The 1981 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

game between the

Eastern Kentucky Colonels The Eastern Kentucky Colonels are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Eastern Kentucky University (EKU), located in Richmond, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the ASUN Confere ...

and the

Idaho State Bengals The Idaho State Bengals are the varsity intercollegiate athletic teams representing Idaho State University, located in Pocatello, Idaho. The university sponsors thirteen teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, tennis, and tr ...

. The game was played on December 19, 1981, at Memorial Stadium in

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan area, Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer County, Tex ...

. The culminating game of the

1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season The 1981 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, began in August 1981 and concluded with the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA ...

, it was won by Idaho State, 34–23. The game was also known as the

Pioneer Bowl Pioneer Bowl may refer to one of the following college football bowl games: * Pioneer Bowl (1971–1982), played in Wichita Falls, Texas, first as an NCAA College Division regional bowl game, then as a Division II postseason game, and finally as the ...

, 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.

Teams

The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1981 I-AA Playoffs, which began with an eight-team

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Eastern Kentucky Colonels

Eastern Kentucky finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (8–0 in conference); their only loss was to

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

. Ranked first in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll and seeded first in the tournament, the Colonels defeated seventh-seed

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

and fourth-seed

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It ...

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.

Idaho State Bengals

Idaho State finished their regular season with a 9–1 record (6–1 in conference); their only loss was an away game at

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. Ranked second in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll and seeded second in the tournament, the Bengals defeated eighth-seed

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

and third-seed

South Carolina State South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is the only public, historically black land-grant research university in South Carolina, is a member o ...

to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Idaho State in a Division I-AA championship game.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Game statistics

References

External links

Highlights from the 1981 1-AA National Championship Team—the ISU Bengals
via

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* EKU vs Idaho State - 198
Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4
via YouTube {{1981–82 NCAA Division I championships navbox

Championship Game A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...

NCAA Division I Football Championship Games Eastern Kentucky Colonels football games Idaho State Bengals football games American football competitions in Texas Sports in Wichita Falls, Texas NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game