American college football season
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The 1980 East Texas State Lions football team represented East Texas State University—now known as Texas A&amp;M University–Commerce—as a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC) during the 1980 NAIA Division I football season. Led by 17th-year head coach Ernest Hawkins, the Lions compiled an overall record of 8–3–1 with a mark of 4–2–1 in conference play, placing fourth in the LSC. Two of the conference's members competed at the NCAA Division II level, while the rest remained in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Despite Southwest Texas State, an NCAA Division II member, winning the conference title, the NAIA division title was shared by East Texas State and . The Lions advanced to the NAIA Division I Football National Championship playoffs, where they beat in the quarterfinals before falling to Elon, the eventual national champion, in the semifinals.
East Texas State began the season 6–0 before dropping consecutive games to Southwest Texas State and . The Lions finished third in the NAIA poll. The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Commerce, Texas.
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