1988 NCAA Division II football season

1988 NCAA Division II Football Championship
1988 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	16
Finals Site	Braly Municipal Stadium; Florence, AL;
Champion	North Dakota State; (4th title, title game);
Runner-up	Portland State; (2nd title game);
Semifinalists	Sacramento State; Texas A&I;
Winning coach	championship;

1988 NCAA Division II football season
1988 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	August – November 1988
Playoffs	November 19 – December 10, 1988
National Championship	Braly Municipal Stadium; Florence, AL
Champion	North Dakota State (4)
Harlon Hill Trophy	Johnny Bailey, Texas A&I
	← 1987; NCAA Division II football seasons; 1989 →;

The 1988 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 1988, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 10, 1988, at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The North Dakota State Bison defeated the Portland State Vikings, 35–21, to win their fourth Division II national title. The tournament bracket also expanded for the first time, from 8 teams to 16 teams.^[1]

The Harlon Hill Trophy was awarded to Johnny Bailey, running back from Texas A&I, for the second consecutive year.

Conference changes and new programs

St. Paul's (VA) dropped their football program in July of 1988 and would not return to the gridiron until 2002.^[2]

School	1987 Conference	1988 Conference
Cameron	NAIA Independent	Lone Star
Central State (OK)	NAIA Independent	Lone Star
Evansville	Heartland	Mid-South (NAIA)
St. Paul's (VA)	CIAA	Dropped Program
Southwest Baptist	NAIA Independent	MIAA
Wofford	NAIA Independent	Independent

Conference standings

1988 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Northern Division
Virginia State xy	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Virginia Union	4	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Hampton	3	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Norfolk State	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Elizabeth City State	1	–	4	–	1	2	–	7	–	1
Southern Division
No. 5 Winston-Salem State xy$^	5	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 20 Bowie State ^	4	–	1	–	1	9	–	2	–	1
No. 17 North Carolina Central ^	4	–	1	–	1	9	–	2	–	1
Johnson C. Smith	1	–	4	–	1	2	–	7	–	1
Livingstone	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Fayetteville State	0	–	4	–	2	0	–	7	–	2
Championship: Winston-Salem State 13, Virginia State 9
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

1988 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 5 Hillsdale $^	5	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 19 Northern Michigan	4	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Grand Valley State	3	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
No. 25 Saginaw Valley State	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Ferris State	1	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Wayne State (MI)	0	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll for Northern Michigan and NAIA Division I poll for Hillsdale and Saginaw Valley State

1988 Gulf South Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 9 Tennessee–Martin +^	7	–	1	–	0	11	–	2	–	0
No. 7 Jacksonville State +^	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 6 Mississippi College +^	7	–	1	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Valdosta State	4	–	3	–	1	6	–	3	–	1
Troy State	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
West Georgia	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Delta State	2	–	5	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
North Alabama	2	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Livingston	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

1988 Heartland Collegiate Conference standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Butler $^	3	–	0	–	1	8	–	2	–	1
Saint Joseph's (IN)	3	–	1	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Ashland	2	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Indianapolis	1	–	2	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
Valparaiso	0	–	4	–	0	0	–	9	–	1

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant

1988 Lone Star Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 3 Texas A&I $^	6	–	1	–	0	10	–	3	–	0
No. 15 East Texas State	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Angelo State	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
No. 18 Cameron	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	3	–	1
Central State (OK)	4	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Abilene Christian	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
West Texas State	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Eastern New Mexico	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll for Texas A&I and East Texas State and NAIA Division I poll for Cameron

1988 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
NE Missouri State +	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
SE Missouri State +	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Central Missouri State +	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Missouri–Rolla	2	–	4	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
NW Missouri State	2	–	4	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Southwest Baptist	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Lincoln (MO)	1	–	5	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions

1988 North Central Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 North Dakota State $^	9	–	0	–	0	14	–	0	–	0
No. 18 Augustana (SD) ^	6	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
South Dakota State	6	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
North Dakota	5	–	4	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
No. 17 St. Cloud State	5	–	4	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
South Dakota	4	–	5	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Northern Colorado	4	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Nebraska–Omaha	4	–	5	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Mankato State	2	–	7	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Morningside	0	–	9	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

1988 Northern California Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 13 UC Davis $^	5	–	0	–	0	7	–	3	–	1
Sonoma State	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Chico State	3	–	2	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Humboldt State	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Cal State Hayward	1	–	4	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
San Francisco State	1	–	4	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

1988 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 12 Moorhead State $^	6	–	0	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
No. 15 Northern State ^	5	–	1	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Minnesota Duluth	4	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Minnesota Morris	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Southwest State (MN)	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Winona State	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Bemidji State	0	–	6	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1988 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
East Division
No. 11 Millersville x^	6	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 2 West Chester	5	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Bloomsburg	4	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
East Stroudsburg	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Mansfield	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	2
Cheyney	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Kutztown	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
West Division
No. 14 IUP ^	5	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Shippensburg x	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Edinboro	4	–	1	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
Slippery Rock	2	–	2	–	2	5	–	3	–	2
Clarion	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
California (PA)	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Lock Haven	0	–	5	–	1	2	–	7	–	2

x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Shippensburg won the West Division on the bases of a head-to-head win over IUP. Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

1988 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 12 Albany State $	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Savannah State	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Alabama A&M	6	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Fort Valley State	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Tuskegee	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Morehouse	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Clark (GA)	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	8	–	0
Morris Brown	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	10	–	0
Knoxville	0	–	0	–	0	4	–	4	–	1
Lane	0	–	0	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Miles	0	–	0	–	0	2	–	5	–	1

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

1988 Western Football Conference standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Portland State $^	6	–	0	–	0	11	–	3	–	1
No. 10 Sacramento State ^	4	–	2	–	0	10	–	3	–	0
Santa Clara	4	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Cal Poly	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	1
Cal State Northridge	2	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Southern Utah State	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Cal Lutheran	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

1988 NCAA Division II independents football records
v t e	Conf.			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
Saint Mary's		–		10	–	0	–	0
New Haven		–		7	–	3	–	0
Springfield		–		6	–	3	–	1
Central Connecticut		–		5	–	3	–	1
Michigan Tech		–		6	–	4	–	0
UCF		–		6	–	5	–	0
American International		–		5	–	5	–	0
Wofford		–		5	–	5	–	0
Kentucky State		–		4	–	7	–	0
Southern Connecticut State		–		0	–	10	–	0

Conference summaries

Conference Champions
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Winston-Salem State Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Hillsdale Gulf South Conference – Jacksonville State, Mississippi College, and Tennessee–Martin Heartland Collegiate Conference – Butler Lone Star Conference – Texas A&I Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Central Missouri State, Southeast Missouri State, and Northeast Missouri State North Central Conference – North Dakota State Northern California Athletic Conference – UC Davis Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota State–Moorhead Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Millersville (East), Shippensburg (West) Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Colorado Mesa South Atlantic Conference – Carson-Newman, Catawba, and Lenoir-Rhyne Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Albany State Western Football League – Portland State

Postseason

The 1988 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 16th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, for the third time.

Playoff bracket

First round Campus sites		Quarterfinals Campus sites		Semifinals Campus sites		Championship Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL

North Dakota State	49

Augustana (SD)	7
		North Dakota State	36

		Millersville	26
Millersville	27

IUP	24
				North Dakota State	42

				Sacramento State	20
Sacramento State	35

UC Davis	14
		Sacramento State	56

		North Carolina Central	7
North Carolina Central	31

Winston-Salem State	16
						North Dakota State	35

						Portland State	21
Texas A&I	39

Mississippi College	15
		Texas A&I	34

		Tennessee–Martin	0
Tennessee–Martin	23

Butler	6
				Texas A&I	27

				Portland State	35
Portland State	34

Bowie State	17
		Portland State	20

		Jacksonville State	13
Jacksonville State	63

West Chester	24

References

↑ "1988 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
↑ "Saint Paul's drops football program". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. July 9, 1988. p. 11. Retrieved April 29, 2026 – via newspapers.com .

[1] "1988 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 4, 2014.

[2] "Saint Paul's drops football program". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. July 9, 1988. p. 11. Retrieved April 29, 2026 – via newspapers.com .

[1]

[2]