1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season explained

Year:	1985
Number Of Teams:	89
Regular Season:	August–November
Playoffs:	November 30–December 21
Nc Date:	December 21, 1985
Championship:	Tacoma Dome Tacoma, Washington
Champions:	Georgia Southern

The 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, commenced in August 1985, and concluded with the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 21, 1985, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Furman Paladins by a score of 44–42.^[1]

Conference changes and new programs

• The Mid-Continent Conference stopped sponsoring football after the 1984 season.
• In 1985, all four members of the Mid-Continent moved their football programs to the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference, which otherwise sponsored only women's sports.
• The Missouri Valley Conference, a hybrid I-A/I-AA conference since 1982, played its last season of football in 1985.

(+ Illinois State and Southern Illinois competed in both the Missouri Valley and the Gateway during the 1985 season).

School	1984 Conference	1985 Conference
		Gateway
		Gateway+
		Gateway
		Gateway+
		Gateway
		Gateway

Conference champions

See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons.

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

The top four teams were seeded, and received first-round byes.^[2]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 1985 NCAA Division I Football Championship . NCAA.org . December 29, 2013 . 14.
2. News: Furman in I-AA playoffs . Abe . Hardesty . . . 1C . November 25, 1985 . May 3, 2019 . newspapers.com.