1971 NAIA Division I football season

1971 NAIA Division I football season
Regular seasonAugust–November 1971
PostseasonNovember 26–December 11, 1971
National ChampionshipLegion Field
Birmingham, AL
ChampionsLivingston

The 1971 NAIA Division I football season was the 16th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA and the second season of the league's two-division structure. The season was played from August to November 1971 and culminated in the 1971 NAIA Champion Bowl, played on December 11, 1971 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Livingston defeated Arkansas Tech in the Champion Bowl, 14–12, to win their first NAIA national title.

Conference standings

1971 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 2 Arkansas Tech $^6–0–012–1–0
Southern Arkansas5–1–09–2–0
Ouachita Baptist4–2–07–3–0
Harding2–4–05–5–0
Arkansas–Monticello2–4–03–7–0
Henderson State1–4–14–4–1
State College of Arkansas0–5–12–6–1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1971 Carolinas Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Elon $5–0–08–3–0
Newberry3–1–18–2–1
Presbyterian3–2–08–3–0
Catawba2–3–05–6–0
Lenoir Rhyne1–3–12–7–1
Guilford0–5–00–10–0
  • $ – Conference champion
1971 Evergreen Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Western Washington $6–0–07–3–0
Oregon College4–2–08–2–0
Eastern Washington3–2–05–5–0
Eastern Oregon3–3–04–6–0
Central Washington2–3–04–6–0
Southern Oregon1–4–02–8–0
Oregon Tech0–5–01–8–0
  • $ – Conference champion
1971 Gulf South Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Livingston +^5–1–011–1–0
Troy State +5–1–06–3–0
Jacksonville State3–2–06–3–0
Tennessee–Martin3–3–05–5–0
Delta State2–4–03–5–1
Florence State0–6–01–10–0
Southeastern Louisiana0–6–00–11–0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1971 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 3 Howard Payne +7–1–110–1–1
No. 4 Southwest Texas State +7–1–18–1–1
No. 13 Texas A&I7–2–07–3–0
Angelo State6–3–07–3–0
East Texas State5–4–06–5–0
Sul Ross3–6–04–6–1
Sam Houston State3–6–04–7–0
Tarleton State2–7–03–7–0
McMurry2–7–02–8–0
Stephen F. Austin2–7–02–8–0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1971 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 7 Saint John's (MN) +6–1–08–1–0
Gustavus Adolphus +6–1–06–4–0
Minnesota–Duluth5–2–06–3–1
Concordia-Moorhead4–3–07–3–0
Hamline4–3–07–3–0
St. Thomas (MN)2–5–03–7–0
Macalester1–6–01–7–1
Augsburg0–7–01–8–0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1971 Nebraska College Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Wayne State (NE) $3–0–04–5–0
Kearney State2–1–05–3–1
Chadron State1–2–05–4–0
Peru State0–3–01–9–0
  • $ – Conference champion
1971 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Moorhead State $6–0–07–1–1
Michigan Tech5–1–08–1–0
Minnesota Morris3–2–14–4–1
Bemidji State3–2–13–5–1
St. Cloud State2–4–02–7–0
Winona State1–5–01–9–0
Southwest State (MN)0–6–00–10–0
  • $ – Conference champion
1971 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 12 SW Oklahoma State $7–1–08–2–0
Central State (OK)5–2–17–2–1
Cameron5–2–17–3–2
Northeastern State5–3–07–4–0
NW Oklahoma State5–3–07–4–0
East Central3–5–03–7–0
Panhandle2–6–05–6–0
Langston2–6–02–9–0
SE Oklahoma State1–7–01–10–0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1971 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Mountain Division
Western State (CO) x5–1–06–2–1
Adams State xy5–1–05–5–0
Southern Utah3–3–05–5–0
Western New Mexico3–3–03–5–0
Colorado Mines2–4–02–8–0
Westminster (UT)2–4–04–4–0
Fort Lewis1–5–02–7–0
Plains Division
Northern Colorado xy$5–0–08–1–1
Pittsburg State3–1–18–1–1
Nebraska–Omaha2–2–15–4–1
Emporia State1–3–13–6–1
Fort Hays State1–3–12–7–1
Southern Colorado1–4–04–6–0
Washburn *0–0–05–5–0
Championship: Northern Colorado 25, Adam State 15
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • * – Washburn was ineligible for conference title
1971 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 8 Northern State $^5–0–08–1–1
No. 12 Dakota State4–2–09–2–0
South Dakota Tech3–2–13–4–1
South Dakota–Springfield3–3–04–5–0
Huron2–2–23–4–2
Black Hills State1–3–12–6–1
Dakota Wesleyan0–6–02–7–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll for Northern State and NAIA Division II poll for Dakota State
1971 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 9 Grambling $5–1–09–2–0
Jackson State4–1–19–1–1
No. 16 Alcorn A&M4–2–06–3–0
Texas Southern3–2–17–2–1
Prairie View A&M2–4–03–7–0
Mississippi Valley State1–5–04–7–0
Southern1–5–03–7–0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll for Grambling and UPI small college poll for Alcorn A&M
1971 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 West Liberty State $^7–1–08–2–0
Fairmont State5–1–07–3–0
Salem6–2–17–2–1
Bluefield State4–1–14–3–1
Shepherd3–1–27–1–2
Glenville State4–3–14–5–0
West Virginia State2–5–02–8–0
West Virginia Tech1–5–12–6–1
West Virginia Wesleyan1–6–02–7–0
Concord0–8–00–9–0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
    Conference standings based on power ratings
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1971 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 11 Wisconsin–Platteville +7–1–09–1–0
No. 14 Wisconsin–La Crosse +7–1–08–2–0
Wisconsin–Superior6–2–06–4–0
Wisconsin–Eau Claire4–4–06–4–0
Wisconsin–Oshkosh4–4–04–6–0
Wisconsin–Stout3–5–05–5–0
Wisconsin–River Falls2–6–03–7–0
Wisconsin–Whitewater2–6–03–7–0
Wisconsin–Stevens Point1–7–01–9–0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • Wisconsin–Whitewater forfeited five games.
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1971 NAIA Division I independents football records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 6 Carson–Newman – 10–2–0
Kentucky State – 8–2–0
Wofford – 6–4–0
Hillsdale – 6–5–0
Eastern New Mexico – 4–5–1
New Mexico Highlands – 1–8–1
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

Postseason

Semifinals
November 26–27, 1971 		1971 Champion Bowl
December 11, 1971
Birmingham, AL
      
Northern State (SD) 0
Arkansas Tech* 24
Arkansas Tech 12
Livingston* 14
Livingston 25
West Liberty State* 2

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. ↑ "1971 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 27, 2015.