1978 NCAA Division II football season

American college football season August 2023 1978 August – November 1978 December 1978 December 1978 Lobo StadiumLongview, TX 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.1978 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_champs_records/2012/d2/2012DIIfbchamp.pdf NCAA NCAA.org January 2, 2014 13 Conference realignment Conference changes Four conferences, the Big Sky Conference, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, and Yankee Conference, transitioned from Division II to the newly-established Division I-AA level of college football. All of their members, alongside seven independents, departed at the same time, a total of 35 schools in all. This was the first season for the Mid-Continent Conference, which was formed by six schools from Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio. This was the first season for the Heartland Collegiate Conference (HCC), which was formed by eight schools from Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. Five of its members were formerly in the Indiana Collegiate Conference, which disbanded upon creation of the HCC. 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 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 Conference summaries List of NCAA Division II football seasons Conference ChampionAssociation of Mid-Continent Universities Youngstown StateCalifornia Collegiate Athletic Association Cal PolyCentral Intercollegiate Athletic Association Winston-Salem StateFar Western Football Conference UC DavisGreat Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Grand Valley StateGulf South Conference Jacksonville StateHeartland Collegiate Conference Indiana CentralMissouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association Southwest Missouri StateNorth Central Conference South DakotaSouthern 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.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31514902/florida_am_granted_divison_1_status/ Florida A&M granted Division 1 status Barry Cooper Tallahassee Democrat Tallahassee, Florida 1B August 31, 1978 May 13, 2019 newspapers.com FAMU subsequently competed in the 1978 Division I-AA postseason, winning the Division I-AA championship. Postseason II 1978 8 Lobo Stadium Longview, TX Eastern Illinois 1st 1st 1 Delaware 2nd 4 Winston-Salem State 1 Youngstown State 2 Darrell Mudra 1st 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 StadiumLongview, TX 1978 Winston–Salem State Rams Winston–Salem State 17 Cal Poly 10 Delaware 42 Jacksonville State 21 1978 Youngstown State Penguins Youngstown State 21 1978 Nebraska–Omaha Mavericks Nebraska–Omaha 14 Eastern Illinois 35 UC Davis 31 Winston–Salem State 0 Delaware 41 Youngstown State 22 Eastern Illinois 26 Delaware 9 Eastern Illinois 10 See also 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season 1978 NCAA Division III football season 1978 NAIA Division I football season 1978 NAIA Division II football season References