1988 NCAA Division II football season

1988 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	August – November 1988
Playoffs	November 19 – December 10, 1988
National Championship	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL
Champion	North Dakota State (4)
Harlon Hill Trophy	Johnny Bailey, Texas A&I

The 1988 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 1988, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 10, 1988, at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The North Dakota State Bison defeated the Portland State Vikings, 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 was awarded to Johnny Bailey, running back from Texas A&I, for the second consecutive year.

Conference changes and new programs

School	1987 Conference	1988 Conference
Cameron	NAIA Independent	Lone Star
Central State (OK)	NAIA Independent	Lone Star
Wofford	NAIA Independent	Independent

Conference standings

1988 Heartland Collegiate Conference standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Butler $^ 3 – 0 – 1 8 – 2 – 1 Saint Joseph's (IN) 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Ashland 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Indianapolis 1 – 2 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Valparaiso 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 9 – 1 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant	1988 Lone Star Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Texas A&I $^ 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 3 – 0 No. 15 East Texas State 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Angelo State 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 No. 18 Cameron 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Central State (OK) 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Abilene Christian 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 West Texas State 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Eastern New Mexico 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll for Texas A&I and East Texas State and NAIA Division I poll for Cameron	1988 North Central Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 North Dakota State $^ 9 – 0 – 0 14 – 0 – 0 No. 18 Augustana (SD) ^ 6 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 South Dakota State 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 North Dakota 5 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 No. 17 St. Cloud State 5 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 South Dakota 4 – 5 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Northern Colorado 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Nebraska–Omaha 4 – 5 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Mankato State 2 – 7 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Morningside 0 – 9 – 0 0 – 11 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll
1988 Northern California Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 13 UC Davis $^ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 3 – 1 Sonoma State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Chico State 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Humboldt State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Cal State Hayward 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 San Francisco State 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll	1988 Western Football Conference standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Portland State $^ 6 – 0 – 0 11 – 3 – 1 No. 10 Sacramento State ^ 4 – 2 – 0 10 – 3 – 0 Santa Clara 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Cal Poly 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 1 Cal State Northridge 2 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Southern Utah State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Cal Lutheran 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

Conference summaries

See also: List of NCAA Division II football seasons

Conference Champions

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Winston-Salem State Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Hillsdale Gulf South Conference – Jacksonville State, Mississippi College, and Tennessee–Martin Lone Star Conference – Texas A&I Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Central Missouri State, Southeast Missouri State, and Northeast Missouri State North Central Conference – North Dakota State Northern California Athletic Conference – UC Davis Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota State–Moorhead Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Millersville (East), Shippensburg (West) Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Colorado Mesa South Atlantic Conference – Carson-Newman, Catawba, and Lenoir-Rhyne Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Albany State Western Football League – Portland State

Postseason

1988 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	16
Finals Site	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL
Champion	North Dakota State (2nd title, title game)
Runner-up	Portland State (2nd title game)
Semifinalists	Sacramento State Texas A&I
Winning coach	championship

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 college football. The championship game was held at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, for the third time.

Playoff bracket

	First round Campus sites				Quarterfinals Campus sites				Semifinals Campus sites				Championship Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL
	North Dakota State	41
	Augustana (SD)	7
					North Dakota State	36
					Millersville	26
	Millersville	27
	Indiana (PA)	24
									North Dakota State	42
									Sacramento State	20
	Sacramento State	35
	UC Davis	14
					Sacramento State	56
					North Carolina Central	7
	North Carolina Central	31
	Winston-Salem State	16
													North Dakota State	35
													Portland State	21
	Texas A&I	39
	Mississippi College	15
					Texas A&I	34
					Tennessee–Martin	0
	Tennessee–Martin	23
	Butler	6
									Texas A&I	27
									Portland State	35
	Portland State	34
	Bowie State	17
					Portland State	20
					Jacksonville State	13
	Jacksonville State	63
	West Chester	24