1981 NCAA Championships
Champions, team standings, and brackets for 8 of the 10 weights.
Most falls in the least time: Jerry Kelly, Oklahoma State · 4 falls in 20:14
Individual champions
| Weight | Champion | Program | Title bout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 118 | Gene Mills (1) · 2nd titleSyracuse (NY) | Syracuse (NY) | Fall 6:35 over John Hartupee (10), Central Michigan |
| 126 | Dan Cuestas (2)California-Bakersfield | California-Bakersfield | Dec 7–5 over Dave Cooke (8), North Carolina |
| 134 | Jim Gibbons (6)Iowa State | Iowa State | MD 16–8 over Darryl Burley (1), Lehigh (PA) |
| 142 | Andre Metzger (2)Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Dec 10–6 over Lennie Zalesky (1), Iowa |
| 150 | Nate Carr Sr. (1)Iowa State | Iowa State | Dec 10–5 over Scott Trizzino (2), Iowa |
| 158 | Dave Schultz (1)Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Fall 4:56 over Ricky Stewart (2), Oklahoma State |
| 167 | Mark Schultz (3)Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Dec 10–4 over Mike DeAnna (1), Iowa |
| 177 | Ed Banach (2)Iowa | Iowa | Fall 4:15 over Charlie Heller (4), Clarion (PA) |
| 190 | Tom Martucci (8)New Jersey (TCNJ) | New Jersey (TCNJ) | Dec 4–3 over Tony Mantella, Temple (PA) |
| Unlimited | Lou Banach (3)Iowa | Iowa | Fall 5:45 over Bruce Baumgartner (1), Indiana State |
Team standings
Scoring details →Published standings · Source: NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Records Book, All-Time Team Results, 1981
| Rank | Program | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa | 129.75 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 100.25 |
| 3 | Iowa State | 84.75 |
| 4 | Oklahoma State | 68.5 |
| 5 | Lehigh (PA) | 38 |
| 6 | Penn State | 31.75 |
| 7 | Syracuse (NY) | 30.5 |
| 8 | Central Michigan | 28.75 |
| 9 | Auburn (AL) | 25.75 |
| 10 | Oregon State | 25.25 |
| 11 | Arizona State | 24.5 |
| 12 | Northern Iowa | 22.25 |
| 13 | North Carolina | 22 |
| T14 | Indiana State | 20.75 |
| T14 | Kent State (OH) | 20.75 |
| 16 | Clarion (PA) | 19.5 |
| 17 | Temple (PA) | 16.75 |
| T18 | Kentucky | 16.5 |
| T18 | Minnesota | 16.5 |
| 20 | North Carolina State | 15.75 |
Show all 67 teams
| Rank | Program | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | Portland State (OR) | 15.5 |
| 22 | Oregon | 15 |
| 23 | San Jose State (CA) | 14.75 |
| 24 | Louisiana State | 14.25 |
| 25 | Michigan | 13.5 |
| 26 | Hofstra (NY) | 13.25 |
| 27 | Wisconsin | 12.75 |
| 28 | Michigan State | 12 |
| 29 | Missouri | 11 |
| 30 | Cleveland State (OH) | 8.5 |
| T31 | Franklin & Marshall (PA) | 8 |
| T31 | Nebraska | 8 |
| 33 | Cornell (NY) | 7.25 |
| 34 | Rhode Island | 6.25 |
| 35 | Bloomsburg (PA) | 5.25 |
| T36 | Indiana (IN) | 5 |
| T36 | Princeton (NJ) | 5 |
| T36 | Washington State | 5 |
| 39 | Navy (MD) | 4.75 |
| T40 | Slippery Rock (PA) | 3.5 |
| T40 | Tennessee-Chattanooga | 3.5 |
| 42 | Boise State (ID) | 3 |
| 43 | Northwestern (IL) | 2.75 |
| T44 | California-Poly | 2.5 |
| T44 | Lock Haven (PA) | 2.5 |
| T44 | Old Dominion (VA) | 2.5 |
| T47 | Appalachian State (NC) | 2 |
| T47 | Maryland | 2 |
| T47 | New Mexico | 2 |
| T47 | Ohio State | 2 |
| T47 | Rutgers (NJ) | 2 |
| T47 | Wyoming | 2 |
| T53 | Citadel (SC) | 1.75 |
| T53 | James Madison (VA) | 1.75 |
| T55 | Columbia (NY) | 1.5 |
| T55 | Millersville (PA) | 1.5 |
| T55 | Rider (NJ) | 1.5 |
| T58 | Army (NY) | 1 |
| T58 | Boston (MA) | 1 |
| T58 | Clemson (SC) | 1 |
| T58 | Delaware | 1 |
| T58 | Illinois State | 1 |
| T58 | Southern Oregon | 1 |
| T58 | West Chester (PA) | 1 |
| T66 | Illinois | 0.5 |
| T66 | Miami (OH) | 0.5 |
| T66 | Northern Illinois | 0.5 |
50 more programs that entered but are not in the published standings
* Calculated from the bouts under the 1981 scoring rules.