1977 NCAA Division II football season

1977 NCAA Division II Football Championship
1977 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	8
Finals Site	Memorial Stadium; Wichita Falls, TX;
Champion	Lehigh; (1st title, 1st title game);
Runner-up	Jacksonville State; (1st title game);
Semifinalists	UC Davis; North Dakota State;
Winning coach	John Whitehead; 1st championship;

1977 NCAA Division II football season
1977 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	August – November 1977
Playoffs	November 26 –; December 10, 1977
National Championship	Pioneer Bowl; Memorial Stadium; Wichita Falls, TX
Champion	Lehigh
	← 1976; NCAA Division II football seasons; 1978 →;

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 and 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 e	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 e	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 e	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 e	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 e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 18 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 Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1977 Gulf South Conference football standings
v t e	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 e	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 e	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 e	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 e	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 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Minnesota Morris $^	7	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Bemidji State	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Moorhead State	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Minnesota Duluth	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
St. Cloud State	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Michigan Tech	1	–	6	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Winona State	1	–	6	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Southwest State (MN)	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1977 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e	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 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
East Division
No. 4 Millersville xy	5	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Kutztown	4	–	1	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
East Stroudsburg	3	–	2	–	0	6	–	2	–	0
Bloomsburg	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Cheyney	1	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Mansfield	0	–	5	–	0	2	–	6	–	1
West Division
No. 8 Clarion xy$	5	–	0	–	1	9	–	0	–	1
Shippensburg	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Slippery Rock	3	–	2	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
Lock Haven	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Indiana (PA)	2	–	3	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
Edinboro	2	–	3	–	1	3	–	6	–	1
California (PA)	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Championship: Clarion 25, Millersville 24
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1977 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Division I
Florida A&M x	5	–	0	–	0	11	–	0	–	0
Bethune–Cookman ^	4	–	1	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Albany State	2	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Morris Brown	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Alabama A&M	1	–	4	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Tuskegee	1	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Division II
Knoxville x	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Savannah State	3	–	2	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Clark (GA)	3	–	2	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Morehouse	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Lane	2	–	2	–	0	2	–	6	–	0
Fort Valley State	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Miles	2	–	3	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Fisk	0	–	5	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant

1977 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	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 The Conference was a hybrid of Division I and II programs. Mississippi Valley State and Prairie View A&M were classified as Division II.^[3]^[4] All the others were classified as Division I.

1977 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Northern Division
No. 9 West Virginia Wesleyan xy	3	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Salem x	3	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Shepherd x	3	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
West Liberty State	1	–	3	–	0	3	–	6	–	1
Fairmont State	0	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Southern Division
No. 4 Concord xy$^	4	–	0	–	0	9	–	2	–	1
West Virginia Tech	3	–	1	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
West Virginia State	2	–	2	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Glenville State	1	–	3	–	0	1	–	8	–	0
Bluefield State	0	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Championship: Concord 33, West Virginia Wesleyan 17
$ – 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

1977 Yankee Conference football standings
v t e	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 e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 8 Lehigh ^		–		12	–	2	–	0
UNLV		–		9	–	2	–	0
Kentucky State		–		8	–	2	–	1
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
West Chester		–		5	–	5	–	0
Central State (OH)		–		5	–	6	–	0
Arkansas–Pine Bluff		–		4	–	5	–	1
Bucknell		–		4	–	5	–	0
Cal State Los Angeles		–		4	–	5	–	0
Southern Connecticut State		–		4	–	6	–	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

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 Indiana Collegiate Conference – St. Joseph's and Butler 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 (CO) South Atlantic Conference – Elon Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division II) – Florida A&M Yankee Conference – UMass

Postseason

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.

References

^ "1977 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
^ "Big schools win battle". St. Petersburg Independent. (Florida). Associated Press. January 13, 1978. p. 5C.
^ "NCAA Statistics". Retrieved January 8, 2025.
^ "NCAA Statistics". Retrieved January 8, 2025.

[1] "1977 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 2, 2014.

[bswb-2] "Big schools win battle". St. Petersburg Independent. (Florida). Associated Press. January 13, 1978. p. 5C.

[3] "NCAA Statistics". Retrieved January 8, 2025.

[4] "NCAA Statistics". Retrieved January 8, 2025.

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