The AP small college football rankings was a system used by the Associated Press (AP) from 1960 to 1974 to rank the best small college football teams in the United States.

The United Press International led the way with its UPI small college football rankings starting in 1958. The AP followed with its own small-college rankings starting in October 1960. The AP rankings were issued weekly and were based on ballots cast by an AP board of experts, consisting of one person in each of eight NCAA district.[1]

Top teams in final polls

The following chart lists the top five teams in the final AP small college rankings for each year from 1960 to 1974. The figures in brackets reflect the number of first-place votes received in the final voting. The figures in parentheses reflect the total points received.

Year No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 Source
1960 Ohio [4] (65) Lenoir–Rhyne (46) Humboldt State [1] (34) Whitworth (32) West Chester Teachers [1] (30) [2]
1961 Pittsburg State [5] (70) Baldwin–Wallace (60) Fresno State (45) Florida A&M (42) Whittier (34) [3]
1962 Florida A&M (67) Wittenberg (66) Central State (OK) (54) Southern Miss (44) Lenoir–Rhyne (34) [4]
1963 Northern Illinois [3] (63) Delaware [3] (53) Wittenberg (38) UMass (37) Saint John's (MN) (35) [5]
1964 Wittenberg [6] (114) Prairie View A&M (101) Cal State Los Angeles [2] (97) Louisiana Tech (89) San Diego State [1] (67) [6]
1965 North Dakota State [4] (84) Middle Tennessee State [2] (68) Sul Ross [1] (43) Cal State Los Angeles (35) Tennessee State (32) [7]
1966 San Diego State [14] (158) Tennessee State [2] (126) Montana State (113) Northwestern State (72) Parsons (70) [8]
1967 San Diego State [12] (157) North Dakota State [2] (137) New Mexico Highlands [1] (93) Texas–Arlington [1] (76) Eastern Kentucky (75) [9]
1968 North Dakota State [6] (220) San Diego State [3] (204) Chattanooga [1] (162) New Mexico Highlands (147) IUP (142) [10]
1969 North Dakota State Montana Akron Louisiana Tech Colorado State-Greeley [11]
1970 Arkansas State Montana North Dakota State Tampa Tennessee State [12]
1971 Delaware McNeese State Eastern Michigan Louisiana Tech Tennessee State [13]
1972 Delaware Louisiana Tech Cal Poly Ashland Tennessee State [14]
1973 Tennessee State [17] (708) Louisiana Tech [21] (706) Western Kentucky (459) Wittenberg [1] (407) Boise State (390)
Abilene Christian (390) 		[15]
1974 Central Michigan [32] (658) Louisiana Tech (477) Texas A&I [2] (461] Delaware (460) Boise State (401) [16]

References

  1. ^ "Ohio U. Leads Small College Grid Poll; Muskingum Gains Ranking". The Daily Reporter. Associated Press. October 6, 1960. p. 18.
  2. ^ "Ohio Cops 'Small' AP Grid Poll". Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. December 1, 1960. p. 6-D. Retrieved May 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  3. ^ "Kansas School Nabs Small College Honor". The Lawton Constitution. Lawton, Oklahoma. November 23, 1961. p. 26. Retrieved January 25, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  4. ^ "AP Small College Football Poll". The Decatur Daily Review. Decatur, Illinois. November 30, 1962. p. 14. Retrieved January 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  5. ^ "N. Illinois On Top in Final Vote". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. November 29, 1963. p. 85. Retrieved May 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  6. ^ "Wittenberg No. 1 in Final Small College Football Poll". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. November 25, 1964. p. 5-B. Retrieved January 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  7. ^ "Bisons Are Picked As Best Team". Biddeford-Saco Journal. Biddeford, Maine. November 24, 1965. p. 6. Retrieved January 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  8. ^ "Small College Football Poll". The News-Palladium. Benton Harbor, Michigan. December 1, 1966. p. 24. Retrieved January 19, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  9. ^ "San Diego State Finishes As Top Team 2nd Season". The Jacksonville Daily Journal. Jacksonville, Illinois. November 26, 1967. p. 29. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  10. ^ "A&I 6th in AP Poll". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. December 5, 1968. p. 6-B. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  11. ^ "Tech Remains Fourth; E. Tenn. St. Is 20th". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. November 27, 1969. p. A-15. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  12. ^ "Javelinas Ranked 7th In Final AP Poll". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. December 3, 1970. p. 8-G. Retrieved May 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  13. ^ "Delaware is first". The Courier-News. Bridgewater, New Jersey. November 24, 1971. p. 41. Retrieved May 18, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  14. ^ "Delaware Takes Second Straight Rankings Title". The Jacksonville Daily Journal. Jacksonville, Illinois. November 23, 1972. p. 38. Retrieved May 18, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  15. ^ "'Bows No. 9 in Final AP Poll". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Honolulu, Hawaii. December 20, 1973. p. E-1. Retrieved May 18, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  16. ^ "Chips Were No. 1!". Lansing State Journal. Lansing, Michigan. December 24, 1974. p. B-4. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
Categories