American college football season
1978 NCAA Division II football season Regular season August – November 1978 Playoffs December 1978 National Championship Lobo Stadium Longview, TX Champion Eastern Illinois
The 1978 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 1978, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship in December 1978 at Lobo Stadium in Longview, Texas . The Eastern Illinois Panthers defeated the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens , 10–9, to win their first Division II national title.[1]
Conference realignment [ ]
Conference changes [ ]
Five conferences, the Big Sky Conference , Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference , Ohio Valley Conference , Southwestern Athletic Conference , and Yankee Conference , transitioned from Division II to the newly-established Division I-AA level of college football. All of their members, alongside eight independents, departed at the same time.
This was the first season for the Mid-Continent Conference , which was formed by six teams from Illinois , Iowa , Michigan , and Ohio .
This was the first season for the Heartland Collegiate Conference , which was formed by eight teams from Kentucky , Indiana , and Ohio . All of the Indiana-based members were formerly part of the Indiana Collegiate Conference , which dropped football after the prior season.
Membership changes [ ]
School
1977 Conference
1978 Conference
Akron
D-II Independent
Mid-Continent
Bucknell
D-II Independent
I-AA Independent
Cal State Los Angeles
D-II Independent
Dropped program
Eastern Illinois
D-II Independent
Mid-Continent
Florida A&M
SIAC (Division II)
I-AA Independent
Lafayette
D-II Independent
I-AA Independent
Lehigh
D-II Independent
I-AA Independent
Nevada
D-II Independent
I-AA Independent
Northeastern
D-II Independent
I-AA Independent
Northern Colorado
GPAC (NAIA)
North Central
Northern Iowa
North Central
Mid-Continent
Northern Michigan
D-II Independent
Mid-Continent
Portland State
D-II Independent
I-AA Independent
UNLV
D-II Independent
I-A Independent
Western Illinois
D-II Independent
Mid-Continent
Youngstown State
D-II Independent
Mid-Continent
Conference standings [ ]
1978 Association of Mid-Continent Universities football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
Youngstown State $^
5
–
0
–
0
10
–
2
–
0
Akron
4
–
1
–
0
6
–
5
–
0
Eastern Illinois ^
3
–
2
–
0
12
–
2
–
0
Northern Michigan
1
–
3
–
1
5
–
4
–
1
Western Illinois
1
–
3
–
1
3
–
6
–
1
Northern Iowa
0
–
5
–
0
2
–
9
–
0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
1978 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
No. 8 Cal Poly $^
2
–
0
–
0
7
–
3
–
0
Cal Poly Pomona
1
–
1
–
0
3
–
7
–
0
Cal State Northridge
0
–
2
–
0
5
–
5
–
0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll
1978 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
No. 1 Winston-Salem State $^
8
–
0
–
0
11
–
1
–
0
Virginia Union
5
–
2
–
1
7
–
4
–
1
Fayetteville State
5
–
2
–
1
6
–
4
–
1
Norfolk State
5
–
3
–
0
6
–
4
–
0
Virginia State
5
–
3
–
0
5
–
6
–
0
Elizabeth City State
4
–
3
–
1
5
–
4
–
1
Livingstone
4
–
3
–
1
5
–
4
–
1
Hampton
4
–
4
–
0
5
–
6
–
0
Johnson C. Smith
1
–
7
–
0
1
–
10
–
0
Saint Paul's (VA)
1
–
7
–
0
1
–
10
–
0
Shaw
0
–
8
–
0
0
–
11
–
0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll
1978 Far Western Conference football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
No. 4 UC Davis $^
5
–
0
–
0
8
–
3
–
0
Cal State Hayward
4
–
1
–
0
8
–
2
–
0
Humboldt State
3
–
2
–
0
5
–
6
–
0
Chico State
2
–
3
–
0
5
–
5
–
0
Sacramento State
1
–
4
–
0
1
–
9
–
0
San Francisco State
0
–
5
–
0
1
–
9
–
0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll
1978 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
Grand Valley State $^
5
–
0
–
0
9
–
3
–
0
Wayne State (MI)
4
–
1
–
0
5
–
4
–
0
Northwood
2
–
3
–
0
5
–
4
–
0
Saginaw Valley State
1
–
3
–
1
4
–
5
–
1
Ferris State
1
–
3
–
1
3
–
5
–
2
Hillsdale
1
–
4
–
0
5
–
6
–
0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
1978 Heartland Collegiate Conference standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
Indiana Central $
4
–
2
–
0
6
–
3
–
0
Valparaiso
3
–
2
–
0
5
–
4
–
0
Saint Joseph's (IN)
3
–
2
–
0
5
–
4
–
1
Butler
3
–
2
–
0
5
–
5
–
0
Evansville
2
–
3
–
0
2
–
9
–
0
Franklin (IN)
1
–
6
–
0
1
–
9
–
0
Georgetown (KY) *
1
–
1
–
0
5
–
4
–
0
Ashland *
1
–
0
–
0
2
–
8
–
0
$ – Conference champion * – ineligible for conference title
1978 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
SW Missouri State $
6
–
0
–
0
8
–
3
–
0
NE Missouri State
5
–
1
–
0
6
–
4
–
1
Missouri-Rolla
4
–
2
–
0
8
–
3
–
0
SE Missouri State
2
–
4
–
0
6
–
5
–
0
Lincoln (MO)
2
–
4
–
0
3
–
8
–
0
Central Missouri State
2
–
4
–
0
2
–
8
–
0
NW Missouri State
0
–
6
–
0
0
–
11
–
0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
1978 North Central Conference football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
South Dakota * $
5
–
0
–
1
7
–
4
–
0
No. 6 Nebraska–Omaha * ^
4
–
1
–
1
8
–
3
–
0
North Dakota State
3
–
3
–
0
6
–
4
–
0
North Dakota
3
–
3
–
0
5
–
5
–
0
South Dakota State
3
–
3
–
0
5
–
6
–
0
Augustana (SD)
2
–
4
–
0
4
–
5
–
0
Morningside
0
–
6
–
0
2
–
8
–
0
$ – 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
1978 NCAA Division II independents football records
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
No. 9 American International
–
6
–
2
–
1
No. 3 Delaware ^
–
10
–
4
–
0
Santa Clara
–
5
–
6
–
0
Arkansas–Pine Bluff
–
4
–
6
–
0
Northern Colorado
–
4
–
6
–
0
Central Connecticut
–
3
–
7
–
0
Central State (OH)
–
2
–
9
–
0
^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll
Conference summaries [ ]
See also: List of NCAA Division II football seasons
Conference
Champion
Association of Mid-Continent Universities
Youngstown State
California Collegiate Athletic Association
Cal Poly
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
Heartland Collegiate Conference
Indiana Central
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Southwest Missouri State
North Central Conference
South Dakota
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Florida A&M
While the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) was a Division II conference, Florida A&M (FAMU) had successfully petitioned the NCAA for Division I classification (Division I-AA in football), which took effect on September 1, 1978.[2] FAMU subsequently competed in the 1978 Division I-AA postseason , winning the Division I-AA championship.
Postseason [ ]
1978 NCAA Division II Football Championship Teams 8 Finals Site Champion Eastern Illinois (1st title, 1st title game) Runner-up Semifinalists Winston-Salem State Youngstown State Winning coach Darrell Mudra 1st championship
The 1978 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the sixth single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at Lobo Stadium in Longview, Texas for the first time.
Playoff bracket [ ]
First roundCampus sites
SemifinalsCampus sites
ChampionshipLobo Stadium Longview, TX
Winston–Salem State
17
Cal Poly
10
Winston–Salem State
0
Delaware
41
Delaware
42
Jacksonville State
21
Delaware
9
Eastern Illinois
10
Youngstown State
21
Nebraska–Omaha
14
Youngstown State
22
Eastern Illinois
26
Eastern Illinois
35
UC Davis
31
See also [ ]
References [ ]
Seasons
Playoffs
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
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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
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NCAA pre-divisional NCAA University Division
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NCAA Division I NCAA Division I-A/FBS NCAA Division I-AA/FCS NCAA College Division NCAA Division II NCAA Division III