1973 NAIA Division II football season
Regular seasonAugust–November 1973
PostseasonDecember 1–8, 1973
National ChampionshipHuntington, WV
ChampionsNorthwestern (IA)

The 1973 NAIA Division II football season was the 18th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA and the fourth season of play of the NAIA's lower division for football.

The season was played from August to November 1973 and culminated in the 1973 NAIA Division II Football National Championship, played on December 8, 1973 in Huntington, West Virginia near the campus of Glenville State College.[1]

The Northwestern Red Raiders defeated the Glenville State Pioneers in the championship game, 10–3, to win their first NAIA national title. As of 2015, this is the earliest NAIA championship won by a team that remains at the NAIA level.

Conference standings

1973 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Carthage $^ 8 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
No. 12 Millikin 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
No. 15 Augustana (IL) 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Illinois Wesleyan 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Carroll (WI) 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Elmhurst 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
North Park 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Wheaton (IL) 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
North Central (IL) 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1973 Frontier Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Carroll (MT) $ 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 0 – 0
Montana Tech 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
Eastern Montana 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Rocky Mountain 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
Western Montana 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1973 Gateway Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northland $ 3 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Lakeland 2 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Milton 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Northwestern (WI) 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1973 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northwood $ 2 – 0 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
Ferris State 1 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 1
Grand Valley State 0 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1973 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 William Jewell $^ 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 5 Missouri Valley 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
Central Methodist 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 1
Tarkio 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Graceland 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
College of Emporia 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Ottawa 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Baker 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1973 Hoosier–Buckeye Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 13 Hanover $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
No. 19 Defiance 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Taylor 4 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Bluffton 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Wilmington (OH) 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0
Earlham 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Anderson (IN) 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Findlay 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Manchester (IN) 0 – 6 – 1 1 – 7 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1973 Iowa Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 Buena Vista $ 7 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Central (IA) 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Wartburg 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Dubuque 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
William Penn 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Luther 2 – 4 – 1 2 – 6 – 1
Simpson 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 6 – 1
Upper Iowa 0 – 6 – 1 1 – 7 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division II 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 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
St. Mary of the Plains + 7 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Bethany (KS) + 7 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Sterling 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Friends 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Tabor 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Bethel (KS) 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
McPherson 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Southwestern (KS) 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Kansas Wesleyan 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1973 Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 20 Doane $ 4 – 0 – 1 7 – 2 – 1
Nebraska Wesleyan 3 – 1 – 1 4 – 3 – 1
Hastings 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Midland 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Concordia (NE) 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Dana 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1973 North Dakota College Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Minot State $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Valley City State 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Dickinson State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 1
Jamestown 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 1
Mayville State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
Wahpeton Science 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 5 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1973 Northwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Pacific Lutheran $ 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
No. 11 Linfield 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Whitworth 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Willamette 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Whitman 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 1
Lewis & Clark 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
College of Idaho 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Pacific (OR) 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1973 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 17 Dakota State $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
South Dakota Tech 3 – 1 – 1 4 – 3 – 2
Black Hills State 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 1
Huron 2 – 2 – 1 ? – ? – ?
Dakota Wesleyan 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
South Dakota–Springfield 0 – 5 – 0 ? – ? – ?
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1973 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Redlands $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Whittier 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
La Verne 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Claremont-Mudd 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Occidental 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
Pomona-Pitzer 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1973 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Division I
Bethune–Cookman x 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Florida A&M 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
No. 16 Albany State 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 1
Alabama A&M 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Tuskegee 2 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Morris Brown 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 1
Alabama State 0 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Division II
No. 7 Fisk x 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0
Fort Valley State 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 1
Clark (GA) 4 – 1 – 0 4 – 3 – 1
Morehouse 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 1
Savannah State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Lane 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Miles 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
Knoxville 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 8 – 0
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1973 Tri-State Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Northwestern (IA) $^ 5 – 0 – 0 12 – 0 – 0
No. 14 Yankton 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Sioux Falls 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Westmar 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Bethel (MN) 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Concordia (MN) 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division II 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 NAIA Division II independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Westminster (PA)   –   7 – 1 – 0
No. 18 Simon Fraser   –   6 – 2 – 0
Texas Lutheran   –   7 – 3 – 0
Cal Lutheran   –   6 – 4 – 0
Azusa Pacific   –   5 – 4 – 0
Franklin (IN)   –   5 – 4 – 0
Missouri Western   –   4 – 5 – 1
Geneva   –   4 – 5 – 0
Missouri Southern   –   4 – 6 – 0
Austin   –   3 – 5 – 1
Iowa Wesleyan   –   3 – 5 – 0
Waynesburg   –   3 – 5 – 0
Benedictine (KS)   –   3 – 6 – 0
Eureka   –   3 – 6 – 0
Georgetown (KY)   –   3 – 6 – 0
Oklahoma Panhandle State   –   3 – 7 – 1
Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

Postseason

Semifinals
December 1, 1973 		Championship
December 8, 1973
Huntington, WV
      
William Jewell 2
Northwestern (IA)* 28
Northwestern (IA) 10
Glenville State* 3
Carthage 7
Glenville State* 14

See also

References

  1. ^ "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
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