1976 NCAA Division III football season

American college football season August 2023 NCAA Division III 1976 August – November 1976 November – December 1976 Garrett-Harrison StadiumPhenix City, AL Saint John's (MN) The 1976 NCAA Division III football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division III level, began in August 1976, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship in December 1976 at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. The Saint John's Johnnies won their first Division III championship, defeating the Towson State Tigers by a final score of 31−28.All-Time Division III Football Championship Records http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_champs_records/2013/d3/champ.pdf NCAA NCAA.org October 31, 2014 4–15 Conference and program changes The Virginia College Conference (now the Old Dominion Athletic Conference) began football play in 1976. Conference standings Conference champions Conference championsCollege Athletic Conference – Sewanee College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Carroll (WI) Independent College Athletic Conference – Alfred Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wiliam Penn Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Albion Middle Atlantic Conference – Albright (North), Franklin & Marshall (South) Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference – Cornell College, Knox, and Monmouth Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Saint John's (MN) New England Football Conference – Nichols New Jersey State Athletic Conference – Glassboro State Northwest Conference – Linfield Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Randolph-Macon Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – East Stroudsburg Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division III) – Fort Valley State Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Redlands Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Trinity (TX) Twin Rivers Conference – Concordia–St. Paul, Loras, Maranatha Baptist, Northwestern–St. Paul, and Northwestern (WI) Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–Oshkosh, Wisconsin–Platteville, and Wisconsin–River Falls Postseason The 1976 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the fourth annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama for the fourth consecutive year. Like the previous championship, eight teams competed in this edition.1976 NCAA Division III National Football Championship Bracket http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_champs_records/2013/d3/champ.pdf NCAA NCAA.org October 31, 2014 14 Playoff bracket QuarterfinalsCampus Sites SemifinalsCampus Sites National Championship GameGarrett-Harrison StadiumPhenix City, AL Saint John's (MN) 46 1976 Augustana (Illinois) Vikings Augustana (IL) 7 1976 Buena Vista Beavers Buena Vista (OT) 20 1976 Carroll Pioneers football Carroll (WI) 14 1976 St. Lawrence Saints St. Lawrence 26 1976 Albright Lions Albright 7 1976 Towson State Tigers Towson State 14 1976 C.W. Post Pioneers C.W. Post 10 St. John's (MN) 61 Buena Vista 0 St. Lawrence 36 Towson State 38 St. John's (MN) 31 Towson State 28 Coaching changes This list includes all head coaching changes announced during or after the season. School Outgoing coach Reason Replacement Previous positionAlfredAlex YunevichRetiredNovember 15, 1976 Alfred's Yunevich retires https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-gazette-alfreds-yunevich-retires/172211958/ May 12, 2025 Star-Gazette 14Sam SandersFebruary 11, 1977 New AU football coach: Sam Sanders https://www.newspapers.com/article/wellsville-daily-reporter-new-au-footbal/172212034/ May 12, 2025 Wellsville Daily Reporter 10Lehigh defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator (1973–1976)BeloitBob NichollsResignedJune 30, 1977 Beloit names coach https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-la-crosse-tribune-beloit-names-coach/172335449/ May 13, 2025 The La Crosse Tribune 12Ed DeGeorgeNavarro Joe July 1, 1977 CC's DeGeorge Takes Beloit Post https://www.newspapers.com/article/colorado-springs-gazette-telegraph-ccs/172335493/ May 13, 2025 Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph 25Colorado College defensive coordinator (1967–1976)Carroll (WI)Steve MillerHired as head coach for MorningsideGunsolley Bob April 22, 1977 Steve Miller (Carroll College) Named Morningside Boss https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sioux-city-journal-steve-miller-car/172211481/ May 12, 2025 The Sioux City Journal 11Robert LarsenJune 7, 1977 Hartford Coach to Get Carroll Football Post https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-waukesha-county-freeman-hartford-coa/172211529/ May 12, 2025 The Waukesha County Freeman 7Hartford Union HS (WI) head coach (1963–1976)DePauwTommy MontResignedFebruary 2, 1977 Tommy Mont resigns as DePauw grid coach https://www.newspapers.com/article/muncie-evening-press-tommy-mont-resigns/172229053/ May 12, 2025 Muncie Evening Press 17Bob BergmanApril 16, 1977 New DePauw Coach https://www.newspapers.com/article/vidette-messenger-of-porter-county-new-d/172229114/ May 12, 2025 Vidette-Messenger of Porter County 14Rose–Hulman head coach (1968–1976)DubuqueLarry PohlmanHired as head coach for Muncie Central HS (IN)April 23, 1977 Dubuque grid coach resigns https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-des-moines-register-dubuque-grid-coa/172229634/ May 12, 2025 The Des Moines Register 22Don BirminghamMay 26, 1977 Dubuque hires Lakes coach https://www.newspapers.com/article/globe-gazette-dubuque-hires-lakes-coach/172229688/ May 12, 2025 Globe-Gazette 15Iowa Lakes head coach (1974–1976)EvansvilleJames A. ByersResignedMarch 7, 1977 Evansville names athletic director https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-post-evansville-names-ath/172228107/ May 12, 2025 The Cincinnati Post 2John MosesSeptember 2, 1977 Wide-Open Race Likely in ICC https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-wide-open-race-likely-in-ic/172228241/ May 12, 2025 The Republic 44Evansville defensive coordinator (1976)HamlineJim SessionsResignedDecember 8, 1976 Hamline coach quits https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-duluth-news-tribune-hamline-coach-qu/172335880/ May 13, 2025 The Duluth News Tribune 20Bob SadekJanuary 30, 1977 NMU football aide accepts Hamline post https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-flint-journal-nmu-football-aide-acce/172335974/ May 13, 2025 The Flint Journal 71Northern Michigan defensive backs coach (1974–1976)HobartGeorge W. DavisResignedNovember 17, 1976 Hobart Grid Head Resigns https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-messenger-hobart-grid-head-res/172212575/ May 12, 2025 The Daily Messenger 6Dave UrickDossin Kurt November 18, 1976 Urick Gets Hobart Job https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-post-standard-urick-gets-hobart-job/172212634/ May 12, 2025 The Post-Standard 19Hobart defensive line coach (1971–1976)JuniataWalt NadzakHired as head coach for ConnecticutJanuary 14, 1977 Nadzak Leaving For Connecticut https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-news-nadzak-leaving-for-connec/172278636/ May 13, 2025 The Daily News 5Dean RossiJanuary 22, 1977 Dean Rossi Named Coach At Juniata https://www.newspapers.com/article/york-daily-record-dean-rossi-named-coach/172278674/ May 13, 2025 York Daily Record 14Juniata offensive coordinator (1972–1976)KnoxAlbert ReillyResignedMarch 23, 1977 Grid coach quits at Knox College https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-dispatch-grid-coach-quits-at-knox-co/172335602/ May 13, 2025 The Dispatch 44Joe CampanelliHolding Bruce May 17, 1977 Knox hires football coach https://www.newspapers.com/article/galesburg-register-mail-knox-hires-footb/172335692/ May 13, 2025 Galesburg Register-Mail 2Cornell (IA) defensive backs coach (1975–1976)Merchant MarineClive RushFiredSmith Jim November 6, 1976 Clive Rush Quits as Kings Pt. Coach https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-clive-rush-qui/172230291/ May 12, 2025 Newsday (Suffolk Edition) 23Pete CarmichaelDecember 21, 1976 Marines get new coach https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-mobile-register-marines-get-new-coac/172230531/ May 12, 2025 The Mobile Register 22Columbia defensive coordinator (1974–1976)MillikinSkip MathiesonHired as quarterbacks coach for CincinnatiJanuary 15, 1977 Mathieson resigns at Millikin https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pantagraph-mathieson-resigns-at-mill/172211660/ May 12, 2025 The Pantagraph 10Merle ChapmanJanuary 21, 1977 Chapman Promoted To Head Coach https://www.newspapers.com/article/herald-and-review-chapman-promoted-to-he/172211748/ May 12, 2025 Herald and Review 15Millikin offensive coordinator (1973–1976)MoravianRocco CalvoResignedEd LittleMarch 27, 1977 Cedar Cliff Grad Will Coach Moravian Eleven https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-patriot-news-cedar-cliff-grad-will-c/172278793/ May 13, 2025 The Patriot-News 42Moravian offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator (1968–1976)OlivetBob FriedlundResignedNovember 3, 1976 Friedlund resigns as Olivet football coach https://www.newspapers.com/article/battle-creek-enquirer-friedlund-resigns/172196507/ May 13, 2025 Battle Creek Enquirer 15Chuck CilibraiseFebruary 4, 1977 Cilibraise takes over Olivet College football https://www.newspapers.com/article/battle-creek-enquirer-cilibraise-takes-o/172278339/ May 13, 2025 Battle Creek Enquirer 12Originally, Chuck Dickerson, the head coach at Elwood HS (IN) from 1975 to 1976, was named head coach.Young Clarence December 17, 1976 Dickerson resigns as Elwood coach https://www.newspapers.com/article/tipton-county-tribune-dickerson-resigns/172278536/ May 13, 2025 Tipton County Tribune 4 He resigned after nine days to become an assistant coach for the Toronto Argonauts.February 6, 1977 Olivet Confusion https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kalamazoo-gazette-olivet-confusion/172278573/ May 13, 2025 The Kalamazoo Gazette 54Olivet High School head coach (1972–1976)Rose–HulmanBob BergmanHired as head coach for DePauwApril 12, 1977 Bergman Named Football Coach At DePauw; Touchton To Succeed https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-terre-haute-tribune-bergman-named-fo/172211288/ May 12, 2025 The Terre Haute Tribune 10Joe TouchtonApril 14, 1977 Joe Touchton Head Coach https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-terre-haute-tribune-joe-touchton-hea/172211371/ May 12, 2025 The Terre Haute Tribune 24Rose–Hulman defensive coordinator (1971–1976)Upper IowaEverett Eischeid (interim)Permanent replacement hired/retiredMay 13, 1977 UIU alumni awards to 16 graduates https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oelwein-daily-register-uiu-alumni-aw/172229900/ May 12, 2025 The Oelwein Daily Register 4 "Everett "Eb" Eischeid, 1938, of Fayette. A long time teacher, coach and athletic director at Upper Iowa, Eischeid will retire this summer after 22 years with his alma mater."Dennis CarylDecember 24, 1976 Upper Iowa grid job to Dennis Caryl https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-des-moines-register-upper-iowa-grid/172230110/ May 12, 2025 The Des Moines Register 23Northwestern (IA) offensive coordinator (1974–1976)ValparaisoNorm AmundsenResignedApril 20, 1977 Norm Anderson granted leave https://www.newspapers.com/article/vidette-messenger-of-porter-county-norm/172228413/ May 12, 2025 Vidette-Messenger of Porter County 19Bill KochAugust 11, 1977 Koch ready to lead VU footballers https://www.newspapers.com/article/vidette-messenger-of-porter-county-koch/172228644/ May 12, 2025 Vidette-Messenger of Porter County 14Valparaiso defensive coordinator (1975–1976)Western MarylandRon JonesResignedDecember 18, 1976 Jones, Terrer Coach, Quits; Hindman Named https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-sun-jones-terrer-coach-quit/172278855/ May 13, 2025 The Evening Sun 15Jim HindmanWestern Maryland defensive assistant (1976)William PennCraig BollerHired as defensive line coach for TennesseeApril 26, 1977 William Penn coach resigns https://www.newspapers.com/article/globe-gazette-william-penn-coach-resigns/172229256/ May 12, 2025 Globe-Gazette 15Jim SpryApril 26, 1977 Penn Job Goes to Jim Spry https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sioux-city-journal-penn-job-goes-to/172229371/ May 12, 2025 The Sioux City Journal 12Indian Hills head coach (1975–1976) See also 1976 NCAA Division I football season 1976 NCAA Division II football season 1976 NAIA Division I football season 1976 NAIA Division II football season References and notes