1975 NCAA Division II football season

The 1975 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 September and concluded with the Division II Championship on December 13 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California.

Northern Michigan defeated Western Kentucky in the championship game, 16–14, to win their first Division II national title.[1][2]

Conference and program changes

School 1974 Conference 1975 Conference
Elon Conference Carolinas (NAIA) South Atlantic
Gardner–Webb NAIA Independent South Atlantic
Vermont Yankee Dropped Program

Conference standings

1975 Big Sky football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Boise State $^ 5 0 1     9 2 1
Idaho State 4 2 0     7 3 0
Montana State 4 2 0     5 5 0
Idaho 2 2 2     4 5 2
Montana 3 3 0     6 4 0
Weber State 1 4 1     1 9 1
Northern Arizona 0 6 0     1 9 0
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ Division II playoff participant
  • Boise State advanced to Div. II playoffs.
1975 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
SE Missouri State $ 6 0 0     7 4 0
NE Missouri State 4 2 0     7 4 0
NW Missouri State 3 3 0     7 3 0
SW Missouri State 3 3 0     6 4 1
Central Missouri State 2 4 0     5 5 0
Missouri-Rolla 1 5 0     1 8 2
Lincoln (MO) 2 4 0     4 7 0
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ Division II playoff participant
1975 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
New Hampshire $   5 0         9 3  
UMass   4 1         8 2  
Connecticut   3 2         4 7  
Boston University   2 3         5 6  
Maine   1 4         4 6  
Rhode Island   1 4         2 8  
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Conference summaries

Conference Champions

Big Sky Conference – Boise State
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Norfolk State
Far Western Football Conference – UC Davis
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wayne State
Gulf South Conference – Nicholls State
Lone Star Conference – Texas A&I
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Southeast Missouri State
North Central Conference – North Dakota
Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Morris
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – East Stroudsburg
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Western State
South Atlantic ConferenceLenoir-Rhyne
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division II) – Bethune-Cookman
Yankee Conference – New Hampshire

Postseason

1975 NCAA Division II National
Football Championship playoffs
Teams 8
Finals Site Charles C. Hughes Stadium
Sacramento, California
Champions Northern Michigan (1st title)
Runner-Up Western Kentucky (2nd championship game)
Semifinalists West Alabama
New Hampshire

The 1975 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the third single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division II college football.

The four quarterfinal games were played on campus and all four host teams lost. The semifinals were the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas, and the Grantland Rice Bowl in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The championship game was the Camellia Bowl, held at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California for the third and final time. The Northern Michigan Wildcats defeated the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 16–14 to win their first national title. Of all current members of Division II, as of 2015, Northern Michigan was the first to win the playoff national championship. They went from winless (0–10) in 1974 to 13–1 and national champions in 1975,[2] led by sophomore quarterback Steve Mariucci,[3] later a head coach in the NFL for nine seasons.

Playoff bracket

First round
Campus sites

November 29
Semifinals
Pioneer Bowl
Grantland Rice Bowl
December 6
Championship
Camellia Bowl
Hughes Stadium
Sacramento, CA
December 13
         
Northern Michigan 24
Boise State * 21
Northern Michigan 28
West Alabama 26
West Alabama 34
North Dakota * 14
Northern Michigan 16
Western Kentucky 14
Western Kentucky 14
Northern Iowa * 12
Western Kentucky 14
New Hampshire 3
New Hampshire 35
Lehigh * 21

* Denotes host institution

See also

References

  1. "1975 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Winless in '74, then a title in '75". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 14, 1975. p. 10B.
  3. "Fumbles cost Boise 24-21". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 30, 1975. p. 3B.
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