1970 NAIA Division I football season
Regular seasonAugust–November 1970
PostseasonNovember 28–December 12, 1970
National ChampionshipSirrine Stadium
Greenville, SC
ChampionsTexas A&I (3)

The 1970 NAIA Division I football season was the 15th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA. It was also the first of twenty-seven seasons that the NAIA split its football competition into two separate championships.

The season was played from August to November 1970 and culminated in the 1970 NAIA Champion Bowl, played on December 12, 1970 at Sirrine Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina.[1]

Texas A&I defeated Wofford in the Champion Bowl, 48–7, to win their third NAIA national title.[2]

Conference realignment

Membership changes

Team 1969 conference 1970 conference
Eastern Oregon Oregon Evergreen
Oregon College Oregon Evergreen
Oregon Tech Oregon Evergreen
Southern Oregon Oregon Evergreen

Conference standings

1970 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 15 Ouachita Baptist + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Arkansas Tech + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Southern Arkansas 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Harding 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Henderson State 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
State College of Arkansas 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Arkansas A&M 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1970 Carolinas Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Presbyterian $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Lenoir Rhyne 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Catawba 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Elon 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Newberry 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Guilford 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1970 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northern
Morgan State x 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
No. 16 Virginia State y$ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Delaware State 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
Howard 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Saint Paul's (VA) 1 – 1 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Norfolk State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Virginia Union 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Maryland Eastern Shore 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
Hampton 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
Southern
No. 17 Johnson C. Smith xy 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Elizabeth City State 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
North Carolina Central 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Shaw 3 – 2 – 1 3 – 5 – 1
Fayetteville State 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 1
Livingstone 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Winston-Salem State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
North Carolina A&T 0 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Championship: Virginia State 32, Johnson C. Smith 14
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1970 Evergreen Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Central Washington $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Western Washington 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Oregon College 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Eastern Washington 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Eastern Oregon 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Whitworth 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Southern Oregon 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
Oregon Tech 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1970 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1/7 Texas A&I $^ 8 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. NR / T–20 Sam Houston State 7 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 1
Sul Ross 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Angelo State 6 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Southwest Texas State 4 – 5 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Howard Payne 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
East Texas State 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
McMurry 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Tarleton State 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
Stephen F. Austin 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll and AP small college poll
1970 Mid-South Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Jacksonville State $ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0
Tennessee–Martin 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Troy State 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 1
Delta State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 1
Florence State 1 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Livingston 0 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1970 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Concordia–Moorhead $ 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 1
No. 14 Gustavus Adolphus 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Saint John's (MN) 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Minnesota–Duluth 4 – 2 – 1 7 – 2 – 1
Hamline 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Macalester 2 – 4 – 1 3 – 5 – 1
Augsburg 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
St. Thomas (MN) 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1970 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Michigan Tech + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Minnesota Morris + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
St. Cloud State + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Moorhead State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 1
Winona State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Bemidji State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
Southwest State (MN) 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1970 Northwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Linfield $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Pacific Lutheran 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Lewis & Clark 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Willamette 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0
Whitman 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
College of Idaho 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Pacific (OR) 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1970 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 SW Oklahoma State $ 7 – 0 – 1 8 – 1 – 1
No. 10 Northeastern State 6 – 1 – 1 8 – 1 – 1
No. 11 Central State (OK) 6 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Cameron 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 1
East Central 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
NW Oklahoma State 2 – 5 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
Panhandle 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Langston 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
SE Oklahoma State 0 – 7 – 1 0 – 9 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1970 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Mountain Division
Western New Mexico xy 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Southern Utah x 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Adams State 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 2
Westminster (UT) 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Western State (CO) 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Fort Lewis 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
Colorado Mines 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
Plains Division
No. 20 Pittsburg State xy$ 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Northern Colorado x 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Nebraska–Omaha 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 1
Fort Hays State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Southern Colorado 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Emporia State 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
Washburn * 0 – 0 – 0 5 – 3 – 2
Championship: Pittsburg State 52, Western New Mexico 6
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • * – Washburn was ineligible for conference title
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1970 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Black Hills State + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Northern State + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
South Dakota Tech + 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Dakota State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Dakota Wesleyan 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Huron 1 – 5 – 0 ? – ? – ?
Southern State 0 – 6 – 0 ? – ? – ?
  • $ – Conference champion
1970 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7/9 Alcorn A&M $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
No. 13/16 Grambling 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Texas Southern 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Southern 2 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
Prairie View A&M 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
Jackson State 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Mississippi Valley State 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll and AP small college poll
1970 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 West Liberty State $ 7 – 0 – 1 8 – 1 – 1
No. 12 Bluefield State 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0
Salem 5 – 3 – 1 5 – 3 – 1
West Virginia State 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Shepherd 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Glenville State 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Concord 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Fairmont State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
West Virginia Wesleyan 0 – 5 – 1 0 – 7 – 1
West Virginia Tech 0 – 6 – 1 1 – 7 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Conference standings based on power ratings
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1970 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Platteville State $^ 8 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
Eau Claire State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Whitewater State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Oshkosh State 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Superior State 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
La Crosse State 4 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Stout State 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Stevens Point State 1 – 6 – 1 1 – 8 – 1
River Falls State 0 – 8 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1970 NAIA Division I independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4/6 Wofford ^   –   11 – 1 – 0
No. 18/NR Hillsdale   –   9 – 2 – 0
No. 5/NR New Mexico Highlands ^   –   9 – 2 – 0
No. 19/19 Eastern Michigan   –   7 – 2 – 1
La Verne   –   5 – 4 – 0
Appalachian State   –   6 – 5 – 0
Carson–Newman   –   4 – 6 – 0
Kentucky State   –   3 – 6 – 0
Eastern New Mexico   –   2 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll and AP small college poll

Postseason

Semifinals
November 28, 1970 		1970 Champion Bowl
December 12, 1970
Greenville, SC
      
Platteville State 0
Texas A&I* 16
Texas A&I 48
Wofford *7
New Mexico Highlands 23
Wofford* 28

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. ^ "1970 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
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