	–	7	–	1
Clark	0	–	6	–	0	1	–	9	–	0
Division III
Knoxville x	8	–	1	–	0	4	–	0	–	0
Lane	2	–	2	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Miles	0	–	4	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from 1986 NCAA Division II football rankings

1986 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings
	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 Wisconsin–La Crosse +*	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Wisconsin–River Falls +	7	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
No. T–15 Wisconsin–Stevens Point +^	7	–	1	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Wisconsin–Whitewater	4	–	3	–	1	6	–	3	–	1
Wisconsin–Platteville	3	–	5	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Wisconsin–Eau Claire	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin–Stout	2	–	5	–	1	2	–	8	–	1
Wisconsin–Oshkosh	2	–	6	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin–Superior	0	–	8	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant * – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll for Wisconsin–La Crosse and NCAA Division III poll for Wisconsin–Stevens Point

1986 NCAA Division III independents football records
	Conf.			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 5 Salisbury State ^		–		13	–	1	–	0
No. 1 Dayton ^		–		10	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Union (NY) ^		–		9	–	1	–	0
Villanova		–		8	–	1	–	0
No. 20 Buffalo		–		9	–	2	–	0
No. 12 Hofstra ^		–		9	–	2	–	0
Wagner		–		9	–	2	–	0
Millsaps		–		7	–	2	–	0
MacMurray		–		6	–	3	–	0
Wabash		–		6	–	3	–	0
WPI		–		5	–	3	–	0
Duquesne		–		5	–	3	–	1
DePauw		–		6	–	4	–	0
Mercyhurst		–		6	–	4	–	0
Western Connecticut State		–		6	–	4	–	0
Bishop		–		6	–	4	–	1
Canisius		–		5	–	4	–	0
Colorado College		–		5	–	4	–	0
Stony Brook		–		5	–	4	–	0
Georgetown		–		4	–	4	–	0
Menlo		–		4	–	4	–	1
Fairleigh Dickinson–Florham		–		4	–	5	–	0
Saint Francis (PA)		–		4	–	5	–	0
Drake		–		3	–	4	–	0
UC Santa Barbara		–		4	–	5	–	0
Albany		–		4	–	6	–	0
Brockport		–		4	–	6	–	0
Brooklyn		–		4	–	6	–	0
San Diego		–		4	–	6	–	0
Marist		–		3	–	5	–	0
Samford		–		3	–	6	–	0
Frostburg State		–		3	–	7	–	0
Lowell		–		2	–	7	–	0
Ferrum		–		3	–	8	–	0
Catholic University		–		2	–	8	–	1
Aurora		–		1	–	4	–	0
Norwich		–		2	–	8	–	0
Rochester (NY)		–		1	–	7	–	1
Buffalo State		–		1	–	8	–	0
Cortland		–		1	–	8	–	0
Saint Peter's		–		0	–	8	–	0
Wesley		–		0	–	8	–	0

^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division III poll

Conference champions

Conference champions
Centennial Conference – Franklin & Marshall and Muhlenberg College Athletic Conference – Rose–Hulman College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Augustana (IL) Independent College Athletic Conference – Ithaca Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Central (IA) Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Hope Middle Atlantic Conference – Susquehanna Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference – Lawrence Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Concordia–Moorhead New England Football Conference – Plymouth State New Jersey State Athletic Conference – Montclair State North Coast Athletic Conference – Denison Ohio Athletic Conference – Mount Union Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Emory & Henry Presidents' Athletic Conference – Washington & Jefferson Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Claremont–Mudd–Scripps Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - Knoxville Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Tarleton State Upper Midwest Athletic Conference – Northwestern–St. Paul Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–La Crosse, Wisconsin–River Falls, and Wisconsin–Stevens Point

Postseason

The 1986 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 14th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama for the twelfth time and for the second consecutive year. Like the previous tournament, this year's bracket featured sixteen teams.^[2]

Playoff bracket

First Round Campus Sites		Quarterfinals Campus Sites		Semifinals Campus Sites		National Championship Game Garrett-Harrison Stadium Phenix City, Alabama

Ithaca (OT)	24

Union (NY)	17
		Ithaca	29

		Montclair State	15
Montclair State	24

Hofstra	21
				Ithaca	40

				Salisbury State	44
Susquehanna	28

Washington & Jefferson	20
		Susquehanna	17

		Salisbury State	31
Salisbury State	34

Emory and Henry	20
						Salisbury State	3

						Augustana (IL)	31
Mount Union	42

Dayton	36
		Mount Union	7

		Augustana (IL)	16
Augustana (IL)	34

Hope	10
				Augustana (IL)	41

				Concordia–Moorhead	7
Central (IA)	37

Buena Vista	0
		Central (IA)	14

		Concordia–Moorhead	17
Concordia–Moorhead	24

Wisconsin–Stevens Point	15

References

^ "All-Time Division III Football Championship Records" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. pp. 4–15. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
^ "1986 NCAA Division III National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved November 8, 2014.

[1] "All-Time Division III Football Championship Records" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. pp. 4–15. Retrieved November 8, 2014.

[2] "1986 NCAA Division III National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved November 8, 2014.

[1]

[2]

NCAA football seasons
Pre-NCAA	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905
NCAA pre-divisional	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961
NCAA University Division	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division I	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
NCAA Division I-A/FBS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
NCAA College Division	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division II	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
NCAA Division III	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025