| Year: | 1981 |
| Regular Season: | August–November 1981 |
| Playoffs: | November–December 1981 |
| Championship: | Louis Calder Stadium Sherman, TX |
| Champions: | Austin (3) |
The 1981 NAIA Division II football season, as part of the 1981 college football season in the United States and the 26th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 21st season of play of the NAIA's lower division for football.
The season was played from August to November 1981 and culminated in the 1981 NAIA Division II Football National Championship, played at Louis Calder Stadium in Sherman, Texas.[1]
Austin and tied in the championship game, 24–24, and were declared co-national champions. It was Austin's first NAIA national title and Concordia's third.
| Conference | Champion | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier | Carroll (MT) | 5–1 | |
| Heart of America | William Jewell | 8–0 | |
| Hoosier-Buckeye | Anderson (IN) | 8–0 | |
| Kansas | Bethany | 8–0 | |
| Minnesota | Concordia–Moorhead | 8–0 | |
| Nebraska | Concordia–Nebraska Hastings Midland Lutheran | 4–1 | |
| North Dakota | Dickinson State | 6–0 | |
| Northwest | Pacific Lutheran | 5–0 | |
| South Dakota | Sioux Falls South Dakota Tech | 5–1 | |
| Texas | Austin Sul Ross | 9–1 |