1989 NAIA Division I football season

The 1989 NAIA Division I football season was the 34th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 20th season of play of the NAIA's top division for football.

The season was played from August to November 1989 and culminated in the 1989 NAIA Champion Bowl playoffs and the 1989 NAIA Champion Bowl, played this year on December 16, 1989 again at Burke–Tarr Stadium in Jefferson City, Tennessee, on the campus of Carson–Newman College.

Carson–Newman defeated in the Champion Bowl, 34–20, to win their fifth, and second consecutive, NAIA national title. It was the Eagles' fourth straight appearance in the Champion Bowl, going 2–1 in the previous two.

Rankings
Final NAIA Division I poll rankings: