1977 NCAA Division II football season

American college football season August 2023 1977 August – November 1977 November 26 –December 10, 1977 December 10, 1977 Pioneer BowlMemorial StadiumWichita Falls, TX Lehigh 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.1977 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 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.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GGFQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=j1gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5884,2458519 St. Petersburg Independent Florida Associated Press Big schools win battle January 13, 1978 5C 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 Conference summaries List of NCAA Division II football seasons Conference ChampionsBig 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 II 1977 8 Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, TX Lehigh 1st 1st 3 Jacksonville State 1st 1 UC Davis 1 North Dakota State 2 John Whitehead 1st 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 roundCampus sitesNovember 26 SemifinalsCampus sitesKnute Rockne BowlGrantland Rice BowlDecember 3 ChampionshipPioneer BowlMemorial StadiumWichita Falls, TXDecember 10 UC Davis* 34 1977 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats Bethune–Cookman 16 Lehigh 30 UMass* 23 North Dakota State* 20 1977 Northern Michigan Wildcats Northern Michigan 6 Jacksonville State 35 Northern Arizona* 0 UC Davis* 30 Lehigh 39 North Dakota State 7 Jacksonville State* 31 Lehigh 33 Jacksonville State 0 * Denotes host institution Northern Arizona was the Big Sky runner-up; champion Boise State had a scheduling conflict. See also 1977 NCAA Division I football season 1977 NCAA Division III football season 1977 NAIA Division I football season 1977 NAIA Division II football season References