1973_NCAA_Division_II_Football_Championship_playoffs

1973 NCAA Division II football season

American college football season

The 1973 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. The season began in September and concluded with the Division II Championship on December 15 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. This was the first season for Division II (and Division III) football, which were formerly in the College Division in 1972 and prior.

Quick Facts Regular season, Playoffs ...

1973 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	September – November 1973
Playoffs	December 1–15
National Championship	Camellia Bowl Hughes Stadium Sacramento, California
Champion	Louisiana Tech
NCAA Division II football seasons 1974 →

Louisiana Tech won their first Division II championship, defeating Western Kentucky 34–0 in the Camellia Bowl championship game.^[1]^[2]

Conference realignment

Membership changes

More information School, 1972 Conference ...

School	1972 Conference	1973 Conference
Akron	Independent	D-II Independent
Eastern Michigan	Independent	D-II Independent
Illinois State	Independent	D-II Independent
Nevada–Reno	Independent	D-II Independent

Conference standings

More information Conf, Overall ...

1973 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 5 Boise State $^	6	–	0	–	0	10	–	3	–	0
Montana State	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Idaho	3	–	2	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Northern Arizona	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Montana	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Weber State	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Idaho State	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP small college poll

1973 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 8/9 Cal Poly $	4	–	0	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
UC Riverside	3	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Cal State Fullerton	1	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Cal Poly Pomona	1	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	1
Cal State Northridge	1	–	3	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP/UPI small college polls

1973 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Virginia Union $	9	–	0	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
Livingstone	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	1
Norfolk State	5	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Johnson C. Smith	3	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Virginia State	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Elizabeth City State	4	–	4	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
Fayetteville State	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Winston-Salem State	2	–	5	–	1	3	–	7	–	1
Hampton	1	–	5	–	1	1	–	7	–	2
Shaw	1	–	5	–	1	1	–	6	–	1
Saint Paul's (VA)	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1973 Eastern Football Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Central Connecticut State $	3	–	0	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
Southern Connecticut State	2	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Montclair State	1	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Glassboro State	0	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1973 Far Western Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
UC Davis +	4	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Chico State +	4	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
San Francisco State	3	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	1
Cal State Hayward	3	–	2	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Humboldt State	1	–	4	–	0	2	–	6	–	2
Sacramento State	0	–	5	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions

1973 Gulf South Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. T–17 Troy State $	6	–	1	–	0	7	–	2	–	1
No. 4 Jacksonville State	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Delta State	6	–	3	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Livingston	4	–	3	–	1	6	–	3	–	1
Northwestern State	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Mississippi College	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Southeastern Louisiana	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Florence State	3	–	6	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Nicholls State	2	–	7	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Tennessee–Martin	1	–	5	–	1	2	–	8	–	1

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1973 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Butler $	5	–	1	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
DePauw	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Evansville	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Indiana Central	3	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Valparaiso	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Saint Joseph's (IN)	1	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Wabash	0	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1973 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
North Carolina Central $	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
South Carolina State	4	–	1	–	1	7	–	3	–	1
Howard	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Morgan State	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Maryland Eastern Shore	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
North Carolina A&T	1	–	4	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
Delaware State	0	–	6	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1973 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
SE Missouri State $	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
NW Missouri State	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Lincoln (MO)	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
SW Missouri State	3	–	3	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Missouri–Rolla	2	–	3	–	1	3	–	6	–	2
NE Missouri State	2	–	3	–	1	2	–	7	–	2
Central Missouri State	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1973 North Central Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
North Dakota State +	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
South Dakota +^	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Mankato State	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
North Dakota	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Augustana (SD)	3	–	3	–	1	6	–	3	–	1
South Dakota State	2	–	4	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Northern Iowa	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Morningside	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant

1973 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Moorhead State $	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Michigan Tech	4	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	1
St. Cloud State	4	–	2	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Bemidji State	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Southwest State (MN)	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Minnesota Morris	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Winona State	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1973 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 3 Western Kentucky $^	7	–	0	–	0	12	–	1	–	0
Murray State	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Eastern Kentucky	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Morehead State	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
East Tennessee State	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Middle Tennessee	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Tennessee Tech	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	1
Austin Peay	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP small college poll

1973 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
East Division
West Chester xy	4	–	0	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
East Stroudsburg	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	1	–	1
Millersville	4	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Cheyney	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Bloomsburg	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Kutztown	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Mansfield	0	–	5	–	0	1	–	7	–	0
West Division
No. T–20 Slippery Rock xy$	5	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Clarion	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Edinboro	3	–	2	–	0	4	–	4	–	1
Lock Haven	2	–	3	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
California (PA)	1	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Shippensburg	1	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Indiana (PA) *	0	–	0	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Championship: Slippery Rock 28, West Chester 14
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant * – Ineligible for conference title Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1973 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Division I
Bethune–Cookman x	5	–	0	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Florida A&M	4	–	1	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
No. 16 Albany State	3	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	1
Alabama A&M	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Tuskegee	2	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Morris Brown	1	–	4	–	0	1	–	8	–	1
Alabama State	0	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Division II
No. 7 Fisk x	5	–	0	–	0	9	–	0	–	0
Fort Valley State	4	–	1	–	0	7	–	1	–	1
Clark (GA)	4	–	1	–	0	4	–	3	–	1
Morehouse	3	–	2	–	0	4	–	3	–	1
Savannah State	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Lane	1	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Miles	1	–	4	–	0	1	–	8	–	0
Knoxville	0	–	5	–	0	0	–	8	–	0

x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1973 Southland Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 Louisiana Tech $^	5	–	0	–	0	12	–	1	–	0
Arkansas State	3	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Lamar	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
McNeese State	2	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	1
Texas–Arlington	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
SW Louisiana	0	–	5	–	0	0	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP small college poll

1973 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 5/7 Grambling +^	5	–	1	–	0	10	–	3	–	0
No. 10 Jackson State +	5	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
No. T–20 Alcorn A&M	3	–	2	–	1	7	–	2	–	1
Southern	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Texas Southern	2	–	3	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Mississippi Valley State	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Prairie View A&M	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	6	–	1

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll and AP small college poll

1973 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Northern Division
Fairmont State xy$	3	–	0	–	0	6	–	3	–	1
West Liberty State	2	–	1	–	1	3	–	5	–	1
Salem	2	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Shepherd	1	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
West Virginia Wesleyan	0	–	3	–	1	2	–	6	–	1
Southern Division
No. 2 Glenville State xy^	4	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Bluefield State	3	–	1	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
West Virginia State	2	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
West Virginia Tech	1	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Concord	0	–	4	–	0	0	–	9	–	0
Championship: Fairmont State 21, Glenville State 7
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Conference standings based on power ratings Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1973 Yankee Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Connecticut $	5	–	0	–	1	8	–	2	–	1
Rhode Island	4	–	1	–	1	6	–	2	–	2
UMass	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
New Hampshire	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Boston University	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Maine	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Vermont	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1973 NCAA Division II independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 1 Tennessee State		–		10	–	0	–	0
No. 9 Hawaii		–		9	–	2	–	0
Nebraska–Omaha		–		7	–	2	–	1
Trinity (TX)		–		8	–	3	–	0
UNLV		–		8	–	3	–	0
No. 13 Delaware ^		–		8	–	4	–	0
Western Carolina		–		6	–	3	–	1
Central Michigan		–		7	–	4	–	0
Nevada		–		7	–	4	–	0
Western Illinois		–		7	–	4	–	0
Milwaukee		–		6	–	4	–	1
Eastern Michigan		–		6	–	4	–	0
American International		–		5	–	4	–	0
Akron		–		6	–	5	–	0
Central State (OH)		–		6	–	5	–	0
Wayne State (MI)		–		5	–	5	–	0
Drexel		–		4	–	4	–	0
Bucknell		–		3	–	4	–	2
Northeast Louisiana		–		3	–	5	–	2
Santa Clara		–		4	–	6	–	0
Youngstown State		–		4	–	6	–	0
Arkansas–Pine Bluff		–		3	–	5	–	1
Chattanooga		–		4	–	7	–	0
Indiana State		–		4	–	7	–	0
Northeastern		–		3	–	6	–	0
Kentucky State		–		3	–	8	–	0
Northern Michigan		–		2	–	7	–	1
Eastern Illinois		–		2	–	9	–	0
Portland State		–		1	–	10	–	0

^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP small college poll

Conference summaries

More information Conference, Champion ...

Conference	Champion
Big Sky Conference	Boise State
California Collegiate Athletic Association	Cal Poly
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Virginia Union
Eastern Football Conference	Central Connecticut State
Far Western Football Conference	UC Davis and Cal State Chico
Gulf South Conference	Troy State
Indiana Collegiate Conference	Butler
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	North Carolina Central
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Southeast Missouri State
North Central Conference	North Dakota State and South Dakota
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Bethune-Cookman
Southland Conference	Louisiana Tech
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Grambling and Jackson State
Yankee Conference	Connecticut

Postseason

Quick Facts II Football Championship, Teams ...

1973 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	8
Finals Site	Hughes Stadium Sacramento, California
Champion	Louisiana Tech (1st title, 1st title game)
Runner-up	Western Kentucky (1st title game)
Semifinalists	Grambling Boise State
Winning coach	Maxie Lambright 1st championship

The 1973 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the first single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The inaugural edition had only eight teams; of the four quarterfinal games, three were played on campus and a fourth was in Atlantic City, New Jersey,^[3] the final edition of the Boardwalk Bowl. The semifinals were held at the Grantland Rice Bowl in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,^[4] and the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas.^[5]^[6]

The championship game was the Camellia Bowl, held at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs defeated the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 34–0 to win their first national title.^[2]^[7]

Playoff bracket

First round Atlantic City, NJ & 3 campus sites December 1		Semifinals Grantland Rice Bowl Pioneer Bowl December 8		Championship Camellia Bowl Hughes Stadium Sacramento, CA December 15

Grambling	17

Delaware	8
		Grambling	20

		Western Kentucky	28
Western Kentucky *	25

Lehigh	16
				Western Kentucky	0

				Louisiana Tech	34
Louisiana Tech *	18

Western Illinois	13
		Louisiana Tech	38

		Boise State	34
Boise State *	53

South Dakota	10

* Denotes host institution

Rankings

Main article: 1973 small college football rankings

United Press International (UPI) and the Associated Press (AP) continued to rank teams in their College Division or "small college" polls, which had started in 1958 and 1960, respectively. In 1973, UPI published their final poll at the end of the regular season, while the AP waited until postseason games had been completed. Both wire services named the Tennessee State Tigers as the number one team; Tennessee State did not compete in the playoffs "because five of its starters would not be eligible to play."^[8] The players in question had sat out their freshmen year ("redshirt") and then played four seasons;^[8] under NCAA rules at the time, such players were not eligible for postseason play as fifth-year seniors. During the regular season, the Tigers were undefeated (10–0) and had outscored their opponents 333–87.

More information Rank, School ...

United Press International (coaches) final poll
Published on November 28^[9]

Rank	School	Record	No. 1 votes	Total points
1	Tennessee State	10–0	27	314
2	Western Kentucky	10–0	3	275
3	Louisiana Tech	9–1	1	224
4	Abilene Christian	9–1		176
5	Wittenberg	9–0		169
6	Elon	11–0		151
7	Grambling State	9–2		96
8	Boise State	9–2		91
9	Cal Poly	9–1		90
10	Delaware	8–3		41
11	Jacksonville State	7–2		32
12	Langston	10–0		24
13	Hawaii	8–2		23
14	C.W. Post	10–1		15
15	South Dakota	8–2		11

Associated Press (writers) final poll
Published on December 19^[10]

Rank	School	Record	No. 1 votes	Total points
1	Tennessee State	10–0	17	708
2	Louisiana Tech	12–1^D2	21	706
3	Western Kentucky	12–1^D2		459
4	Wittenberg	12–0^D3	1	407
T5	Boise State	10–3^D2		390
T5	Abilene Christian	11–1^N1		390
7	Grambling State	10–3^D2		372
8	Cal Poly	9–1		264
9	Hawaii	8–2		233
10	Elon	12–1^N1		223
11	South Dakota	8–3^D2		221
12	Jacksonville State	7–2		220
13	Delaware	8–3		152
14	North Dakota State	8–2		111
15	Langston	11–1^N1		95

^N1 Record includes NAIA Division I playoff games
^D2 Record includes NCAA Division II playoff games
^D3 Record includes NCAA Division III playoff games

References

[1]
"All-Time Conference Champions" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. pp. 15–28. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
[2]
"Western Kentucky (Louisiana Tech) champs after 34–0 romp". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 16, 1973. p. 20.
[3]
"Boise St. smears South Dakota". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 2, 1973. p. 19.
[4]
"Western Kentucky triumphs". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 9, 1973. p. 19.
[5]
"Boise in semis". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 8, 1973. p. 17.
[6]
"Late TD tops Boise". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 9, 1973. p. 19.
[7]
"1973 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
[8]
Finocchiaro, Ray (November 15, 1973). "5 Ineligible So Tennessee State Quits Playoff". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. Retrieved February 28, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
[9]
"College Football Small College Poll". The Republic. Columbus, Indiana. United Press International. November 28, 1973. Retrieved July 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
[10]
"Tennessee St. Picked No. 1 In Grid Poll". The Northwest Arkansas Times. Fayetteville, Arkansas. Associated Press. December 19, 1973. Retrieved July 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 1973_NCAA_Division_II_Football_Championship_playoffs, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.