1980–81 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team

The 1980–81 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team represented the University of South Alabama during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Jaguars were led by head coach Cliff Ellis, in his sixth year as head coach. They played their home games at the Mobile Civic Center, and were members of the Sun Belt Conference. South Alabama finished the season 25–6, 9–3 in Sun Belt play to finish tied for first place. They were invited to the NIT tournament, where they lost to in the quarterfinals.

Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=| Regular season

!colspan=9 style=| Sun Belt Conference tournament

!colspan=9 style=| NIT tournament