1984 NCAA Division II football season
{{Short description|American college football season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NCAA Division II season
| year = 1984
| image =
| image_caption =
| regular_season = August – November 1984
| playoffs = December 1984
| nc_date = December 8, 1984
| championship = Palm Bowl
Veterans Stadium
McAllen, TX
| champion = Troy State
}}
The 1984 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began in August 1984, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 8, 1984, at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen, Texas. During the game's five-year stretch in McAllen, the "City of Palms", it was referred to as the Palm Bowl.
Troy State defeated North Dakota State in the championship game, 18–17, to win their first Division II national title.{{cite web|title=1984 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket|url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_champs_records/2012/d2/2012DIIfbchamp.pdf|work=NCAA|publisher=NCAA.org|access-date=January 4, 2014|pages=13}}
Conference changes and new programs
- Four programs departed Division II for Division I-AA prior to the season. Three were members of the Lone Star Conference, invited to join the newly formed, Division I-AA Gulf Star Conference.
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| School | 1983 Conference | 1984 Conference |
|---|---|---|
| style="text-align:center;" | D-II Independent | I-AA Independent |
| style="text-align:center;" | Lone Star | Gulf Star (I-AA) |
| style="text-align:center;" | Lone Star | Gulf Star (I-AA) |
| style="text-align:center;" | Lone Star | Gulf Star (I-AA) |
Conference standings
| cellpadding="5"
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1984 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{1984 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{1984 Gulf South Conference football standings}} |
| valign="top" width=25em|{{1984 Heartland Collegiate Conference standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1984 Lone Star Conference football standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{1984 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings}} |
| valign="top" width=25em|{{1984 North Central Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1984 Northern California Athletic Conference football standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{1984 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings}} |
| valign="top" width=25em|{{1984 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings}}
|valign="top" width=25em|{{1984 Western Football Conference standings}} |valign="top" width=25em|{{1984 NCAA Division II independents football records}} |
Conference summaries
{{see also|List of NCAA Division II football seasons}}
| class="wikitable" |
| Conference Champions |
|---|
| Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Norfolk State Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Saginaw Valley State Gulf South Conference – Troy State Heartland Collegiate Conference – Ashland Lone Star Conference – Angelo State Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Northwest Missouri State North Central Conference – Nebraska–Omaha and North Dakota State Northern California Athletic Conference – UC Davis Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Morris and Minnesota State–Moorhead Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – California (PA) Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Fort Lewis South Atlantic Conference – Carson-Newman Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Albany State |
Postseason
{{Infobox NCAA Football Tournament |
| Division=II
| Year=1984
| Image=
| ImageSize=
| Caption=
| Teams=8
| Stadium=Veterans Stadium
| Location=McAllen, TX
| Champions=Troy State
| TitleCount=1st
| ChampGameCount = 1st
| ChampCount = 1
| RunnerUp=North Dakota State
| GameCount=3rd
| RunnerCount = 6
| Semifinal1=Nebraska–Omaha
| SemisCount = 2
| Semifinal2=Towson State
| SemisCount2 = 2
| Coach = Chan Gailey
| CoachCount = 1st
| Attendance=
}}
The 1984 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 12th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen, Texas, for the fourth consecutive time.
=Playoff bracket=
{{8TeamBracket-NoSeeds
| RD1=First round
Campus sites
| RD2=Semifinals
Campus sites
| RD3=Championship
McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium
McAllen, TX
| RD1-team1=North Dakota State
| RD1-score1=31
| RD1-team2=UC Davis
| RD1-score2= 25
| RD1-team3={{cfb link|year=1984|team=Nebraska–Omaha Mavericks|title=Nebraska–Omaha}}
| RD1-score3=28
| RD1-team4={{cfb link|year=1984|team=Northwest Missouri State Bearcats|title=Northwest Missouri State}}
| RD1-score4=15
| RD1-team5=Troy State
| RD1-score5=31
| RD1-team6={{cfb link|year=1984|team=Central State Marauders|title=Central State (OH)}}
| RD1-score6=21
| RD1-team7={{cfb link|year=1984|team=Towson State Tigers|title=Towson State}}
| RD1-score7=31
| RD1-team8={{cfb link|year=1984|team=Norfolk State Spartans|title=Norfolk State}}
| RD1-score8=21
| RD2-team1=North Dakota State
| RD2-score1=25
| RD2-team2=Nebraska–Omaha
| RD2-score2=14
| RD2-team3=Troy State
| RD2-score3=45
| RD2-team4=Towson State
| RD2-score4=3
| RD3-team1=North Dakota State
| RD3-score1=17
| RD3-team2=Troy State
| RD3-score2=18
}}