| Year Game Played: | 1981 |
| Game Name: | NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship |
| Subheader: | I-AA National Championship Game Pioneer Bowl |
| Visitor Name Short: | Eastern Kentucky |
| Visitor Nickname: | Colonels |
| Home Nickname: | Bengals |
| Visitor School: | Eastern Kentucky University |
| Home Name Short: | Idaho State |
| Football Season: | 1981 |
| Home School: | Idaho State University |
| Visitor Record: | 12–1 |
| Home Record: | 11–1 |
| Visitor Conference: | Ohio Valley |
| Home Conference: | Big Sky |
| Visitor 1Q: | 3 |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 6 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 21 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 6 |
| Visitor Coach: | Roy Kidd |
| Home Coach: | Dave Kragthorpe |
| Visitor Rank Ncaa: | 1 |
| Visitor Seed: | 1 |
| Home Rank Ncaa: | 2 |
| Home Seed: | 2 |
| Date Game Played: | December 19 |
| Stadium: | Memorial Stadium |
| City: | Wichita Falls, Texas |
| Attendance: | 11,002 |
| Us Network: | ABC Sports |
| Us Announcers: | Bill Flemming (play-by-play), Frank Broyles (color)[1] |
| Different Previous: | 1980 |
| Different Next: | 1982 |
The 1981 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Idaho State Bengals. The game was played on December 19, 1981, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The culminating game of the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Idaho State, 34–23.[2]
The game was also known as the Pioneer Bowl,[3] a name that had been used starting in 1971 for various NCAA playoff games held in Wichita Falls. The Colonels were making their third consecutive appearance in the I-AA championship game.
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1981 I-AA Playoffs, which began with an eight-team bracket.[4]
See also: Eastern Kentucky Colonels football. Eastern Kentucky finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (8–0 in conference); their only loss was to Navy of Division I-A.[5] Ranked first in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[6] and seeded first in the tournament, the Colonels defeated seventh-seed Delaware and fourth-seed Boise State to reach the final. This was the third appearance for Eastern Kentucky in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1979 and having lost in 1980.
See main article: 1981 Idaho State Bengals football team. Idaho State finished their regular season with a 9–1 record (6–1 in conference); their only loss was an away game at Montana.[7] Ranked second in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll[6] and seeded second in the tournament, the Bengals defeated eighth-seed Rhode Island and third-seed South Carolina State to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Idaho State in a Division I-AA championship game.