1987 Murcian regional election, Opinion polls
The table below lists voting intention estimates in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a given poll. When available, seat projections are also displayed below the voting estimates in a smaller font. 23 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Regional Assembly of Murcia.


1987 NAIA Division I football season
The 1987 NAIA Division I football season was the 32nd season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 18th season of play of the NAIA's top division for football.


1987 NAIA Division I football season
The season was played from August to November 1987 and culminated in the 1987 NAIA Champion Bowl playoffs and the 1987 NAIA Champion Bowl, played this year on December 19, 1987 at Cameron Stadium in Lawton, Oklahoma, on the campus of Cameron University.


1987 NAIA Division I football season
Cameron defeated Carson–Newman in the Champion Bowl (a re-match of the previous year's final, won by the Eagles), 30–2, to win their first NAIA national title.


1987 NAIA Division II football season
The 1987 NAIA Division II football season, as part of the 1987 college football season in the United States and the 32nd season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 18th season of play of the NAIA's lower division for football.


1987 NAIA Division II football season
The season was played from August to November 1987 and culminated in the 1987 NAIA Division II Football National Championship, played at the Tacoma Dome near the campus of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.


1987 NAIA Division II football season
Pacific Lutheran and Wisconsin–Stevens Point played to a tie, 16–16, and were declared co-national champions. It was Pacific Lutheran's second NAIA national title and UWSP's first. However, the Pointers were later forced to vacate their title after it was discovered they had been using an ineligible player.


1987 NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1987 NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament was held in March at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The 50th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.


1987 NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament, 1987 NAIA bracket, 3rd place game
The third place game featured the losing teams from the national semifinalist to determine 3rd and 4th places in the tournament. This game was played until 1988.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 39th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 16th modern-era cup series. The season began on February 8 and ended on November 22. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing won the championship for the third time.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1987 season was the first since 1959 without NASCAR legend David Pearson.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Team changes
After three championships together in 1981, 1982, and 1985, Darrell Waltrip decided to move from the No. 11 Junior Johnson Chevrolet to the new No. 17 Chevrolet, a third full-time Hendrick Motorsports team.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Team changes
A famous quote stemmed from this move, which crew chief Jeff Hammond describes in his book Real Men Work In the Pits went like this:


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Team changes
"I finally got me a thoroughbred." – Darrell Waltrip, referring to his new ride.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Team changes
"I don't know about any thoroughbred. I do know we had a jackass around here who recently left." – Junior Johnson


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Team changes
The rest of "silly season" looked like this among full-time teams: Terry Labonte left the No. 44 Piedmont Oldsmobile owned by Billy Hagan to replace Waltrip in the No. 11. Johnson decided to disband the No. 12 Budweiser team and let go driver Neil Bonnett, who moved to the No. 75 Pontiac. Morgan Shepherd vacated the No. 75 in favor of the No. 26 Buick owned by Kenny Bernstein, driven by Joe Ruttman in 1986. Phil Parsons would replace older brother Benny in the No. 55 Oldsmobile owned by Leo and Richard Jackson. Lake Speed started out 1986 in the No. 75 RahMoc ride but was let go early in the season. Speed would form his own team for 1987 in the No. 83 Oldsmobile.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Team changes
A few car number changes took place as well. Kyle Petty would continue to drive the Wood Brothers Ford, switching from No. 7 to No. 21. Alan Kulwicki took the No. 7 for his independent team. Cale Yarborough exited the No. 28 Ford team and drove his self-owned No. 29 Oldsmobile. Davey Allison would compete for Rookie Of The Year in the Harry Ranier No. 28 Ford.. Michael Waltrip would continue driving for Chuck Rider but switched from the No. 23 Chevrolet to the No. 30 Chevrolet.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Team changes
Drivers remaining with the same teams from 1986 would be: No. 3 Dale Earnhardt (owner: Richard Childress), No. 4 Rick Wilson (Larry McClure)


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Team changes
No. 5 Geoff Bodine (Rick Hendrick), No. 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. (Stavola Brothers), No. 9 Bill Elliott ( Harry Melling), No. 15 Ricky Rudd (Bud Moore), No. 18 Tommy Ellis (Eric Freelander), No. 22 Bobby Allison (Stavola Brothers), No. 27 Rusty Wallace (Raymond Beadle), No. 33 Harry Gant (Hal Needham), No. 43 Richard Petty ( Petty Enterprises), No. 52 Jimmy Means, No. 70 J. D. McDuffie (Tom Winkle), No. 71 Dave Marcis, No. 88 Buddy Baker (Baker/Danny Schiff), No. 90 Ken Schrader (Junie Donlavey) and the part-time/independent efforts of No. 14 A. J. Foyt, No. 67 Buddy Arrington, No. 77 Ken Ragan (Marvin Ragan), No. 81 Chet Fillip (Corey Fillip) and No. 89 Jim Sauter (Mueller Brothers).


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Team changes
Top drivers out of a ride included Benny Parsons and Joe Ruttman.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Team changes
Those who officially threw their hat in the ring for NASCAR Rookie of the Year in 1987 would be: Davey Allison, Steve Christman (No. 62 AC Delco, Tom Winkle), Rodney Combs (No. 10 DiGard) and Derrike Cope (No. 19 Stoke Racing).


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Team changes
Ron Bouchard, Trevor Boys, Eddie Bierschwale and a host of others would battle for the remaining open spots.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Busch Clash
The Busch Clash, an annual invitational event for all Busch Pole winners the previous season, was held February 8 at Daytona International Speedway. Bill Elliott drew for the pole. Alan Kulwicki was the wild card.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 7-Eleven Twin 125's
The 7-Eleven Twin 125's, a pair of qualifying races for the Daytona 500, were held February 12 at Daytona International Speedway. Bill Elliott and Davey Allison won the poles for both races, respectively, as a result of their speeds in qualifying on February 9.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Goodwrench 500
The Goodwrench 500 was held March 1 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Davey Allison won his first career pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Miller High Life 400
The Miller High Life 400 was held March 8 at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. Alan Kulwicki won his first career pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Motorcraft Quality Parts 500
The Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 was held March 15 at Atlanta International Raceway. Dale Earnhardt won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, TranSouth 500
The TranSouth 500 was held March 29 at Darlington Raceway. Bill Elliott was leading at the white flag but ran out of gas in Turn 3. This allowed Dale Earnhardt to overtake Elliott and cruise to victory. Ken Schrader won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, First Union 400
The First Union 400 was held April 5 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Bill Elliott won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Valleydale Meats 500
The Valleydale Meats 500 was held April 12 at Bristol International Raceway. Harry Gant won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Sovran Bank 500
The Sovran Bank 500 was held April 26 at Martinsville Speedway. The No. 26 of Morgan Shepherd won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Winston 500
The Winston 500 was held May 3 at Alabama International Motor Speedway. Bill Elliott won the pole at a record speed of 212.809 mph (44.998 seconds), a record that still stands today and will likely never be broken.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, The Winston
The Winston, an annual invitational race for previous winners in Winston Cup, was held May 17 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Coca-Cola 600
The Coca-Cola 600 was held May 24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 9 of Bill Elliott won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Budweiser 500
The Budweiser 500 was held May 31 at Dover Downs International Speedway. Bill Elliott won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Miller High Life 500
The Miller High Life 500 was held June 14 at Pocono International Raceway. The No. 11 of Terry Labonte won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Budweiser 400
The Budweiser 400 was held June 21 at Riverside International Raceway. Terry Labonte won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Miller American 400
The Miller American 400 was held June 28 at Michigan International Speedway. Rusty Wallace won his 1st career pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Pepsi Firecracker 400
The Pepsi Firecracker 400 was held July 4 at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 28 of Davey Allison won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Pepsi Firecracker 400
Failed to qualify: 0-Delma Cowart, 6-Connie Saylor, 39-Blackie Wangerin, 48-Tony Spanos, 62-Steve Christman, 70-J. D. McDuffie, 73-Phil Barkdoll, 74-Bobby Wawak


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Summer 500
The Summer 500 was held July 19 at Pocono International Raceway. Tim Richmond won the pole for the final time in his career.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Talladega 500
The Talladega 500 was held July 26 at Alabama International Motor Speedway. Bill Elliott won the pole at 203.827 mph (328.028 km/h) with the smaller Busch series carburetors.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Budweiser at The Glen
The Budweiser at The Glen was held August 10 at Watkins Glen International. Terry Labonte won the pole. The race started a day late due to rain.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Champion Spark Plug 400
The Champion Spark Plug 400 was held August 16 at Michigan International Speedway. Davey Allison won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Busch 500
The Busch 500 was held August 22 at Bristol International Raceway. Terry Labonte won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Busch 500
Failed to qualify: Tony Spanos (No. 48), Troy Beebe (No. 6), Mike Potter (No. 81), J. D. McDuffie (No. 70)


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Southern 500
The Southern 500 was held September 6 at Darlington Raceway. Davey Allison won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Wrangler Jeans Indigo 400
The Wrangler Jeans Indigo 400 was held September 13 at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. Alan Kulwicki won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Delaware 500
The Delaware 500 was held September 20 at Dover Downs International Speedway. Alan Kulwicki won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Goody's 500
The Goody's 500 was held September 27 at Martinsville Speedway. Geoff Bodine won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Holly Farms 400
The Holly Farms 400 was held October 4 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Bill Elliott won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Oakwood Homes 500
The Oakwood Homes 500 was held October 11 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Bobby Allison won the pole for the final time in his career.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, AC Delco 500
The AC Delco 500 was held October 25 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Davey Allison won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Winston Western 500
The Winston Western 500 was held November 8 at Riverside International Raceway. Geoff Bodine won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Winston Western 500
Failed to qualify: Trevor Boys (No. 12), John Krebs (No. 66), Brad Noffsinger (No. 98), St. James Davis, Jack Sellers


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Atlanta Journal 500
The Atlanta Journal 500 was held November 22 at Atlanta International Raceway. Bill Elliott won the pole.


1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Rookie of the Year
Davey Allison won the Rookie of the Year award in 1987, winning two races for Harry Ranier after making an aborted attempt at the award the previous season. He was followed by Dale Jarrett, who had two top-ten finishes, and Steve Christman, who did not race in NASCAR again following the season. The other contenders were Rodney Combs, Derrike Cope, and Jerry Cranmer, all running incomplete schedules.


1987 NBA All-Star Game
The 37th National Basketball Association All-Star Game was played on February 8, 1987, at Seattle's Kingdome. Seattle SuperSonics power forward Tom Chambers was the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP).


1987 NBA All-Star Game
The Eastern Conference team consisted of the Washington Bullets' Moses Malone and Jeff Malone, the Philadelphia 76ers' Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks and Charles Barkley, the Boston Celtics' Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, the Detroit Pistons' Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer, the Atlanta Hawks' Dominique Wilkins and the Chicago Bulls' Michael Jordan.


1987 NBA All-Star Game
In addition to game MVP Tom Chambers, the Western Conference team featured the Los Angeles Lakers' Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Golden State Warriors' Sleepy Floyd and Joe Barry Carroll, the Dallas Mavericks' Rolando Blackman and Mark Aguirre, the San Antonio Spurs' Alvin Robertson, the Phoenix Suns' Walter Davis, the Denver Nuggets' Alex English and the Houston Rockets' Akeem Olajuwon. Houston's Ralph Sampson was selected but unable to play due to injury.


1987 NBA All-Star Game
The coach of the Eastern team was Boston's K.C. Jones. The coach of the Western team was the Lakers' Pat Riley.


1987 NBA All-Star Game, Rosters
Ralph Sampson was unable to play due to injury. Tom Chambers was selected as his replacement.


1987 NBA Finals
The 1987 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1986–87 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Eastern Conference and defending NBA champion Boston Celtics 4 games to 2. The key moment of the series was Magic Johnson's baby sky hook in Game 4. This was the tenth time that the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA Finals (more than any other Finals matchup). It would be the Celtics' last Finals appearance until the two teams met in 2008.


1987 NBA Finals
This was the first NBA Championship Series conducted entirely in June. The last time there were no NBA Championship Series games in May was in the 1970–1971 season, when the finals (a four-game sweep that year) ended on April 30. It is also the first NBA Finals series to be conducted on a Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday rotation, which was in use until 1990 and revived since the 2004 NBA Finals; in between the NBA Finals were conducted on a Sunday-Wednesday-Friday rotation.


1987 NBA Finals, Background, Boston Celtics
Thanks to the 1984 trade of Gerald Henderson and the subsequent fall of the Seattle SuperSonics, at the end of 1985–86 the Celtics were not only the best team in the NBA but also owned the second pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. They chose Len Bias with the pick and had high hopes that the presence of the young Maryland Terrapins star would ensure that the franchise would remain a powerhouse after Bird, McHale, and Parish retired. Unfortunately, Bias died 48 hours after being drafted, after using cocaine at a party and overdosing.


1987 NBA Finals, Background, Boston Celtics
The Celtics finished the regular season with a 59–23 record, best in the Eastern Conference. Despite retaining the core of the team that won the championship a year earlier, Boston endured numerous injuries to its roster. Their bench, an asset of the previous year's team, was decimated by injuries to Scott Wedman and Bill Walton.


1987 NBA Finals, Background, Boston Celtics
With limited options, head coach K. C. Jones was forced to give his starting five of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge extended minutes, but the lengthy playing time took its toll on the players' health, and by the start of the playoffs, the Celtics were a roster full of walking wounded.


1987 NBA Finals, Background, Boston Celtics
After sweeping the Chicago Bulls in the first round, the Celtics were pushed to a Game 7 in the next two rounds by the Milwaukee Bucks and the Detroit Pistons, only to advance each time. Still, the Celtics' health became a question mark as they entered the Finals.


1987 NBA Finals, Background, Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers finished the regular season with a league-best 65–17 record. Head coach Pat Riley made a strategical move, shifting the offensive focus to Magic Johnson. The Lakers acquired center Mychal Thompson via trade midway through the season. Both moves helped alleviate the load off of the aging Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who turned 40 during the playoffs. A. C. Green supplanted Kurt Rambis in the starting lineup.


1987 NBA Finals, Background, Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers' path to the Finals proved to be smoother. They swept the Denver Nuggets in the first round, defeated the Golden State Warriors in five games during the second round, and swept the Seattle SuperSonics in the conference finals.


1987 NBA Finals, Background, Regular season series
The Los Angeles Lakers won both games in the regular season series:


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 1
The Lakers were coming off a four-game sweep of the Seattle SuperSonics, while the Celtics were coming off a grueling seven-game win over the Detroit Pistons. Magic Johnson led a 126–113 victory with 29 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and no turnovers. James Worthy, on the receiving end of many of Johnson's passes, had 33 points and nine rebounds. The Lakers ran 35 fast breaks in the first two quarters and led by 15 at intermission.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 2
The Celtics plan for Game 2 was to concentrate on stopping Magic Johnson. Danny Ainge, at 6'5", could not deal with the 6'9" Magic. In this game, Michael Cooper emerged as a great 3 point shooter. He hit six 3 pointers, a playoff record. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar added 23 points on 10 of 14 shots, while Magic posted 20 assists and 22 points. It all added up to a 141–122 rout, Boston's sixth straight road loss in the playoffs.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 3
The Celtics recovered from their two knockout blows in Games 1 and 2 with a counterpunch of their own. A little-used backup center, Greg Kite, provided the spark. Kite, entering the game late in the first quarter when Robert Parish encountered foul trouble, played 20 minutes, and while he failed to score, he grabbed nine rebounds, blocked a Magic Johnson layup, and did solid body work on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The defensive minutes Kite gave Boston from the bench were just enough, as Larry Bird scored 30 points and Dennis Johnson hit 11 of 22 attempts from the field to finish with 26 points. The resurgent Celtics shot 17 of 21 from the floor in the second quarter.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 3
Kevin McHale Celtics' forward bounced back in Boston with 21 points and 10 rebounds while letting the air out of James Worthy's game, limiting the Lakers' forward to only 13 points and three rebounds. Magic led the Lakers with 32 points in the 109–103 loss.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 4
After their Game 3 win, Larry Bird said. "This (Game 3) was the most important game of the series for us. If we lost, it might've been tough to get up for Game 4. Now it's going to be easy."


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 4
The Celtics took it right to the Lakers, controlling the boards and taking a 55–47 lead into halftime. The Celtics had a balanced scoring attack with Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Danny Ainge, and Dennis Johnson all scoring in double figures. In the 3rd quarter, Bird finally got hot by scoring 12 in the quarter and helping the Celtics lead by as many as 16 points. But Los Angeles fought back to cut the Celtics lead to 85-78 going into the 4th.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 4
In the 4th quarter the Lakers continued fighting back until they managed to tie the game at 95–95 on a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar skyhook with 5:30 remaining. The Celtics responded on both ends of the court by going on an 8–0 run, helped by good defense which led to 2 fast-break lay-ups to take a 103–96 lead with 2 minutes left. Then the Lakers called time out. On the Celtics' next possession, Robert Parish lost the ball to Michael Cooper. Cooper passed the ball ahead to Magic Johnson, who started a break. Cooper spotted up in 3-point territory, while Magic drove, forcing Cooper's defender to help out. Magic then kicked the ball out to a now wide open Cooper who drilled the three to cut the lead to 103–100.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 4
On the Celtics next possession, Larry Bird forced a pass to Kevin McHale in the post, which instead sailed out of bounds, giving possession right back to the Lakers. James Worthy then hit a tough fade-away over Kevin McHale and Robert Parish in the lane to cut the deficit to one. On the very next possession, Bird missed a step-back jumper over the outstretched frame of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the Lakers got the ball back with just under 45 seconds remaining. The Lakers called a timeout to set up a pick for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The pass was there for an alley-oop dunk, and the Lakers took a 104–103 lead, their first lead since early in the 1st quarter. The Celtics called timeout with 29 seconds left in the game.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 4
Out of the timeout Bird threw the ball inbounds and was immediately face-guarded by James Worthy. In fact, Worthy had a fist-full of Bird's jersey to make sure Bird would not score. With Worthy's defense, the Celtics could not get their best player the ball and instead went through the motions of their offense until Danny Ainge got open. That forced Worthy to let go of Bird and help out on Ainge. Bird immediately got himself open by going to the 3-point line right in front of the Lakers' bench. Ainge found Bird wide open and Bird hit the three point bomb with 12 seconds left, to put Boston up 106-104 and sent the Boston Garden crowd into a frenzy.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 4
On the next possession, Abdul-Jabbar was fouled and went to the line, where he made the first and missed the second. The officials ruled that McHale fumbled the ball out of bounds with seven seconds left.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 4
What followed was another play for the ages. Magic set a pick on Kevin McHale, which almost opened up a lay-up for Worthy, but Dennis Johnson was able to switch over in time on help defend. However, that left McHale scrambling to guard Magic who just got open and received the inbounds pass near the left sideline. Twenty feet from the basket, Magic had the advantage on the post-defender McHale, who was also playing through a bad ankle injury. Magic dribbled, hesitated to get McHale off-balance, then drove into the paint. Magic then lofted a hook shot, which just cleared the fingertips of both McHale and Parish, and swished through the net giving the Lakers a 107–106 lead with only 2 seconds left.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 4
The Celtics still had one last shot, Dennis inbounded the ball to Bird, who had broke to the corner. Larry, to his surprise, found himself wide open behind the 3-point line right in front of the Lakers' bench. Bird caught the in bounds pass from Johnson, turned, and put up a fall-away jumper as time expired. The shot barely missed as the Boston crowd let out a collective groan and the Lakers' bench danced off the court to celebrate the victory. The win gave the Lakers a commanding 3–1 series lead.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 5
The Celtics had to win Game 5 in the Garden, and would control most of the game. Danny Ainge set the tone by nailing 5 of 6 from 3-point range to give Boston early control, including a halfcourt heave at the buzzer before halftime.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 5
Magic countered for Los Angeles with 29 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds, and four steals, but he received little help. Before the game Bird had told his teammates, "If they want to celebrate, let's not let them do it on the parquet." The Celtics had incentive enough. They got their second win, 123–108, and the series jetted back across the continent.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar arrived for Game 6 with a shaved head and a determination to close out this series. For a while, though, it appeared like the Celtics would steal it. Magic Johnson had only four points at the half and Dennis Johnson poured in 18 for the Celtics on his way to a game-high 33 as Boston led 56–51 at intermission.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
The Lakers scored the first two baskets of the second half to cut it to 56–55. On the Celtics' ensuing possession, James Worthy deflected a pass and gave chase. Worthy went to the floor, batted the ball inbounds to a breaking Magic Johnson, and Magic slammed home a breakaway dunk. This gave the Lakers their first lead of the game 57–56, since early in the first quarter, and they never trailed again. The Lakers outscored the Celtics 30–12 in the third quarter for an 18-point turnaround, mostly on fast breaks. The score at the end of three quarters was 81–68, Lakers. The Celtics only scored 12 points in the third quarter, one more than the record for the lowest scoring quarter in playoff history.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
Worthy would finish with 22 points, and Mychal Thompson had 16 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, but the play of the Lakers' two superstars, Magic and Kareem, would be the dagger that finished off the Celtics. Magic recovered from his cold first half to post 16 points, 19 assists, and eight rebounds, and Kareem would pump in a team-high 32 points.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
"Magic is a great, great basketball player," Bird stated flatly, settling the issue for the moment. "The best I've ever seen."


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
Indeed, Magic would gain the NBA Finals MVP award and his fourth championship ring.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
"Back in the High Life Again" by Steve Winwood was the closing song at the end of this series.


1987 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
For the Lakers, this would be their last NBA Finals series triumph over the Celtics until 2010.


1987 NBA Finals, Television coverage
The Boston Celtics season documentary Home of the Brave, narrated by David Perry, recaps Boston's 1987 season while the Los Angeles Lakers documentary Drive for Five, narrated by legendary Lakers announcer Chick Hearn, recaps the Lakers' magnificent 1987 season en route to a fourth title of the 1980s.


1987 NBA Finals, Television coverage
CBS' James Brown filled in for Pat O'Brien when he attended the birth of his son. Brown was on for Games 3 and 4. Both Brown and O'Brien reported on the Lakers' sideline. While Lesley Visser was on for all the games as sideline reporter for CBS as she reported on the Celtics' sideline.


1987 NBA Finals, Television coverage
Dick Stockton and Tom Heinsohn worked play-by-play and color commentary respectively. It was the fourth consecutive and last Finals series to pair Stockton and Heinsohn together; Heinsohn was demoted in favor of Billy Cunningham following the series. At the time, Stockton and Heinsohn had worked the most number of NBA Finals series together. ESPN/ABC's Mike Breen, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy later broke the record for the most complete NBA Finals series called by a single television play-by-play/color commentary team following the 2011 NBA Finals.


1987 NBA Finals, Aftermath
The 1987 Finals would be the Celtics' last until 2008, but would be the last for the 'Big Three' of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. In K.C. Jones' final season as Celtics' coach they still won the Atlantic Division title by winning 57 games, but the Celtics fell in six games to the Detroit Pistons, in the rematch of their Eastern Conference Finals showdown in 1988. The Celtics would not reach that far again for the next 14 years.


1987 NBA Finals, Aftermath
Following their championship win, Lakers coach Pat Riley guaranteed a repeat championship during the team's championship parade a few days after winning the NBA Finals. The 1987-88 NBA season, despite winning three games less than the previous year, was still a success for the Lakers. However their playoff run would not be as smooth as expected. Other than a three-game first round sweep of the San Antonio Spurs, the Lakers were pushed to a Game 7 by the Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, and Detroit Pistons before claiming the first repeat championship since the Celtics of 1969.


1987 NBA Finals, Aftermath
Prior to 2008, the Celtics and Lakers came close to renewing their rivalry in the 2002 NBA Finals. But while the Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings 4–3, the Celtics lost to the New Jersey Nets 4–2 in their respective conference finals.


1987 NBA draft
The 1987 NBA draft was held on June 22, 1987, in New York City.


1987 NBA draft
This draft included two future members of the NBA 50 Greatest Players list, David Robinson and Scottie Pippen, as well as fellow Hall of Famer Reggie Miller. Other notable selections include Kevin Johnson, Kenny Smith,  Horace Grant,  Reggie Lewis, Muggsy Bogues, Mark Jackson, and Šarūnas Marčiulionis. Also in this draft, former Florida Gators men's basketball head coach Billy Donovan (drafted 68th by the Utah Jazz), who led that program to NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championships in 2006 and in 2007.


1987 NBA draft
David Robinson did not join the NBA until the 1989–90 season due to his service commitment with the United States Navy. This was the last NBA draft to go over three rounds, as it was reduced to exactly three next year and later to two since 1989.


1987 NBA draft, Draft selections, Notable post-second-round picks
These draft picks played at least one game in the NBA but were selected after the second round.


1987 NBA draft, Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the draft but still appeared in at least one regular or postseason NBA game.


1987 NBA playoffs
The 1987 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1986–87 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. The Lakers earned their 10th NBA championship, and Magic Johnson was named NBA Finals MVP for a then-record third time.


1987 NBA playoffs
This was the last time the Celtics would appear in the NBA Finals until 2008. Boston only advanced as far as the Conference Finals twice in that stretch: losing the following year to the Detroit Pistons in six games and in 2002 to the New Jersey Nets, also in 6 games.


1987 NBA playoffs
The Pistons appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals was the franchise's first (and their first Division/Conference Final appearance since 1962). It would be the first of five straight Conference Finals appearances for Detroit. They would make their first NBA Finals appearance since 1956 the following season, the first of 3 straight trips to the Finals (winning the last 2).


1987 NBA playoffs
The Warriors & Pacers made their first playoff appearances since 1977 and 1981 respectively. The Pacers also won their first NBA playoff game, in Game 3 of their first-round series against the Hawks.


1987 NBA playoffs
Game 5 of the Philadelphia/Milwaukee series would the final game in the amazing career of Julius Erving.


1987 NBA playoffs
By beating Dallas 3–1, the SuperSonics became the first #7 seed to defeat a #2 seed since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1984. They reached the Western Conference Finals, where they were swept by the Lakers. As of 2016, they are the most recent team with a sub-.500 record (39-43) to advance as far as the conference finals. The 1989 & 1991 Warriors, 1998 Knicks and 2010 Spurs were the other 7th seeds to beat the 2nd seed.


1987 NBA playoffs
One of the most memorable moments of the playoffs occurred in the final moments of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals when, with Boston down 107-106, Isiah Thomas had his inbounds pass stolen by Larry Bird, who passed to Dennis Johnson for the game-winning layup.


1987 NBA playoffs
The only dent in the Lakers' run to the Finals came in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Warriors, when Sleepy Floyd scored a playoff record 39 points in the second half, with a record 29 coming in the fourth quarter, to seal a 129-121 win. Both records still stand.


1987 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) Chicago Bulls
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first two meetings.


1987 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (2) Atlanta Hawks vs. (7) Indiana Pacers
This was the first playoff meeting between the Hawks and the Pacers.


1987 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (3) Detroit Pistons vs. (6) Washington Bullets
This was the first playoff meeting between the Pistons and the Bullets.


1987 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (4) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (5) Philadelphia 76ers
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers winning four of the first six meetings.


1987 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Denver Nuggets
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first two meetings.


1987 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (2) Dallas Mavericks vs. (7) Seattle SuperSonics
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Mavericks winning the first meeting.


1987 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) Houston Rockets
This was the first playoff meeting between the Rockets and the Trail Blazers.


1987 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (4) Utah Jazz vs. (5) Golden State Warriors
This was the first playoff meeting between the Warriors and the Jazz.


1987 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Milwaukee Bucks
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning three of the first four meetings.


1987 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) Atlanta Hawks vs. (3) Detroit Pistons
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning three of the first four meetings. It is the first win for the Pistons since the franchise moved to Detroit.


1987 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Golden State Warriors
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning four of the first five meetings.


1987 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (6) Houston Rockets vs. (7) Seattle SuperSonics
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the SuperSonics winning the first meeting.


1987 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (1) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Detroit Pistons
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first two meetings.


1987 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (7) Seattle SuperSonics
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the SuperSonics winning two of the first three meetings.


1987 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals: (W1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E1) Boston Celtics
This was the tenth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning eight of the first nine meetings.


1987 NBL Finals
The 1987 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 1987 season of Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Brisbane Bullets defeated the Perth Wildcats in two games (2-0) for their second NBL championship.


1987 NBL Finals, Format
The 1987 National Basketball League Finals started on 30 September and concluded on 16 October. The playoffs consisted of two best of three Semi-finals and the best of three game Grand Final series.


1987 NBL Finals, Qualification, Ladder
This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. The top 6 teams qualified for the finals series.


1987 NBL Finals, Qualification, Ladder
The NBL tie-breaker system as outlined in the NBL Rules and Regulations states that in the case of an identical win-loss record, the results in games played between the teams will determine order of seeding.


1987 NBL season
The 1987 NBL season was the ninth season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams contested the league. Three of the Melbourne based clubs rebranded themselves in the off season, with the Nundawading Spectres renaming themselves to Eastside Spectres, Coburg Giants became North Melbourne Giants and the St. Kilda Saints became Westside Saints.


1987 NBL season, Clubs
The NBL had 14 clubs spread across all Australian states and territories with the exception of the Northern Territory.


1987 NBL season, Regular season
The 1987 regular season took place over 22 rounds between 24 April 1987 and 20 September 1987.


1987 NBL season, Ladder
The NBL tie-breaker system as outlined in the NBL Rules and Regulations states that in the case of an identical win-loss record, the results in games played between the teams will determine order of seeding.


1987 NBL season, Ladder
1Head-to-Head between Brisbane Bullets and Illawarra Hawks (1-1). Brisbane Bullets won For and Against (+11).


1987 NBL season, Ladder
2Head-to-Head between Eastside Spectres and Geelong Cats (1-1). Eastside Spectres won For and Against (+7).


1987 NC State Wolfpack football team
The 1987 NC State Wolfpack football team represented North Carolina State University during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Dick Sheridan. NC State has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since the league's inception in 1953. The Wolfpack played its home games in 1987 at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, which has been NC State football's home stadium since 1966.


1987 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1987 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, a double-elimination tournament in its forty first year. Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event. Each region was composed of six teams, resulting in 48 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament. The forty-first tournament's champion was Stanford, coached by Mark Marquess. The Most Outstanding Player was Paul Carey of Stanford.


1987 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, National seeds
For the first time, the NCAA selected eight national seeds and placed each in a different regional.


1987 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Regionals
The opening rounds of the tournament were played across eight regional sites across the country, each consisting of six teams. The winners of each Regional advanced to the College World Series.


1987 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, College World Series
This was the last CWS to use a double-elimination format through the championship game. Under the format used from 1950 through 1987, the bracket was often adjusted after the field was pared to four teams in order to avoid rematches from earlier rounds. Starting in 1988 and continuing through 2002, the eight teams were divided into two four-team brackets, with the bracket winners meeting in a single championship game. In 2003, the single championship game was changed to a best-of-three series.


1987 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, College World Series
This CWS was best known for Stanford's dramatic 6-5 win over LSU in an elimination game. In that game, Stanford trailed 5-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning with 2 outs and nobody on base. Eventually, Freshman outfielder Paul Carey hit a walk off grand slam home run off LSU freshman (and future major leaguer) Ben McDonald to win the game.


1987 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The 1987 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were the 49th annual NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship and the 7th annual NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA Division I men's and women's collegiate cross country running in the United States. In all, four different titles were contested: men's and women's individual and team championships.


1987 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
Held on November 23, 1987, the combined meet was hosted by the University of Virginia at the Foxfield Course in Charlottesville, Virginia. The distance for the men's race was 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) while the distance for the women's race was 5 kilometers (3.11 miles).


1987 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The men's team national championship was won by Arkansas, their third national title. The individual championship was won by Joe Falcon, also from Arkansas, with a time of 29:14.97.


1987 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The women's team national championship was won by Oregon, their second national title. The individual championship was won by Kimberly Betz, from Indiana, with a then-event record time of 16:10.85.


1987 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship
The 1987 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship was the seventh women's collegiate field hockey tournament organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, to determine the top college field hockey team in the United States. The Maryland Terrapins won their first championship, defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels in the final. The championship rounds were held at Navy Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.


1987 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
The 1987 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships were contested March 13−14, 1987 at the Myriad Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's NCAA collegiate indoor track and field events in the United States. These were the 23nd annual men's championships and the 5th annual women's championships.


1987 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
Three-time defending champions Arkansas claimed the men's team title, the Razorbacks' fourth overall title and, ultimately, the third of twelve straight titles for Arkansas. LSU, meanwhile, claimed their first women's team title, topping the team standings by five points.


1987 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, Qualification
All teams and athletes from Division I indoor track and field programs were eligible to compete for this year's individual and team titles.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
The 1987 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game was the final round of the 1987 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and determined the national champion for the 1986-87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season  The 1987 National Title Game was played on March 30, 1987 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 1987 National Title Game was played between the 1987 Midwest Regional Champions, #1-seeded Indiana and the 1987 East Regional Champions, #2-seeded Syracuse.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
"One Shining Moment", which serves as the closing song for the NCAA Tournament coverage, was played for the first time after this game. It was originally slated to debut after Super Bowl XXI, which also aired on CBS, but was shelved due to player interviews taking up too much time and the network scheduling a primetime show immediately following said game.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Box Score
Syracuse led 73-72 with 28 seconds remaining, but Derrick Coleman missed the front end of a one-and-one, setting the stage for the game-winner from Keith Smart, who hit a jumper over Howard Triche with four seconds left. By the time Syracuse called timeout to set up a final play, there was one second remaining. A final desperation length-of-the-court pass was intercepted by Smart, who flung the ball into the stands, and the Hoosiers celebrated their national championship win.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's  NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1987, and ended with the championship game on March 30 in New Orleans, Louisiana. A total of 63 games were played.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Indiana, coached by Bob Knight, won the national title with a 74–73 victory in the final game over Syracuse, coached by Jim Boeheim. Keith Smart of Indiana, who hit the game-winner in the final seconds, and intercepted the full court pass at the last second, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The tournament also featured a "Cinderella team" in the Final Four, as Providence College, led by a then-unknown Rick Pitino, made their first Final Four appearance since 1973.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
One year after reaching the Final Four as a #11 seed, LSU made another deep run as a #10 seed in the Midwest region. The Tigers ousted #2 seed Temple in the second round and #3 seed DePaul in the Sweet 16 before losing 77-76 to top seeded Indiana in the Elite Eight.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
This was the last tournament in which teams were allowed to have home court advantage: national runner-up Syracuse (2E), DePaul (3MW), Arizona (10W) and UAB (11SE) all opened the tournament playing on their home courts. UAB and Arizona each lost in the first round, while DePaul won twice at the Rosemont Horizon. Under rules adopted in 1988, teams cannot play in a facility in which they play four or more regular season games.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament was also the first tournament to use the three-point shot.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1987 tournament:


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
For the second time, the Louisiana Superdome hosted the Final Four. There were four domed stadiums in the 1987 tournament, including Indianapolis, New Orleans, Seattle and Syracuse. There were two new venues, the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis and the Rosemont Horizon, located in suburban Chicago. This marked the first time the Tournament returned to the Chicago area in twenty years. This also marked the last appearance of the original Charlotte Coliseum, moving to the new Coliseum in 1991.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The 1987 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships were contested at the 49th annual NCAA-sanctioned golf tournament for determining the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate golf at the Division I level in the United States.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The tournament was held at the Ohio State University Golf Club in Columbus, Ohio.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
Oklahoma State won the team championship, the Cowboys' sixth NCAA title and first since 1983.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
Future professional Brian Watts, also from Oklahoma State, won the individual title.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, the 40th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 20 and 28, 1987, and concluded with North Dakota defeating Michigan State 5-3. All Quarterfinals matchups were held at home team venues while all succeeding games were played at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The NCAA permitted 8 teams to qualify for the tournament and divided its qualifiers into two regions (East and West). Each of the tournament champions from the four Division I conferences (CCHA, ECAC, Hockey East and WCHA) received automatic invitations into the tournament with At-large bids making up the remaining 4 teams, 1 from each conference.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The tournament featured three rounds of play. The two odd-number ranked teams from one region were placed into a bracket with the two even-number ranked teams of the other region. The teams were then seeded according to their ranking. In the Quarterfinals the first and fourth seeds and the second and third seeds played two-game aggregate series to determine which school advanced to the Semifinals. Beginning with the Semifinals all games were played at the Joe Louis Arena and all series became Single-game eliminations. The winning teams in the semifinals advanced to the National Championship Game with the losers playing in a Third Place game.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 1987 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament was the 17th annual Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. Twelve NCAA Division I college men's lacrosse teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
The championship game was played at Rutgers Stadium in front of 16,901 fans. The game saw the Johns Hopkins University defeat Cornell University by the score of 11–10. Craig Bubier’s goal with 1:51 left in the game gave Hopkins the victory. The title was the seventh NCAA title overall for the Blue Jays and the third in the prior four years.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
This was the seventh NCAA championship for Hopkins since tournament play began in 1971 and the 12th appearance in 16 title matches for the Blue Jays. Hopkins was sparked by goalkeeper Quint Kessenich, while National Hall of Fame member attackman Tim Goldstein tallied two goals and added six assists for Cornell. Cornell had defeated a Syracuse team, 18 to 15 in the semifinals, which featured Paul and Gary Gait, who would go on to capture three straight national title games.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament boxscores
Navy 14, Brown 6Brown  2 2 0 2 –6Navy  3 5 2 4 –14Brown scoring–Bernie Buonanno 2, Tom Towers 2, Chris Esemplare, Jamie Munro. Navy scoring–Michael Herger 6, Bob Wehman 3, Rich Schwarz 2, Brian Sullivan, Frank Snyder, BrianKeith. Shots: Brown 50, Navy 43. Saves: Brown 9, Navy 28.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was the 28th organized men's college soccer tournament by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, to determine the top college soccer team in the United States. The Clemson Tigers won their second national title by defeating the San Diego State Aztecs, 2–0, in the championship game. The final match was played on December 6, 1987, in Clemson, South Carolina, at Riggs Field. All the other games were played at the home field of the higher seeded team.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 1987 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships were contested in March 1987 at the Texas Swimming Center at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas at the 64th annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I men's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States. The men's and women's titles would not be held at the same site until 2006.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
Stanford once again topped the team standings, the Cardinal's third consecutive and fourth overall men's title.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
The 1987 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships were the 41st annual championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I men's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States. This year's tournaments were played in Athens, Georgia, hosted by the University of Georgia.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
The men's team championship was won by Georgia, their second team national title. The Bulldogs defeated UCLA in the final round, 5–1.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
The men's singles title was won by  South African Andrew Burrow from Miami (FL).


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
The men's doubles title was won by Rick Leach and Scott Melville from USC. This was Leach's second consecutive double's national title, having won the 1986 championship with Tim Pawsat.


1987 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships, Host site
The tournaments were played at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. The men's and women's tournaments would not be held at the same venue until 2006.


1987 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 1987 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were contested June 3−6, 1987, at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in order to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's collegiate Division I outdoor track and field events in the United States.


1987 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
These were the 65th annual men's championships and the sixth annual women's championships. This was the Tigers and Lady Tigers' third time hosting the event (although first as a combined men's and women's event) and the first since 1987.


1987 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
UCLA and LSU topped the men's and women's team standings, respectively; it was the Bruins' seventh men's team title and the first for the Lady Tigers. LSU's title would ultimately be the first of a record eleven consecutive national championships stretching from 1987 to 1997.


1987 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament was held in May as the conclusion of the 1987 NCAA Division I softball season. Sixteen Division I college softball teams competed in the NCAA tournament's first round, which consisted of eight regionals with two teams each. The winner of each region, a total of eight teams, advanced to the 1987 Women's College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The event, held from May 20 to 24, was the sixth NCAA-sponsored championship in the sport of college softball at the Division I level. Texas A&M won the championship by defeating UCLA 4–1 in the final game.


1987 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
The 1987 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships refer to one of two NCAA-sponsored events held during May 1987 to determine the national champions of men's and women's collegiate tennis in the United States:


1987 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
The men's and women's tournaments would not be held at the same site until 2006.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament began on March 11, ended on March 29, and featured 40 teams. The Final Four were Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, and Long Beach State, with Tennessee winning its first title with a 67-44 victory over Louisiana Tech. Tennessee's Tonya Edwards was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
Upsets were not unknown in the NCAA tournaments. For example, in the prior year, two 4 seeds made it to the Final Four. However, in the first five NCAA tournaments, once a team reached the Final Four, no team had beaten a higher seeded team. That changed in 1987.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
One semifinal game matched defending National Champion Texas against Louisiana Tech. Although both teams were 1 seeds, the Texas team came into the tournament with only a single regular season loss, earning them the number one ranking in the country. In addition, the Final Four was played on the home court of the Longhorns. Despite that, and a crowd of over 15 thousand, the largest crowd in the history of the sport, the Louisiana Tech team managed to beat the Texas team 79–75.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The Lady Techsters hit 58.3% of their field goals, the fourth best performance in NCAA Final Four history, and a blistering 73.9% in the second half, missing only six of the 23 shots taken in the second half. Texas tried to wear down Teresa Weatherspoon, but set an NCAA Final Four record with eleven assists, while putting in 19 points of her own.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The other semifinal game matched 2 seed Tennessee against 1 seed Long Beach State. Although Long Beach was averaging over 96 points per game, and had scored 102 in the West Regional Final against Ohio State, the Lady Vols held the team to 64 points, and upset the 1 seed by a score of 74–64.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The lone loss by Texas in the regular season had been to Tennessee, ending the Longhorns 40 game win streak, but the two teams played again two weeks later, and this time Texas emerged victorious, with a  14-point victory. Tennessee earned the number one ranking in the AP vote after the win over Texas, but they began to stumble after the loss to Texas, with losses to Auburn, Mississippi and Vanderbilt. They played Louisiana Tech in February, and the lady Techsters won by nine points, dropping the Lady Vols to ninth in the poll.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The Tennessee team earned a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but after their upset win against Long Beach, they faced the Louisiana Tech team again, a team that had beaten the Volunteers in 11 of the last 12 meetings. One of those meetings had been the 1982 National Championship game, when the Lady Techsters beat the Volunteers by 23 points. The 1987 Championship would turn that result on its head, as Tennessee won by 23 points, upsetting Louisiana Tech 67–44, for their first National Championship.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Records
Teresa Weatherspoon recorded 11 assists in the National Semifinal game, the most scored in a Final Four game since they started keeping records of this statistic in 1985.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams – automatic
Forty teams were selected to participate in the 1987 NCAA Tournament. Eighteen conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 1987 NCAA tournament.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams – at-large
Twenty-two additional teams were selected to complete the forty invitations.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by conference
Nineteen conferences earned an automatic bid. In eleven cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Nineteen at-large teams were selected from eight of the conferences. In addition, two independent (not associated with an athletic conference) teams earned at-large bids.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, First and second rounds
In 1987, the field remained at 40 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1-10 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 8 and 9 faced each other for the opportunity to face the 1 seed in the second round, while seeds 7 and 10 faced each other for the opportunity to face the 2 seed. In  the first two rounds, the higher seed was given the opportunity to host the first round game. In most cases, the higher seed accepted the opportunity. The exceptions:


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, First and second rounds
Because Oregon hosted both a first and second round game, there were only 23 first and second round locations, rather than 24.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, First and second rounds
The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the twenty-four first round locations:


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Regionals and Final Four
The Regionals, named  for the general location, were held from March 20 to March 23 at these sites:


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by state
The forty teams came from twenty states. Louisiana and Tennessee had the most teams with four each. Thirty states did not have any teams receiving bids.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Brackets
First and second round games played at higher seed except where noted.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Record by  conference
Fifteen conferences had more than one  bid, or at least one win in NCAA Tournament play:


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Record by  conference
Six conferences went  0-1: Big East, Gulf Star Conference, High Country, MAAC, MAC, and Mountain West


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The 1987 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship was the sixth annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national championship for Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women's college lacrosse. The championship game was played at Byrd Stadium in College Park, Maryland during May 1987.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
Penn State defeated Temple, 7–6, in the final to win their first championship.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The leading scorers for the tournament, both with 9 goals, were Karen Geromini, from New Hampshire, and Tami Worley, from Penn State. The Most Outstanding Player trophy was not awarded this year.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship, Qualification
All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship. In the end, 6 teams contested this tournament, an increase of two from the previous year.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament was the sixth annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate soccer. The championship game was played again at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Amherst, Massachusetts during December 1987.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
North Carolina defeated Massachusetts in the final, 1–0, to win their fifth national title. Coached by Anson Dorrance, the Tar Heels finished the season 23–0–1. This was the second of North Carolina's record nine consecutive national titles (1986–1994).


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The Most Outstanding Offensive Player was Michelle Akers from Central Florida, and the Most Outstanding Defensive Player was Debbie Belkin from Massachusetts. Akers was also the tournament's leading scorer (3 goals).


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Qualification
With the advent of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship in 1986, the tournament eligibility remained fixed for just Division I and Division II women's soccer programs. The Division II championship was not added until the following season, 1988. Nonetheless, the tournament field remained fixed at 12 teams.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 1987 NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships were contested at the sixth annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I women's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
This year's events were hosted by Indiana University at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
Texas again topped the team standings, finishing just 17 points ahead of Stanford; it was the Longhorns' fourth consecutive and fourth overall women's team title.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
The 1987 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships were the sixth annual championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I women's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States. This year's tournaments were held in Los Angeles, California, hosted by the University of California, Los Angeles.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
The women's team championship was won by Stanford, their third, and second consecutive, team national title. The Cardinal defeated Georgia in the final round, 5–1.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
Stanford's Patty Fendick repeated as the women's singles national champion, the first to accomplish this feat. It would not happen again until Lisa Raymond won back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
The women's doubles title was won by Katrina Adams and Diane Donnelly from Northwestern.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships, Host site
The tournaments were hosted by the University of California, Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Tennis Center in Los Angeles, California. The men's and women's tournaments would not be held at the same site until 2006.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Sphilbrick (talk | contribs) at 12:01, 11 April 2020 (link). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began with 32 teams and ended on December 19, 1987, when Hawaiʻi defeated Stanford 3 games to 1 in the NCAA championship match.


1987 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
Hawaiʻi won the school's third NCAA national title and fourth overall in women's volleyball, while Stanford finished as runners-up for the third time in four years. Hawaiʻi  was led by AVCA National Player of the Year Teee Williams' 17 kills.


1987 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
The 1987 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were the 57th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships to be held. The University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland hosted the tournament at Cole Field House.


1987 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Iowa State took home the team championship with 133 points and four individual champions.


1987 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
John Smith of Oklahoma State was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler and Lenny Bernstein of North Carolina received the Gorriaran Award.


1987 NCAA Division I baseball rankings
The following polls make up the 1987 NCAA Division I baseball rankings. Baseball America began publishing its poll of the top 20 teams in college baseball in 1981. Beginning with the 1985 season, it expanded to the top 25. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper published its first human poll of the top 20 teams in college baseball in 1957, and expanded to rank the top 30 teams in 1961.


1987 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, Baseball America
Currently, only the final poll from the 1987 season is available.


1987 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, Collegiate Baseball
Currently, only the final poll from the 1987 season is available.


1987 NCAA Division I baseball season
The 1987 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 1987. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1987 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the forty first time in 1987, consisted of one team from each of eight regional competitions and was held in Omaha, Nebraska at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. Stanford claimed the championship for the first time.


1987 NCAA Division I baseball season, Conference winners
This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1987 season. The NCAA sponsored regional competitions to determine the College World Series participants. Each of the eight regionals consisted of six teams competing in double-elimination tournaments, with the winners advancing to Omaha. 26 teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship while 22 teams earned at-large selections.


1987 NCAA Division I baseball season, College World Series
The 1987 season marked the forty first NCAA Baseball Tournament, which culminated with the eight team College World Series. The College World Series was held in Omaha, Nebraska. The eight teams played a double-elimination format, with Stanford claiming their first championship with a 9–5 win over Oklahoma State in the final.


1987 NCAA Division I softball season
The 1987 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 1987. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 1987 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament and 1987 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held in Omaha, Nebraska at Seymour Smith Park, ended on May 24, 1987.


1987 NCAA Division I softball season, Women's College World Series
The 1987 NCAA Women's College World Series took place from May 20 to May 24, 1987 in Omaha, Nebraska.


1987 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Two human polls comprised the 1987 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-A football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll.


1987 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its second national championship during the '80s in an Orange Bowl match-up featuring a rare No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup between the top ranked Oklahoma Sooners and the Hurricanes.


1987 NCAA Division I-A football season
Miami's first three games were against ranked opponents, in what was labeled as a rebuilding year, when after some late game theatrics by Michael Irvin against rival Florida State, the Hurricanes were 3–0, the national media started to take notice.


1987 NCAA Division I-A football season
Oklahoma was also seen as quite the juggernaut, averaging 428.8 yards rushing per game with their potent wishbone offense. Miami was able to hold Oklahoma to just 179 yards on the ground, winning the game 20–14.


1987 NCAA Division I-A football season
Also having notable seasons were Syracuse, LSU and Florida State. Syracuse finished the season 11–0–1 and ranked No. 4 after a controversial Sugar Bowl game in which Auburn kicked a late field goal to end the game in a tie. LSU went 10–1–1, ending the season ranked No. 5. This was LSU's first ten win season in 26 years and their highest ranking since 1961.


1987 NCAA Division I-A football season
Florida State finished ranked No. 2, their only loss to Miami, and began a streak of 14 years where FSU finished in the top 5. The Seminoles beat Rose Bowl champion Michigan State and SEC champion Auburn on the road and beat Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl.


1987 NCAA Division I-A football season
This would be the first of two years SMU would not field a team due to the NCAA's death penalty.


1987 NCAA Division I-A football season, Conference and program changes
The loss of Wichita State and SMU and the gain of Akron decreased the number of teams to 104.


1987 NCAA Division I-A football season, Season summary, Notable rivalry games
The year 1987 saw the first meeting, since 1946, between the University of Miami Hurricanes and Miami University. On November 7, in Florida, "Miami-FL" won 54–3 over "Miami-OH".


1987 NCAA Division I-A football season, Season summary, No. 1 and No. 2 progress
The Oklahoma Sooners were No. 1, and their Big 8 Conference rivals, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, were No. 2, during the first eleven polls taken in 1987. Beginning with the September 29 poll, Miami was ranked No. 3 . For polls 4 through 11, the ranking remained 1.Oklahoma 2.Nebraska 3.Miami. For the remainder of polls 6 through 11, Florida State is ranked No. 4, with two Big 8 teams and two Florida independents ranked in the top 4. With the Big Eight champion contracted to play in the Orange Bowl in Miami, the hometown Hurricanes were an obvious choice. The only question was whether the Big 8 team would be the Sooners or the Huskers.


1987 NCAA Division I-A football season, Season summary, No. 1 and No. 2 progress
In the 12th poll, issued on the Tuesday before the annual Nebraska–Oklahoma game, 9–0–0 Nebraska was voted No. 1 and 10–0–0 Oklahoma No. 2 . The two teams met at Lincoln, Nebraska, on November 21, 1987, with Oklahoma winning 17–7. In the last three polls, Oklahoma stayed at No. 1 and Miami at No. 2.


1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game
The 1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Northeast Louisiana Indians (now the Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks) and the Marshall Thundering Herd. The game was played on December 19, 1987, at the Minidome (now known as Holt Arena) in Pocatello, Idaho. The culminating game of the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Northeast Louisiana, 43–42.


1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1987 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.


1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams, Northeast Louisiana Indians
Northeast Louisiana finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (6–0 in conference); one of their losses was to the Ragin' Cajuns of the then University of Southwestern Louisiana, a Division I-A program. Ranked third in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll and seeded second in the tournament, the Indians defeated North Texas State, Eastern Kentucky, and third-seed Northern Iowa to reach the final. This was the first appearance for Northeast Louisiana in a Division I-AA championship game.


1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams, Marshall Thundering Herd
Marshall finished their regular season with a 7–4 record (4–2 in conference); one of their losses was to Ohio of Division I-A. Ranked 14th in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll and unseeded in the tournament, the Thundering Herd defeated James Madison, Weber State, and top-seed Appalachian State to reach the final. This was also the first appearance for Marshall in a Division I-AA championship game.


1987 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings
The 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings are from the NCAA Division I-AA football committee. This is for the 1987 season.


1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season
The 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1987, and concluded with the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1987, at the Minidome in Pocatello, Idaho. The Northeast Louisiana Indians won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Marshall Thundering Herd by a score of 43–42.


1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Conference champions
Big Sky Conference – IdahoColonial League – Holy CrossGateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Northern IowaIvy League – HarvardMid-Eastern Athletic Conference –  HowardOhio Valley Conference – Eastern Kentucky and Youngstown StateSouthern Conference – Appalachian StateSouthland Conference – Northeast LouisianaSouthwestern Athletic Conference – Jackson StateYankee Conference –  Richmond


1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Postseason
Four teams were seeded in the 16-team bracket; Appalachian State, Northeast Louisiana, Northern Iowa, and Idaho, who were seeded first through fourth, respectively. Undefeated and top-ranked Holy Cross, featuring Heisman Trophy candidate Gordie Lockbaum, did not participate in the postseason, per the rules of their conference, the Colonial League (known as the Patriot League since 1990).


1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Postseason
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) conference champion Howard Bison, who finished their regular season with a 9–1 record but did not receive an invitation to the I-AA playoffs, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA and sought a temporary restraining order to delay the start of the playoffs. The lawsuit asserted "unlawful and racially motivated reasons" for the team being passed over. Two days later, the request for a temporary restraining order was rejected by United States federal judge John Garrett Penn.


1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Postseason
Howard then advocated that they, plus three other teams, should be added to the second round of the playoffs; the proposal was rejected by the NCAA, who said that Howard had played a weak schedule. In September 1989, MEAC stripped Howard of their 1987 conference championship, retroactively awarding it to Delaware State, after finding that Howard had used some players beyond their four years of NCAA eligibility.


1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Postseason, NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket
* Next to team name denotes host institution* Next to score denotes overtime periods


1987 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as a culmination of the 1986–87 NCAA Division II men's basketball season. It was won by Kentucky Wesleyan College, with Kentucky Wesleyan's Sam Smith named the Most Outstanding Player.


1987 NCAA Division II Soccer Championship
The 1987 NCAA Division II Soccer Championship was the 16th annual tournament held by the NCAA to determine the top men's Division II college soccer program in the United States.


1987 NCAA Division II Soccer Championship
Southern Connecticut State defeated Cal State Northridge, 2–0, to win their first Division II national title. The Fighting Owls (17-1-3) were coached by Bob Dikranian.


1987 NCAA Division II Soccer Championship
The final match was played on December 5 in Tampa, Florida.


1987 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament was the sixth annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of Division II women's  collegiate basketball in the United States.


1987 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
New Haven defeated two-time defending champions Cal Poly Pomona in the championship game, 77–75, claiming the Chargers' first NCAA Division II national title.


1987 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
The championship rounds were contested at the Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.


1987 NCAA Division II football rankings
The 1987 NCAA Division II football rankings are from the NCAA Division II football committee. This is for the 1987 season.


1987 NCAA Division II football season
The 1987 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 1987, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 12, 1987, at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The Troy State Trojans defeated the Portland State Vikings, 31–17, to win their second Division II national title.


1987 NCAA Division II football season
The Harlon Hill Trophy was awarded to Johnny Bailey, running back from Texas A&I.


1987 NCAA Division II football season, Conference summaries
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Winston-Salem StateGreat Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Northern MichiganGulf South Conference – Troy StateLone Star Conference – Angelo State and Texas A&IMissouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Central Missouri State and Southeast Missouri StateNorth Central Conference – Minnesota State–MankatoNorthern California Athletic Conference – UC DavisNorthern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–MorrisPennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Indiana (PA)Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Colorado MesaSouth Atlantic Conference – Gardner–WebbSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Alabama A&M and TuskegeeWestern Football League – Portland State


1987 NCAA Division II football season, Postseason
The 1987 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 15th 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 first time.


1987 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1987 NCAA Division III baseball season to determine the 12th national champion of college baseball at the NCAA Division III level. The tournament concluded with six teams competing at Pioneer Park in Marietta, Ohio for the championship. Six regional tournaments were held to determine the participants in the World Series.


1987 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament
Regional tournaments were contested in double-elimination format, with one region consisting of six teams, four regions consisting of four teams, and one region consisting of two teams, which was played as best-of-five, for a total of 24 teams participating in the tournament. The tournament champion was Montclair State, who defeated Wisconsin-Oshkosh for the championship.


1987 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament was the 13th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champions of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's Division III collegiate basketball in the United States.


1987 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
Held during March 1987, the field included thirty-two teams and the final championship rounds were contested at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.


1987 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
North Park defeated Clark (MA), 106–100, to claim their record-fifth NCAA Division III national title.


1987 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1986–87 season, the 4th such tournament in NCAA history. It concluded with Plattsburgh State defeating Oswego State 8-3. All Quarterfinals matchups were held at home team venues, while all succeeding games were played in Plattsburgh, New York.


1987 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Plattsburgh State's tournament performance and national championship was later vacated due to NCAA violations.


1987 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The following teams qualified for the tournament. There were no automatic bids, however, conference tournament champions were given preferential consideration. No formal seeding was used while quarterfinal matches were arranged so that the road teams would have the shortest possible travel distances.


1987 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The tournament featured three rounds of play. In the Quarterfinals, teams played a two-game series to determine which school advanced to the Semifinals, with tied series decided by a 20-minute mini-game. Mini-game scores are in italics. Beginning with the Semifinals all games became Single-game eliminations. The winning teams in the semifinals advanced to the National Championship Game with the losers playing in a Third Place game. The teams were seeded according to geographic proximity in the quarterfinals so the visiting team would have the shortest feasible distance to travel.


1987 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament was the sixth annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of Division III women's collegiate basketball in the United States.


1987 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament
Wisconsin–Stevens Point defeated Concordia Moorhead in the championship game, 81–74, to claim the Pointers' first Division III national title.


1987 NCAA Division III football season
The 1987 NCAA Division III football season, part of the college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States, began in August 1987, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 1987 at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama.


1987 NCAA Division III football season
Wagner won their first Division III championship by defeating Dayton in the championship game, 19−3. Due to NCAA rule changes in 1991, both schools are now members Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA).


1987 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason
The 1987 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 15th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama for the 13th time and for the third consecutive year. Like the previous two tournaments, this year's bracket featured sixteen teams.


1987 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The Consensus 1987 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, the USBWA, The United Press International and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.


1987 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament was the 18th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate volleyball. The tournament was played at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California during May 1987.


1987 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
UCLA defeated rival USC in the final match, 3–0 (15–11, 15–2, 16–14), to win their 12th national title. The Bruins (38–3) were coached by Al Scates.


1987 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
UCLA's Ozzie Volstad was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Volstad, along with six other players, also comprised the All-tournament team.


1987 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament, Qualification
Until the creation of the NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship in 2012, there was only a single national championship for men's volleyball. As such, all NCAA men's volleyball programs, whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III, were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.


1987 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The 1987 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 19th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, California during December 1987.


1987 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
California defeated USC in the final, 9–8 (in one overtime), to win their seventh national title. Coached by Pete Cutino, the Golden Bears finished the season 27–3.


1987 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was Giacomo Rossi (USC). An All-Tournament Team of eight players was also named.


1987 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The tournament's leading scorers, with 12 goals each, were Rafael Gandarillas (Pepperdine) and Alexis Rousseau (UCLA)


1987 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, Qualification
Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 8 teams were invited to contest this championship.


1987 NCAA Rifle Championships
The 1987 NCAA Rifle Championships were contested at the eighth annual competition to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA co-ed collegiate rifle shooting in the United States. The championship was held at the Xavier University Rifle Range at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.


1987 NCAA Rifle Championships
Murray State, with a team score of 6,205, bested defending champions West Virginia in the team standings by 2 points to claim their second national title. It was the Racers' second title in three seasons.


1987 NCAA Rifle Championships
The individual champions were, for the smallbore rifle, Web Wright (West Virginia), and, for the air rifle, Rob Harbison (Tennessee–Martin).


1987 NCAA Rifle Championships, Qualification
Since there is only one national collegiate championship for rifle shooting, all NCAA rifle programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of seven teams ultimately contested this championship.


1987 NCAA Skiing Championships
The 1987 NCAA Skiing Championships were contested at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska as part of the 34th annual NCAA-sanctioned ski tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's collegiate slalom skiing and cross country skiing in the United States.


1987 NCAA Skiing Championships
Defending champions Utah, coached by Pat Miller, claimed their fifth team national championship, 83 points ahead of Vermont in the cumulative team standings.


1987 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
This year's NCAA skiing championships were hosted at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska.


1987 NCAA Women's Golf Championship
The 1987 NCAA Women's Golf Championships were contested at the sixth annual NCAA-sanctioned golf tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of women's collegiate golf in the United States. Until 1996, the NCAA would hold just one annual women's golf championship for all programs across Division I, Division II, and Division III.


1987 NCAA Women's Golf Championship
The tournament was held at the University of New Mexico Golf Course in Albuquerque, New Mexico.


1987 NCAA Women's Golf Championship
San Jose State won the team championship, the Spartans' first.


1987 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship
The 1987 NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship involved 12 schools competing for the national championship of women's NCAA Division I gymnastics. It was the sixth NCAA gymnastics national championship and the defending NCAA Team Champion for 1986 was Utah. The Competition took place in Salt Lake City, Utah hosted by the University of Utah in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The 1987 Championship was won by Georgia, breaking the Utah Red Rocks five-year NCAA Championship streak.


1987 NFL Draft
The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Marquis in New York City, New York. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.


1987 NFL season
The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. This season featured games predominantly played by replacement players as the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA)  players were on strike from weeks four to six with week three being cancelled in its entirety. The season ended with Super Bowl XXII, with the Washington Redskins defeating the Denver Broncos, 42–10, at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. The Broncos suffered their second consecutive Super Bowl defeat.


1987 NFL season, Player movement, Draft
The 1987 NFL Draft was held from April 28 to 29, 1987, at New York City's Marriott Marquis. With the first pick, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected quarterback Vinny Testaverde from the University of Miami.


1987 NFL season, Referee changes
Chuck Heberling retired during the 1987 off-season. He joined the NFL in 1965 as a line judge before being promoted to referee in 1972. Games that he officiated include the Hail Mary Game and The Drive. Fred Silva, who was a swing official in 1986, was given his own crew again.


1987 NFL season, The NFLPA Strike
A 24-day players' strike was called after Week 2. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were cancelled, reducing the 16-game season to 15, but the games for Weeks 4, 5 and 6 were played with replacement players, after which the union voted to end the strike.


1987 NFL season, The NFLPA Strike
Approximately 15% of the NFLPA’s players chose to cross picket lines to play during the strike; prominent players who did so included New York Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau, Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Randy White, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana, 49ers running back Roger Craig, New England Patriots quarterback Doug Flutie and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Steve Largent.


1987 NFL season, The NFLPA Strike
The replacement players were mostly those left out of work by the recent folding of the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes and the 1986 dissolution of the United States Football League, as well as others who had been preseason cuts, had long left professional football or were other assorted oddities (such as cinematographer Todd Schlopy, who, despite never playing professional football before or after the strike, served as placekicker for his hometown Buffalo Bills for three games).


1987 NFL season, The NFLPA Strike
The replacement players, called to play on short notice and having little chance to jell as teammates, were widely treated with scorn by the press and general public, including name-calling, public shaming and accusations of being scabs. The games played by these replacement players were regarded with even less legitimacy – attendance plummeted to under 10,000 fans at many of the games in smaller markets and cities with strong union presence, including a low of 4,074 for the lone replacement game played in Philadelphia) — but nonetheless were counted as regular NFL games.


1987 NFL season, The NFLPA Strike
Final television revenues were down by about 20%, a smaller drop than the networks had expected. The defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants went 0–3 in replacement games, ultimately costing them a chance to make the playoffs and to repeat their championship. The final replacement game was a Monday Night Football matchup on October 19, 1987, with the Washington Redskins at the Dallas Cowboys. Along with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Redskins were the only other NFL team not to have any players cross the picket line and were surprising 13–7 victors over the Cowboys who had plenty of big name players cross the picket line.


1987 NFL season, The NFLPA Strike
The 2017 film Year of the Scab, which aired as part of the ESPN series 30 for 30, documented the story of the replacement players who crossed the picket line to play for the Redskins. A fictionalized account based on the 1987 strike formed the basis of the film The Replacements.


1987 NFL season, The NFLPA Strike
To date, the 1987 NFLPA strike was the last major interruption to an NFL regular season.


1987 NFL season, American Bowl
A series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States, the only American Bowl game in 1987 was held at London’s Wembley Stadium.


1987 NFL season, Regular season, Scheduling formula
Inter-conferenceAFC East vs NFC EastAFC Central vs NFC WestAFC West vs NFC Central


1987 NFL season, Stadium changes
The Miami Dolphins began playing at their new home, Joe Robbie Stadium, moving from the Miami Orange Bowl. This was also the Cardinals' final season at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis; the team relocated to Tempe, Arizona, the following season.


1987 NFL season, Media changes
The eight-year old ESPN cable network became the first cable television broadcaster of the league, with its program ESPN Sunday Night NFL (subsequently rebranded as ESPN Sunday Night Football) debuting on November 8, 1987, broadcasting a series of Sunday night games during the second half of the season.


1987 NHK Trophy
The 1987 NHK Trophy was held in Kushiro. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.


1987 NHL Entry Draft
The 1987 NHL Entry Draft was the 25th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, and was the first draft held in the United States. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1986–87 NHL season and playoff standings. This is the list of those players selected.


1987 NHL Entry Draft, Selections by round
Below are listed the selections in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. Club teams are located in North America unless otherwise noted.


1987 NHL Entry Draft, Selections by round, Round seven
Seventh round pick Tod Hartje would become the first North American trained player to play professional hockey in the Soviet Union.


1987 NHL Supplemental Draft
The 1987 NHL Supplemental Draft took place in June 1987.