1973 NAIA Division I football season

1973 NAIA Division I football season
Regular seasonAugust–November 1973
PostseasonDecember 1–8, 1973
National ChampionshipIndependence Stadium
Shreveport, LA
ChampionsAbilene Christian

The 1973 NAIA Division I football season was the 18th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA and the fourth season of the league's two-division structure.

The season was played from August to November 1973 and culminated in the 1973 NAIA Champion Bowl, played on December 8, 1973 at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana.[1]

Abilene Christian defeated Elon in the Champion Bowl, 42–14, to win their first NAIA national title.[2]

Conference realignment

Conference changes

Conference standings

1973 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Henderson State $ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
No. T–17 Southern Arkansas 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Harding 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
State College of Arkansas 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Ouachita Baptist 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Arkansas Tech 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Arkansas–Monticello 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 Carolinas Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2/10 Elon $^ 4 – 0 – 0 12 – 1 – 0
Lenoir Rhyne 2 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 1
Mars Hill 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Catawba 1 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Guilford 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll and AP small college poll
1973 Evergreen Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 16 Central Washington $ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Eastern Oregon 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Oregon College 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Southern Oregon 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Eastern Washington 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Western Washington 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0
Oregon Tech 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. T–17 Emporia State + 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Northern Colorado + 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Fort Hays State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Washburn 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 1
Pittsburg State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Southern Colorado 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 Gulf South Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. T–17 Troy State $ 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 1
No. 4 Jacksonville State 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Delta State 6 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Livingston 4 – 3 – 1 6 – 3 – 1
Northwestern State 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Mississippi College 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Southeastern Louisiana 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Florence State 3 – 6 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Nicholls State 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Tennessee–Martin 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 8 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1/7 Abilene Christian $^ 9 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 8 Howard Payne 8 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Stephen F. Austin 6 – 3 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
East Texas State 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Angelo State 5 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 2
Southwest Texas State 3 – 6 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Sul Ross 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Sam Houston State 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Texas A&I 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Tarleton State 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll and AP small college poll
1973 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 11 St. Thomas (MN) + 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
No. 9 Minnesota–Duluth + 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Augsburg 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Gustavus Adolphus 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Concordia–Moorhead 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Saint John's (MN) 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0
Hamline 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Macalester 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 Nebraska College Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Kearney State + 2 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Peru State + 2 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Wayne State (NE) 1 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 1
Chadron State 1 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1973 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Moorhead State $ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Michigan Tech 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 1
St. Cloud State 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Bemidji State 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Southwest State (MN) 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Minnesota Morris 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Winona State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1973 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Langston $^ 8 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 12 Northeastern State 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
SE Oklahoma State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Central State (OK) 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 1
Cameron 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
East Central 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Panhandle 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 1
SW Oklahoma State 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
NW Oklahoma State 0 – 7 – 1 1 – 8 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
East Division
West Chester xy 4 – 0 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
East Stroudsburg 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 1
Millersville 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Cheyney 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Bloomsburg 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Kutztown 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Mansfield 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0
West Division
No. T–20 Slippery Rock xy$ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Clarion 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Edinboro 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 1
Lock Haven 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
California (PA) 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Shippensburg 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Indiana (PA) * 0 – 0 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Championship: Slippery Rock 28, West Chester 14
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • * – Ineligible for conference title
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Western State (CO) $ 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Adams State 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Southern Utah 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Fort Lewis 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Western New Mexico 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Westminster (UT) 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Colorado Mines 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1973 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5/7 Grambling +^ 5 – 1 – 0 10 – 3 – 0
No. 10 Jackson State + 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. T–20 Alcorn A&M 3 – 2 – 1 7 – 2 – 1
Southern 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Texas Southern 2 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
Mississippi Valley State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Prairie View A&M 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 6 – 1
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll and AP small college poll
1973 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northern Division
Fairmont State xy$ 3 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 1
West Liberty State 2 – 1 – 1 3 – 5 – 1
Salem 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Shepherd 1 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
West Virginia Wesleyan 0 – 3 – 1 2 – 6 – 1
Southern Division
No. 2 Glenville State xy^ 4 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
Bluefield State 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
West Virginia State 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
West Virginia Tech 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Concord 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
Championship: Fairmont State 21, Glenville State 7
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant
    Conference standings based on power ratings
Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1973 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Wisconsin–La Crosse $^ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 14 Wisconsin–Platteville 6 – 1 – 1 8 – 1 – 1
Wisconsin–Whitewater 4 – 2 – 2 6 – 2 – 2
Wisconsin–Eau Claire 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Wisconsin–Oshkosh 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Wisconsin–River Falls 3 – 4 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
Wisconsin–Stevens Point 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Wisconsin–Superior 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Wisconsin–Stout 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 NAIA Division I independents football records
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 15 Hillsdale   –   7 – 2 – 0
No. 13 Carson–Newman   –   6 – 3 – 0
Eastern New Mexico   –   6 – 4 – 0
Wofford   –   3 – 6 – 1
Kentucky State   –   3 – 8 – 0
Presbyterian   –   3 – 8 – 0
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

Postseason

Semifinals
December 1, 1973 		1973 Champion Bowl
December 8, 1973
Shreveport, LA
      
Wisconsin–La Crosse 24
Elon* 35
Elon 14
Abilene Christian 42
Langston 6
Abilene Christian* 34

See also

References

  1. ^ "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  2. ^ "1973 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
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