1973 NCAA Division II football season

American college football season August 2023 NCAA Division II 1973 NCAA College Division September –November 1973 December 1–15 Camellia BowlHughes StadiumSacramento, California Louisiana Tech The 1973 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. The season began in September and concluded with the Division II Championship on December 15 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. This was the first season for Division II (and Division III) football, which were formerly in the College Division in 1972 and prior. Louisiana Tech won their first Division II championship, defeating Western Kentucky 34–0 in the Camellia Bowl championship game.All-Time Conference Champions http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2013/Conference.pdf NCAA NCAA.org December 23, 2013 15–28https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gnZfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hS8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=3119%2C4305688 Lewiston Morning Tribune Idaho Associated Press Western Kentucky (Louisiana Tech) champs after 34–0 romp December 16, 1973 20 Conference realignment Membership changes School 1972 Conference 1973 Conference Akron Independent D-II Independent Ball State Independent D-II Independent Eastern Michigan Independent D-II Independent Illinois State Independent D-II Independent Nevada–Reno Independent D-II Independent Conference standings Conference summaries List of NCAA Division II football seasons Conference Champion Big Sky Conference Boise State California Collegiate Athletic Association Cal Poly Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Virginia Union Eastern Football Conference Central Connecticut State Far Western Football Conference UC Davis and Cal State Chico Gulf South Conference Troy State Indiana Collegiate Conference Butler Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference North Carolina Central Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association Southeast Missouri State North Central Conference North Dakota State and South Dakota Ohio Valley Conference Western Kentucky Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Bethune-Cookman Southland Conference Louisiana Tech Southwestern Athletic Conference Grambling and Jackson State Yankee Conference Connecticut Postseason II 1973 8 Hughes Stadium Sacramento, California Louisiana Tech 1st 1st 1 Western Kentucky 1st 1 Grambling 1 Boise State 1 Maxie Lambright 1st The 1973 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the first single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The inaugural edition had only eight teams; of the four quarterfinal games, three were played on campus and a fourth was in Atlantic City, New Jersey,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dHZfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hS8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=5453%2C364296 Lewiston Morning Tribune Idaho Associated Press Boise St. smears South Dakota December 2, 1973 19 the final edition of the Boardwalk Bowl. The semifinals were held at the Grantland Rice Bowl in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=e3ZfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hS8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=2285%2C2248050 Lewiston Morning Tribune Idaho Associated Press Western Kentucky triumphs December 9, 1973 19 and the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=enZfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hS8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=2914%2C2032463 Lewiston Morning Tribune Idaho Associated Press Boise in semis December 8, 1973 17 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=e3ZfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hS8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=4190%2C2246679 Lewiston Morning Tribune Idaho Associated Press Late TD tops Boise December 9, 1973 19 The championship game was the Camellia Bowl, held at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs defeated the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 34–0 to win their first national title.1973 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_champs_records/2012/d2/2012DIIfbchamp.pdf NCAA NCAA.org December 17, 2013 13 Playoff bracket First roundAtlantic City, NJ& 3 campus sitesDecember 1 SemifinalsGrantland Rice BowlPioneer BowlDecember 8 ChampionshipCamellia BowlHughes StadiumSacramento, CADecember 15 Grambling 17 Delaware 8 Western Kentucky * 25 Lehigh 16 Louisiana Tech * 18 Western Illinois 13 Boise State * 53 South Dakota 10 Grambling 20 Western Kentucky 28 Louisiana Tech 38 Boise State 34 Western Kentucky 0 Louisiana Tech 34 * Denotes host institution Rankings 1973 small college football rankings United Press International (UPI) and the Associated Press (AP) continued to rank teams in their College Division or "small college" polls, which had started in 1958 and 1960, respectively. In 1973, UPI published their final poll at the end of the regular season, while the AP waited until postseason games had been completed. Both wire services named the Tennessee State Tigers as the number one team; Tennessee State did not compete in the playoffs "because five of its starters would not be eligible to play."https://www.newspapers.com/image/162695961/?terms=ineligible 5 Ineligible So Tennessee State Quits Playoff Ray Finocchiaro subscription The News Journal Wilmington, Delaware newspapers.com November 15, 1973 February 28, 2017 The players in question had sat out their freshmen year ("redshirt") and then played four seasons; under NCAA rules at the time, such players were not eligible for postseason play as fifth-year seniors. During the regular season, the Tigers were undefeated (10–0) and had outscored their opponents 333–87. United Press International (coaches) final poll Published on November 28 College Football Small College Poll https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82481839/the-republic/ The Republic Columbus, Indiana United Press International November 28, 1973 July 30, 2021 Newspapers.com RankSchool RecordNo. 1votesTotalpoints 1 Tennessee State 10–0 27 314 2 Western Kentucky 10–0 3 275 3 Louisiana Tech 9–1 1 224 4 Abilene Christian 9–1 176 5 Wittenberg 9–0 169 6 1973 Elon Fightin' Christians Elon 11–0 151 7 1973 Grambling State Tigers Grambling State 9–2 96 8 Boise State 9–2 91 9 Cal Poly 9–1 90 10 Delaware 8–3 41 11 Jacksonville State 7–2 32 12 1973 Langston Lions Langston 10–0 24 13 Hawaii 8–2 23 14 1973 C.W. Post Pioneers C.W. Post 10–1 15 15 South Dakota 8–2 11 Associated Press (writers) final poll Published on December 19 Tennessee St. Picked No. 1 In Grid Poll https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82481339/northwest-arkansas-times/ Associated Press The Northwest Arkansas Times Fayetteville, Arkansas December 19, 1973 July 30, 2021 Newspapers.com RankSchool RecordNo. 1votesTotalpoints 1 Tennessee State 10–0 17 708 2 Louisiana Tech 12–1D2 D2 21 706 3 Western Kentucky 12–1D2 D2 459 4 Wittenberg 12–0D3 D3 1 407 T5 Boise State 10–3D2 D2 390 T5 Abilene Christian 11–1N1 N1 390 7 1973 Grambling State Tigers Grambling State 10–3D2 D2 372 8 Cal Poly 9–1 264 9 Hawaii 8–2 233 10 1973 Elon Fightin' Christians Elon 12–1N1 N1 223 11 South Dakota 8–3D2 D2 221 12 Jacksonville State 7–2 220 13 Delaware 8–3 152 14 North Dakota State 8–2 111 15 1973 Langston Lions Langston 11–1N1 N1 95 N1 N1Record includes NAIA Division I playoff games D2 D2Record includes NCAA Division II playoff games D3 D3Record includes NCAA Division III playoff games See also 1973 NCAA Division I football season 1973 NCAA Division III football season 1973 NAIA Division I football season 1973 NAIA Division II football season References