1977 NCAA Division II football season

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 Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), which debuted in 1978.[2]

Conference changes and new programs

School 1975 Conference 1976 Conference
Tennessee–Chattanooga D-II Independent Southern (I-A)

Conference standings

1977 Big Sky football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Boise State $ 6 0 0     9 2 0
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
  • ^ Division II playoff participant
  • Boise State concluded its regular season after the Div. II playoffs started; runner-up Northern Arizona was awarded playoff bid.
1977 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
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
  • ^ Division II playoff participant

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
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
South Atlantic Conference – Elon
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division II) – Florida A&M
Yankee Conference – Massachusetts

Postseason

1977 NCAA Division II National
Football Championship playoffs
Teams 8
Finals Site Memorial Stadium
Wichita Falls, TX
Champions Lehigh (1st title)
Runner-Up Jacksonville State (1st championship game)
Semifinalists UC Davis
North Dakota State

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
Massachusetts* 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

See also

References

  1. "1977 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  2. "Big schools win battle". St. Petersburg Independent. (Florida). Associated Press. January 13, 1978. p. 5C.
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