1973 NAIA Division I football season

1973 NAIA Division I football season
Regular seasonAugust–November 1973
PostseasonDecember 1–8, 1973
National ChampionshipIndependence Stadium
Shreveport, LA
ChampionsAbilene Christian

The 1973 NAIA Division I football season was the 18th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA and the fourth season of the league's two-division structure.

The season was played from August to November 1973 and culminated in the 1973 NAIA Champion Bowl, played on December 8, 1973 at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana.[1]

Abilene Christian defeated Elon in the Champion Bowl, 42–14, to win their first NAIA national title.[2]

Conference realignment

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Conference changes

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Conference standings

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1973 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Henderson State $ 6 0 0 10 1 0
No. T–17 Southern Arkansas 4 2 0 8 2 0
Harding 4 2 0 7 3 0
State College of Arkansas 3 3 0 6 5 0
Ouachita Baptist 2 4 0 5 5 0
Arkansas Tech 2 4 0 4 7 0
Arkansas–Monticello 0 6 0 2 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 Carolinas Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2/10 Elon $^ 4 0 0 12 1 0
Lenoir Rhyne 2 1 0 5 5 1
Mars Hill 2 2 0 5 6 0
Catawba 1 3 0 5 5 0
Guilford 0 3 0 1 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll and AP small college poll
1973 Evergreen Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 16 Central Washington $ 5 1 0 7 2 0
Eastern Oregon 4 2 0 7 2 0
Oregon College 4 2 0 6 3 0
Southern Oregon 4 2 0 6 3 0
Eastern Washington 2 4 0 5 4 0
Western Washington 1 5 0 1 7 0
Oregon Tech 1 5 0 1 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. T–17 Emporia State + 4 1 0 7 2 0
Northern Colorado + 4 1 0 7 2 0
Fort Hays State 2 3 0 5 4 0
Washburn 2 3 0 3 6 1
Pittsburg State 2 3 0 3 7 0
Southern Colorado 1 4 0 3 7 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 Gulf South Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. T–17 Troy State $ 6 1 0 7 2 1
No. 4 Jacksonville State 5 2 0 7 2 0
Delta State 6 3 0 8 3 0
Livingston 4 3 1 6 3 1
Northwestern State 3 4 0 5 6 0
Mississippi College 3 4 0 4 6 0
Southeastern Louisiana 3 4 0 4 6 0
Florence State 3 6 0 4 6 0
Nicholls State 2 7 0 2 9 0
Tennessee–Martin 1 5 1 2 8 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1/7 Abilene Christian $^ 9 0 0 11 1 0
No. 8 Howard Payne 8 1 0 8 3 0
Stephen F. Austin 6 3 0 9 3 0
East Texas State 6 3 0 7 4 0
Angelo State 5 4 0 5 4 2
Southwest Texas State 3 6 0 4 6 0
Sul Ross 3 6 0 3 7 0
Sam Houston State 2 7 0 2 8 0
Texas A&I 2 7 0 2 8 0
Tarleton State 1 8 0 1 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll and AP small college 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 Nebraska College Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Kearney State $ 3 0 0 6 3 0
Chadron State 2 1 0 7 3 0
Wayne State (NE) 1 2 0 5 5 0
Peru State 0 3 0 4 6 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1973 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Moorhead State $ 5 1 0 7 3 0
Michigan Tech 4 2 0 5 4 1
St. Cloud State 4 2 0 4 6 0
Bemidji State 2 4 0 5 4 0
Southwest State (MN) 2 4 0 4 6 0
Minnesota Morris 2 4 0 3 6 0
Winona State 2 4 0 3 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1973 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Langston $^ 8 0 0 11 1 0
No. 12 Northeastern State 6 2 0 7 2 0
SE Oklahoma State 5 3 0 6 4 0
Central State (OK) 5 3 0 6 4 1
Cameron 4 4 0 5 5 0
East Central 3 4 0 4 7 0
Panhandle 2 6 0 3 7 1
SW Oklahoma State 2 6 0 3 7 0
NW Oklahoma State 0 7 1 1 8 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
East Division
West Chester xy 4 0 0 5 5 0
East Stroudsburg 5 1 0 6 1 1
Millersville 4 2 0 7 2 0
Cheyney 3 2 0 5 4 0
Bloomsburg 2 4 0 4 5 0
Kutztown 1 5 0 2 7 0
Mansfield 0 5 0 1 7 0
West Division
No. T–20 Slippery Rock xy$ 5 0 0 8 2 0
Clarion 3 2 0 5 4 0
Edinboro 3 2 0 4 4 1
Lock Haven 2 3 0 2 7 0
California (PA) 1 4 0 3 6 0
Shippensburg 1 4 0 2 7 0
Indiana (PA) * 0 0 0 4 5 0
Championship: Slippery Rock 28, West Chester 14
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • * – Ineligible for conference title
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Western State (CO) $ 5 1 0 6 3 0
Adams State 4 2 0 6 3 0
Southern Utah 4 2 0 5 4 0
Fort Lewis 3 3 0 4 5 0
Western New Mexico 3 3 0 3 5 0
Westminster (UT) 2 4 0 3 6 0
Colorado Mines 0 6 0 0 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1973 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5/7 Grambling +^ 5 1 0 10 3 0
No. 10 Jackson State + 5 1 0 9 2 0
No. T–20 Alcorn A&M 3 2 1 7 2 1
Southern 3 3 0 6 4 0
Texas Southern 2 3 1 5 5 1
Mississippi Valley State 2 4 0 3 5 0
Prairie View A&M 0 6 0 2 6 1
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll and AP small college 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 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Wisconsin–La Crosse $^ 7 1 0 9 2 0
No. 14 Wisconsin–Platteville 6 1 1 8 1 1
Wisconsin–Whitewater 4 2 2 6 2 2
Wisconsin–Eau Claire 4 4 0 5 5 0
Wisconsin–Oshkosh 4 4 0 4 6 0
Wisconsin–River Falls 3 4 1 4 5 1
Wisconsin–Stevens Point 3 5 0 4 6 0
Wisconsin–Superior 2 6 0 2 8 0
Wisconsin–Stout 1 7 0 1 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 NAIA Division I independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 15 Hillsdale     7 2 0
No. 13 Carson–Newman     6 3 0
Eastern New Mexico     6 4 0
Wofford     3 6 1
Kentucky State     3 8 0
Presbyterian     3 8 0
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

Postseason

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Semifinals
December 1, 1973
1973 Champion Bowl
December 8, 1973
Shreveport, LA
      
Wisconsin–La Crosse 24
Elon* 35
Elon 14
Abilene Christian 42
Langston 6
Abilene Christian* 34

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  2. ^ "1973 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 27, 2015.