1981 Harvard Crimson football team

Harvard finished fourth in the Ivy League.

In their 11th year under head coach Joe Restic, the Crimson compiled a 5–4–1 record and outscored opponents 218 to 173.

[1] Harvard's 4–2–1 conference record placed fourth in the Ivy League standings.

[2] This would be Harvard's last season in the NCAA's top level of football competition.

Shortly after the season ended, the NCAA reassigned all of the Ivy League teams to the second-tier Division I-AA,[3] which would later be renamed the Football Championship Subdivision.