The 1988 NCAA Division II football season, part of

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 ...

in the United States organized by the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

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 Tom Braly Municipal Stadium is a 14,215-seat stadium in Florence, Alabama. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the University of North Alabama North Alabama Lions and the Florence High School Falcons. It also host ...

Florence, Alabama Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner, and had a population of 40,184 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Florence is l ...

, hosted by the

University of North Alabama The University of North Alabama (UNA) is a public university in Florence, Alabama, United States. It is the state's oldest university. Occupying a campus in a residential section of Florence, UNA is located within a four-city area that also ...

. The North Dakota State Bison defeated the

Portland State Vikings Portland State Vikings is the nickname of the NCAA-affiliated, intercollegiate athletic teams representing Portland State University of Portland, Oregon. The Vikings compete at the NCAA Division I level in basketball, soccer, volleyball, golf, t ...

, 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. The

Harlon Hill Trophy The Harlon Hill Trophy is an award in American college football given to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II. The award is named for former University of North Alabama and National Football League player Harl ...

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

Conference changes and new programs

Conference standings

Conference summaries

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 NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

college football. The championship game was held at

, for the third time.

Playoff bracket

References