1977 NCAA Division II football season

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1977 NCAA Division II football season
Regular seasonAugust – November 1977
PlayoffsNovember 26 –
December 10, 1977
National ChampionshipPioneer Bowl
Memorial Stadium
Wichita Falls, TX
ChampionLehigh

The 1977 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 1977 and concluded with the championship game on December 10 at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Lehigh Engineers defeated the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 33–0 in the Pioneer Bowl to win their first Division II national title.[1]

This was the last season prior to the creation of Division I-AA, now named Division I-Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), which debuted in 1978.[2]

Conference realignment[]

Conference changes[]

  • This was the final season at the Division II level for the members of five conferences: the Big Sky Conference, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Southwestern Athletic Conference, and Yankee Conference. After the end of play, each conference its members, alongside seven independent teams, would transition to the newly-established Division I-AA level of college football.

Membership changes[]

School 1975 Conference 1976 Conference
Tennessee–Chattanooga D-II Independent Southern (I-A)

Conference standings[]

1977 Big Sky Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. T–5 Boise State $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. T–5 Northern Arizona ^ 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Montana State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Weber State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Idaho State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Idaho 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Montana 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
  • Boise State concluded its regular season after the NCAA Division II playoffs started; runner-up Northern Arizona was awarded playoff bid.
Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll
1977 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Cal Poly $ 2 – 0 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Cal State Northridge 1 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 1
Cal Poly Pomona 0 – 2 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1977 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. T–10 Winston-Salem State $ 8 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
Virginia Union 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
Virginia State 6 – 1 – 1 7 – 3 – 1
Hampton 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Norfolk State 4 – 3 – 1 5 – 6 – 1
Livingstone 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Elizabeth City State 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Fayetteville State 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Johnson C. Smith 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Shaw 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Saint Paul's (VA) 0 – 8 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll
1977 Far Western Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 UC Davis $^ 5 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
Chico State 3 – 1 – 1 6 – 2 – 1
Cal State Hayward 2 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1
San Francisco State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Humboldt State 1 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Sacramento State 0 – 4 – 1 0 – 10 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1977 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Grand Valley State $ 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Wayne State (MI) 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Hillsdale 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Northwood 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Saginaw Valley State 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Ferris State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1977 Gulf South Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 Jacksonville State $^ 7 – 1 – 0 11 – 3 – 0
Tennessee–Martin 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Troy State 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Southeastern Louisiana 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Mississippi College 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
North Alabama 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Delta State 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Nicholls State 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Livingston 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from AP Poll
1977 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Saint Joseph's (IN) + 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Butler + 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Indiana Central 2 – 1 – 1 6 – 2 – 1
Valparaiso 1 – 2 – 1 3 – 6 – 1
Evansville 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1977 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 South Carolina State $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 1
North Carolina A&T 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Delaware State 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Morgan State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 1
Howard 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Maryland Eastern Shore 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
North Carolina Central 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1977 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
SE Missouri State + 4 – 1 – 1 7 – 3 – 1
Missouri-Rolla + 4 – 1 – 1 7 – 3 – 1
NE Missouri State 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
SW Missouri State 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1
NW Missouri State 2 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
Central Missouri State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Lincoln (MO) 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant


1977 North Central Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 North Dakota State $^ 6 – 0 – 1 9 – 2 – 1
Augustana (SD) 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Northern Iowa 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
South Dakota State 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Nebraska–Omaha * 2 – 2 – 3 3 – 6 – 2
North Dakota 2 – 4 – 1 4 – 7 – 1
South Dakota * 2 – 4 – 1 4 – 7 – 0
Morningside 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 6 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
  • * – Nebraska–Omaha and South Dakota split two head-to-head games, which counted as a tie for each team in the conference standings.
Rankings from AP Poll
1977 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Austin Peay $ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Tennessee Tech 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Eastern Kentucky 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Murray State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Middle Tennessee 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Morehead State 2 – 4 – 1 2 – 6 – 2
East Tennessee State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Western Kentucky 1 – 5 – 1 1 – 8 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1977 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Grambling State $ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
Jackson State 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Texas Southern 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 4 – 1
Mississippi Valley State 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Alcorn State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Southern 1 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1
Prairie View A&M 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1977 Yankee Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 UMass $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Rhode Island 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
New Hampshire 3 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Boston University 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Maine 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Connecticut 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1977 NCAA Division II independents football records
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Lehigh ^   –   12 – 2 – 0
UNLV   –   9 – 2 – 0
No. T–5 Nevada   –   8 – 3 – 0
Central Connecticut   –   7 – 3 – 0
Northern Michigan   –   7 – 3 – 0
Youngstown State   –   7 – 3 – 0
Portland State   –   7 – 4 – 0
Delaware   –   6 – 3 – 1
Akron   –   6 – 4 – 1
American International   –   5 – 4 – 1
Central State (OH)   –   5 – 6 – 0
Arkansas–Pine Bluff   –   4 – 5 – 1
Bucknell   –   4 – 5 – 0
Cal State Los Angeles   –   4 – 5 – 0
Northeastern   –   3 – 6 – 1
Northern Colorado   –   3 – 7 – 0
Santa Clara   –   2 – 7 – 1
Eastern Illinois   –   1 – 10 – 0
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll

Conference summaries[]

See also: List of NCAA Division II football seasons
Conference Champions

Big Sky Conference – Boise State
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Winston-Salem State
Far Western Football Conference – UC Davis
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Grand Valley State
Gulf South Conference – Jacksonville State
Lone Star Conference – Abilene Christian and Texas A&I
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Missouri–Rolla and Southeast Missouri State
North Central Conference – North Dakota State
Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Morris
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Clarion
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Western State
South Atlantic Conference – Elon
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division II) – Florida A&M
Yankee Conference – Massachusetts

Postseason[]

1977 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams8
Finals Site
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Wichita Falls, TX
Champion
  • Lehigh
  • (1st title, 1st title game)
Runner-up
  • Jacksonville State
  • (1st title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coach
  • John Whitehead
  • 1st championship

The 1977 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the fifth single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of Division II college football. The championship game was held at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas for the second time.

Playoff bracket[]

First round
Campus sites

November 26 		Semifinals
Campus sites
Knute Rockne Bowl
Grantland Rice Bowl
December 3 		Championship
Pioneer Bowl
Memorial Stadium
Wichita Falls, TX
December 10
         
UC Davis* 34
Bethune–Cookman 16
UC Davis* 30
Lehigh 39
Lehigh 30
UMass* 23
Lehigh 33
Jacksonville State 0
North Dakota State* 20
Northern Michigan 6
North Dakota State 7
Jacksonville State* 31
Jacksonville State 35
Northern Arizona* 0

* Denotes host institution

  • Northern Arizona was the Big Sky runner-up; champion Boise State had a scheduling conflict.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "1977 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  2. ^ "Big schools win battle". St. Petersburg Independent. (Florida). Associated Press. January 13, 1978. p. 5C.
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