1974 NCAA Division II football season

American college football season

The 1974 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 14 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California.

Central Michigan defeated Delaware 54–15 in the Camellia Bowl to win their only Division II national title.[1][2] CMU moved up to Division I in 1975.

Conference standings

1974 Big Sky Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Boise State $^ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
Montana State 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Idaho 2 – 2 – 1 2 – 8 – 1
Montana 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 6 – 1
Northern Arizona 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Idaho State 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Weber State 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from AP small college poll
1974 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
UC Riverside $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Cal Poly 2 – 1 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Cal Poly Pomona 1 – 1 – 2 5 – 3 – 2
Cal State Northridge 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Cal State Los Angeles 0 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1974 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Norfolk State $ 8 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Virginia Union 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Livingstone 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Johnson C. Smith 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Hampton 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Elizabeth City State 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Winston-Salem State 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Virginia State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Shaw 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Fayetteville State 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Saint Paul's (VA) 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1974 Eastern Football Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Central Connecticut State $ 3 – 0 – 0 4 – 5 – 1
Glassboro State 2 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 1
Montclair State 1 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 1
Southern Connecticut State 0 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1974 Far Western Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
UC Davis $ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
San Francisco State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Humboldt State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Chico State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Cal State Hayward 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Sacramento State 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1974 Gulf South Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Jacksonville State $ 7 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Delta State 7 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 8 Livingston 5 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Southeastern Louisiana 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Troy State 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
North Alabama 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Nicholls State 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Northwestern State 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
Tennessee–Martin 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Mississippi College 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1974 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Butler $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Evansville ^ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
DePauw 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Indiana Central 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Wabash 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Valparaiso 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Saint Joseph's (IN) 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1974 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 11 South Carolina State $ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Howard 4 – 1 – 1 8 – 2 – 1
North Carolina Central 4 – 1 – 1 7 – 2 – 2
Morgan State 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
North Carolina A&T 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Maryland Eastern Shore 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
Delaware State 0 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1974 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
NW Missouri State $ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Missouri–Rolla 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 4 – 1
SW Missouri State 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
SE Missouri State 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
NE Missouri State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Central Missouri State 1 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1
Lincoln (MO) * 0 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
1974 North Central Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
South Dakota + 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
North Dakota State + 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
North Dakota + 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
South Dakota State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Mankato State 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Northern Iowa 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Augustana (SD) 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Morningside 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1974 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Michigan Tech $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0
St. Cloud State 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Winona State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Moorhead State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Southwest State (MN) 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Minnesota Morris 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Bemidji State 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1974 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Eastern Kentucky $ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Murray State 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Western Kentucky 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Tennessee Tech 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
East Tennessee State 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 6 – 1
Middle Tennessee 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Austin Peay 1 – 5 – 1 3 – 7 – 1
Morehead State 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1974 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
East Division
West Chester xy 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
No. 6 Millersville 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
East Stroudsburg 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Kutztown 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Cheyney 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Mansfield 0 – 4 – 1 1 – 7 – 1
Bloomsburg 0 – 5 – 1 1 – 7 – 1
West Division
No. 13 Slippery Rock xy$^ 5 – 0 – 1 9 – 1 – 1
Clarion 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 2 – 1
Indiana (PA) 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Shippensburg 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Edinboro 2 – 2 – 2 5 – 2 – 2
California (PA) 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0
Lock Haven 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
Championship: Slippery Rock 20, West Chester 7
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from AP small college poll for Slippery Rock and NAIA Division I poll for Millersville
1974 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Division I
Tuskegee x 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
Bethune–Cookman 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 1
Florida A&M 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Alabama State 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Alabama A&M 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Albany State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Morris Brown 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Division II
Clark (GA) x 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Fisk 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Fort Valley State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0
Savannah State 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 1
Knoxville 2 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Miles 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Morehouse 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Lane 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 8 – 0
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
1974 Southland Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Louisiana Tech $^ 5 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
Lamar 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Arkansas State 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
McNeese State 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 1
Texas–Arlington 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
SW Louisiana 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from AP small college poll
1974 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Grambling State + 5 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 14 Alcorn State +^ 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 10 Jackson State 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
No. 12 Southern 3 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Texas Southern 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Mississippi Valley State 1 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Prairie View A&M 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 10 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from AP small college poll for Grambling State and Alconrn State and NAIA Division I poll for Jackson State and Southern
1974 Virginia College Athletic Association football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Virginia Union 2 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Randolph–Macon 4 – 0 – 1 6 – 2 – 1
Hampden–Sydney 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Virginia State 2 – 1 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Madison 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Hampton 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Bridgewater 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Washington and Lee 0 – 2 – 1 1 – 8 – 1
Emory & Henry 0 – 3 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Saint Paul's (VA) 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
1974 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northern Division
Fairmont State xy$ 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
No. 15 Salem 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
West Liberty State 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Shepherd 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
West Virginia Wesleyan 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
Southern Division
Concord xy 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Bluefield State 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Glenville State 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
West Virginia Tech 1 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
West Virginia State 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
Championship: Fairmont State 30, Concord 6
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Conference standings based on power ratings
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1974 Yankee Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
UMass + 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Maine + 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
New Hampshire 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Rhode Island 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Boston University 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 1
Connecticut 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Vermont 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1974 NCAA Division II independents football records
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Central Michigan ^   –   12 – 1 – 0
No. 6 UNLV ^   –   12 – 1 – 0
No. 4 Delaware ^   –   12 – 2 – 0
No. 8 Western Carolina ^   –   9 – 2 – 0
No. 9 Tennessee State   –   8 – 2 – 0
No. 12 Youngstown State ^   –   8 – 2 – 0
Santa Clara   –   7 – 3 – 0
Wayne State (MI)   –   7 – 3 – 0
Kentucky State   –   6 – 4 – 0
Northeastern   –   6 – 4 – 0
Central State (OH)   –   6 – 5 – 0
Akron   –   5 – 5 – 0
Indiana State   –   5 – 5 – 0
Nevada   –   5 – 6 – 0
Portland State   –   5 – 6 – 0
American International   –   4 – 5 – 0
Eastern Michigan   –   4 – 6 – 1
Milwaukee   –   4 – 6 – 0
Northeast Louisiana   –   4 – 6 – 0
Eastern Illinois   –   3 – 6 – 1
Arkansas–Pine Bluff   –   3 – 5 – 0
Chattanooga   –   4 – 7 – 0
Nebraska–Omaha   –   3 – 7 – 0
Bucknell   –   2 – 8 – 0
Northern Michigan   –   0 – 10 – 0
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from AP small college poll

Conference summaries

Conference Champion(s)
Big Sky Conference Boise State
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Norfolk State
Far Western Football Conference UC Davis
Gulf South Conference Jacksonville State
Indiana Collegiate Conference Butler
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association Northwest Missouri State
North Central Conference North Dakota State, North Dakota, and South Dakota
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division II) Tuskegee
Yankee Conference Maine and Massachusetts

Postseason

1974 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams8
Finals Site
Champion
Runner-up
Semifinalists
Winning coach

The 1974 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the second 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 advanced. 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 second consecutive year. The Central Michigan Chippewas defeated the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens 54–14 to win their first national title.[1][3] After opening with a home loss to Division I Kent State, CMU won twelve straight to finish as D-II champions.[1]

Playoff bracket

First round
Campus sites

November 30 		Semifinals
Pioneer Bowl
Grantland Rice Bowl
December 7 		Championship
Camellia Bowl
Hughes Stadium
Sacramento, CA
December 14
         
Central Michigan * 20
Boise State 6
Central Michigan 35
Louisiana Tech 14
Louisiana Tech * 10
Western Carolina 7
Central Michigan 54
Delaware 14
UNLV * 35
Alcorn State 22
UNLV 11
Delaware 49
Delaware * 35
Youngstown State 14

* Denotes host institution

Rankings

In 1974, United Press International (UPI) and the Associated Press (AP) ranked teams in their College Division or "small college" polls – which had started in 1958 and 1960, respectively – for the final time. UPI published their final poll at the end of the regular season, while the AP waited until postseason games had been completed. UPI's number one selection was the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, who during the regular season were 10–0 while outscoring opponents 294–103. The Bulldogs later lost in the playoffs to the Central Michigan Chippewas, winners of the tournament. AP's number one selection was the Chippewas, who were 9–1 during the regular season and finished with an overall record of 12–1 while outscoring opponents 450–127.

United Press International (coaches) final poll
Published on November 27[4]

Rank School Record No. 1
votes 		Total
points
1 Louisiana Tech 10–0 27 322
2 UNLV 11–0 5 254
3 Boise State 10–1 1 188
4 Delaware 10–1 168
5 Texas A&I 11–0 132
6 Grambling State 10–1 124
7 Central Michigan 9–1 101
8 Youngstown State 8–1 40
9 Tennessee State 8–2 38
10 Western Carolina 9–1 34
11 Stephen F. Austin 9–2 34
12 Slippery Rock 9–0–1 19
13 Alcorn State 9–1 17
14 Elon 10–1 10
15 South Dakota 8–3 9

Associated Press (writers) final poll
Published on December 24[5]

Rank School Record No. 1
votes 		Total
points
1 Central Michigan 12–1D2 32 658
2 Louisiana Tech 10–1E1D2 477
3 Texas A&I 13–0N1 2 461
4 Delaware 12–2D2 460
5 Boise State 10–2D2 401
6 UNLV 12–1D2 381
7 Grambling State 11–1P 322
8 Western Carolina 9–1E2D2 241
9 Tennessee State 8–2 180
10 Texas Lutheran 11–0N2 171
11 Henderson State 11–2N1 135
12 Youngstown State 8–2D2 118
13 Slippery Rock 9–1–1D3 90
14 Alcorn State 9–2D2 87
15 Elon 10–2N1 85

^D2 Record includes NCAA Division II playoff games
^D3 Record includes NCAA Division III playoff games ^E1 Louisiana Tech final record actually 11–1 ^E2 Western Carolina final record actually 9–2
^N1 Record includes NAIA Division I playoff games
^N2 Record includes NAIA Division II playoff games
^P Record includes Pelican Bowl win

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Central Michigan destroys Delaware". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 15, 1974. p. 6D.
  2. ^ "1974 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  3. ^ "1974 NCAA Division II Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  4. ^ "Louisiana Tech Wins UPI Football Title". The Minneapolis Star. Minneapolis, MN. November 27, 1974. p. 2D. Retrieved July 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  5. ^ "A.P. final small college football ranking". Great Bend Tribune. Great Bend, Kansas. Associated Press. December 24, 1974. p. 3. Retrieved July 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  • v
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NCAA Division II football
Seasons
Playoffs
Championship games
Bowl era
Playoff era
Records & statistics
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NCAA football seasons
Pre-NCAA
NCAA pre-divisional
NCAA University Division
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I-A/FBS
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS
NCAA College Division
NCAA Division II
NCAA Division III