American college football season
1975 NCAA Division II football season Regular season September – November 1975 Playoffs November – December 1975 National Championship Hughes Stadium Sacramento, CA Champion Northern Michigan
← 1974
NCAA Division II football seasons
1976 →
The 1975 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 September and concluded with the Division II Championship on December 13 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California .
Northern Michigan defeated Western Kentucky in the championship game, 16–14, to win their first Division II national title.[1] [2]
Conference and program changes [ ]
School
1974 Conference
1975 Conference
Central Connecticut State
Eastern
Independent
Elon
Conference Carolinas (NAIA)
South Atlantic
Gardner–Webb
NAIA Independent
South Atlantic
Vermont
Yankee
Dropped Program
Conference standings [ ]
1975 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
No. 6 Boise State $^
5
–
0
–
1
9
–
2
–
1
Idaho State
4
–
2
–
0
7
–
3
–
0
Montana State
4
–
2
–
0
5
–
5
–
0
Idaho
2
–
2
–
2
4
–
5
–
2
Montana
3
–
3
–
0
6
–
4
–
0
Weber State
1
–
4
–
1
1
–
9
–
1
Northern Arizona
0
–
6
–
0
1
–
9
–
0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll
1975 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
UC Riverside $
4
–
0
–
0
7
–
3
–
0
Cal Poly
3
–
1
–
0
6
–
4
–
0
Cal Poly Pomona
2
–
2
–
0
6
–
4
–
1
Cal State Northridge
1
–
3
–
0
4
–
6
–
1
Cal State Los Angeles
0
–
4
–
0
1
–
7
–
1
1975 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
Norfolk State $
7
–
1
–
0
8
–
3
–
0
Johnson C. Smith
6
–
1
–
0
8
–
3
–
0
Virginia Union
6
–
1
–
0
7
–
4
–
0
Elizabeth City State
5
–
3
–
0
5
–
4
–
0
Hampton
5
–
3
–
0
5
–
5
–
0
Fayetteville State
4
–
3
–
0
7
–
3
–
0
Livingstone
3
–
3
–
1
7
–
3
–
1
Virginia State
2
–
5
–
0
2
–
8
–
0
Winston-Salem State
1
–
7
–
0
1
–
9
–
0
Shaw
0
–
6
–
1
1
–
8
–
1
Saint Paul's (VA)
0
–
7
–
0
2
–
8
–
0
1975 Far Western Conference football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
UC Davis $
5
–
0
–
0
7
–
3
–
0
Humboldt State
4
–
1
–
0
7
–
3
–
0
Sacramento State
2
–
3
–
0
5
–
5
–
0
San Francisco State
2
–
3
–
0
4
–
4
–
1
Chico State
2
–
3
–
0
4
–
6
–
0
Cal State Hayward
0
–
5
–
0
0
–
10
–
0
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1975 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
Wayne State (MI) $
3
–
1
–
0
8
–
3
–
0
Grand Valley State
3
–
1
–
1
7
–
2
–
1
Northwood
3
–
1
–
1
5
–
4
–
1
Hillsdale
3
–
2
–
0
7
–
4
–
0
Saginaw Valley State
1
–
3
–
0
3
–
7
–
0
Ferris State
0
–
5
–
0
0
–
10
–
0
1975 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
Butler $
6
–
0
–
0
9
–
1
–
0
Indiana Central ^
5
–
1
–
0
8
–
3
–
0
Evansville
4
–
2
–
0
7
–
3
–
0
DePauw
2
–
4
–
0
5
–
5
–
0
Valparaiso
2
–
4
–
0
3
–
6
–
0
Saint Joseph's (IN)
2
–
4
–
0
2
–
8
–
0
Wabash
0
–
6
–
0
3
–
7
–
0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1975 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
South Carolina State +
5
–
1
–
0
8
–
2
–
1
North Carolina A&T +
5
–
1
–
0
8
–
3
–
0
Howard
4
–
2
–
0
8
–
3
–
0
North Carolina Central
3
–
2
–
1
5
–
4
–
1
Delaware State
2
–
4
–
0
5
–
5
–
0
Morgan State
1
–
4
–
1
4
–
5
–
1
Maryland Eastern Shore
0
–
6
–
0
0
–
10
–
0
+ – Conference co-champions
1975 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
SE Missouri State $
6
–
0
–
0
7
–
4
–
0
NE Missouri State
4
–
2
–
0
7
–
4
–
0
NW Missouri State
3
–
3
–
0
7
–
3
–
0
SW Missouri State
3
–
3
–
0
6
–
4
–
1
Central Missouri State
2
–
4
–
0
5
–
5
–
0
Lincoln (MO)
2
–
4
–
0
4
–
7
–
0
Missouri–Rolla
1
–
5
–
0
1
–
8
–
2
1975 North Central Conference football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
No. 7 North Dakota $^
7
–
0
–
0
9
–
1
–
0
No. 10 Northern Iowa ^
6
–
1
–
0
9
–
3
–
0
Augustana (SD)
5
–
2
–
0
7
–
3
–
0
South Dakota State
4
–
3
–
0
7
–
4
–
0
Mankato State
2
–
5
–
0
3
–
6
–
0
Morningside
2
–
5
–
0
3
–
6
–
0
South Dakota
1
–
6
–
0
3
–
8
–
0
North Dakota State
1
–
6
–
0
2
–
7
–
0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP Poll
1975 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
No. 3 Western Kentucky ^
6
–
1
–
0
9
–
1
–
0
Tennessee Tech $
6
–
1
–
0
8
–
3
–
0
No. 12 Eastern Kentucky
5
–
2
–
0
8
–
2
–
1
Murray State
3
–
3
–
1
4
–
5
–
1
Austin Peay
3
–
4
–
0
3
–
8
–
0
Middle Tennessee
2
–
5
–
0
4
–
7
–
0
East Tennessee State
1
–
5
–
1
2
–
8
–
1
Morehead State
1
–
6
–
0
3
–
7
–
0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant WKU claims a co-championship,[3] while both the OVC[4] and Tennessee Tech[5] state it is not shared Rankings from Associated Press poll
1975 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
No. 4 AP / #2 UPI Grambling State
4
–
2
–
0
10
–
2
–
0
Southern +
4
–
2
–
0
9
–
3
–
0
Jackson State +
4
–
2
–
0
7
–
3
–
0
Alcorn State
3
–
3
–
0
6
–
3
–
1
Mississippi Valley State
3
–
3
–
0
6
–
4
–
0
Texas Southern
2
–
4
–
0
4
–
6
–
0
Prairie View A&M
1
–
5
–
0
3
–
7
–
0
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll
1975 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
No. 9 New Hampshire $^
5
–
0
–
0
9
–
3
–
0
UMass
4
–
1
–
0
8
–
2
–
0
Connecticut
3
–
2
–
0
4
–
7
–
0
Boston University
1
–
4
–
0
5
–
6
–
0
Maine
1
–
4
–
0
4
–
6
–
0
Rhode Island
1
–
4
–
0
2
–
8
–
0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll
1975 NCAA Division II independents football records
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
No. 2 Northern Michigan ^
–
13
–
1
–
0
American International
–
8
–
1
–
0
Lehigh ^
–
9
–
3
–
0
Delaware
–
8
–
3
–
0
Portland State
–
8
–
3
–
0
Akron
–
7
–
4
–
0
UNLV
–
7
–
4
–
0
Santa Clara
–
6
–
5
–
0
Tennessee State
–
5
–
4
–
0
Youngstown State
–
5
–
4
–
0
Chattanooga
–
5
–
5
–
1
Bucknell
–
5
–
5
–
0
Indiana State
–
5
–
5
–
0
Lafayette
–
5
–
5
–
0
Central Connecticut
–
4
–
5
–
0
Central State (OH)
–
4
–
6
–
0
Eastern Michigan
–
4
–
6
–
0
Eastern Illinois
–
3
–
5
–
2
Northeastern
–
3
–
6
–
0
Nevada
–
3
–
8
–
0
Nebraska–Omaha
–
2
–
9
–
0
Arkansas–Pine Bluff
–
0
–
11
–
0
^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP Poll
Conference summaries [ ]
See also: List of NCAA Division II football seasons
Conference
Champion(s)
Big Sky Conference
Boise State
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Norfolk State
Far Western Football Conference
UC Davis
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Wayne State (MI)
Gulf South Conference
Nicholls State
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Southeast Missouri State
North Central Conference
North Dakota
Northern Intercollegiate Conference
Minnesota–Morris
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
East Stroudsburg State
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division II)
Bethune-Cookman
Yankee Conference
New Hampshire
Postseason [ ]
1975 NCAA Division II Football Championship Teams 8 Finals Site Champion Northern Michigan (1st title, 1st title game) Runner-up Western Kentucky (2nd title game) Semifinalists Winning coach Gil Krueger 1st championship
The 1975 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the third single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division II college football.
The four quarterfinal games were played on campus and all four host teams lost. The semifinals were the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas , and the Grantland Rice Bowl in Baton Rouge, Louisiana .
The championship game was the Camellia Bowl , held at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California for the third and final time. The Northern Michigan Wildcats defeated the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 16–14 to win their first national title. Of all current members of Division II, as of 2015, Northern Michigan was the first to win the playoff national championship. They went from winless (0–10) in 1974 to 13–1 and national champions in 1975,[2] led by sophomore quarterback Steve Mariucci ,[6] later a head coach in the NFL for nine seasons.
Playoff bracket [ ]
First roundCampus sites November 29
SemifinalsPioneer Bowl Grantland Rice Bowl December 6
ChampionshipCamellia Bowl Hughes Stadium Sacramento, CA December 13
Northern Michigan
24
Boise State *
21
Northern Michigan
28
Livingston
26
Livingston
34
North Dakota *
14
Northern Michigan
16
Western Kentucky
14
Western Kentucky
14
Northern Iowa *
12
Western Kentucky
14
New Hampshire
3
New Hampshire
35
Lehigh *
21
* Denotes host institution
See also [ ]
References [ ]
Seasons
Playoffs
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Championship games
Bowl era
East: Tangerine Bowl (1964–1967), Boardwalk Bowl (1968–1972)
Mideast: Grantland Rice Bowl (1964–1972)
Midwest: Pecan Bowl (1964–1970), Pioneer Bowl (1971–1972)
West: Camellia Bowl (1964–1967)
Playoff era
1973
2008
2009
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Records & statistics
Pre-NCAA
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
1897
1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
NCAA pre-divisional NCAA University Division
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I-A/FBS NCAA Division I-AA/FCS NCAA College Division NCAA Division II NCAA Division III