1981–82 NCAA football bowl games
{{short description|College football postseason game series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox College football bowl games
| season = 1981
| image =
| image_caption =
| regular_season =
| number_of_bowls = 16
| all_star_games =
| bowl_start = December 12, 1981
| bowl_end =
January 1, 1982
| championship_bowl = 1982 Orange Bowl
| championship_location = Miami Orange Bowl,
Miami, Florida
| champions = Clemson Tigers
| conference1 = Independents
| conference1_teams = 5
| conference1_wins = 3
| conference1_losses = 2
| conference1_ap_poll = 4
| conference2 = Big Eight
| conference2_teams = 5
| conference2_wins = 2
| conference2_losses = 3
| conference2_ap_poll = 3
| conference3 = SEC
| conference3_teams = 5
| conference3_wins = 2
| conference3_losses = 3
| conference3_ap_poll = 2
| conference4 = Big Ten
| conference4_teams = 4
| conference4_wins = 2
| conference4_losses = 2
| conference4_ap_poll = 3
| conference5 = Pac-10
| conference5_teams = 4
| conference5_wins = 1
| conference5_losses = 3
| conference5_ap_poll = 3
| conference6 = SWC
| conference6_teams = 4
| conference6_wins = 2
| conference6_losses = 2
| conference6_ap_poll = 2
| conference7 = ACC
| conference7_teams = 2
| conference7_wins = 2
| conference7_losses = 0
| conference7_ap_poll = 2
| conference8 = WAC
| conference8_teams = 1
| conference8_wins = 1
| conference8_losses = 0
| conference8_ap_poll = 1
| conference9 = MAC
| conference9_teams = 1
| conference9_wins = 1
| conference9_losses = 0
| conference9_ap_poll = 0
| conference10 = PCAA
| conference10_teams = 1
| conference10_wins = 0
| conference10_losses = 1
| conference10_ap_poll = 0
}}
The 1981–82 NCAA football bowl games were a series of post-season games played in December 1981 and January 1982 to end the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. A total of 16 team-competitive games,{{cite web | url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1981-bowls.html | title=1981 College Football Bowl Games | access-date=December 24, 2018 | work=Sports Reference }} and two all-star games, were played. The post-season began with the Independence Bowl on December 12, 1981, and concluded on January 16, 1982, with the season-ending Senior Bowl.