1976 NCAA Division II football season

1976 NCAA Division II Football Championship
1976 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	8
Finals Site	Memorial Stadium; Wichita Falls, TX;
Champion	Montana State; (1st title, 1st title game);
Runner-up	Akron; (1st title game);
Semifinalists	Northern Michigan; North Dakota State;
Winning coach	Sonny Holland; 1st championship;
Attendance	13,200; (Pioneer Bowl)

1976 NCAA Division II football season
1976 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	August – November 1976
Playoffs	November 27 –; December 11, 1976
National Championship	Pioneer Bowl; Memorial Stadium; Wichita Falls, TX
Champion	Montana State
	← 1975; NCAA Division II football seasons; 1977 →;

The 1976 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 August 1976 and concluded with the championship game on December 11 at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Montana State Bobcats defeated the Akron Zips 24–13 in the Pioneer Bowl to win their only Division II national title.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Conference changes and new programs

School	1975 Conference	1976 Conference
Alabama State	SIAC	D-II Independent
Cal State Los Angeles	CCAA	Independent
Eastern Michigan	Independent	MAC (D-I)
Illinois State	D-II Independent	D-I Independent

Conference standings

1976 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Montana State $^	6	–	0	–	0	12	–	1	–	0
Idaho	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Northern Arizona	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Montana	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Boise State	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	1
Weber State	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Idaho State	0	–	6	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll

1976 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Cal Poly $	2	–	0	–	0	7	–	1	–	1
Cal Poly Pomona	1	–	1	–	0	4	–	5	–	1
Cal State Northridge	0	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1976 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Norfolk State $	7	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Hampton	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Fayetteville State	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Virginia Union	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Livingstone	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Winston-Salem State	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Johnson C. Smith	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Virginia State	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Elizabeth City State	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Saint Paul's (VA)	1	–	7	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Shaw	1	–	7	–	0	2	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1976 Far Western Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
UC Davis $	5	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Humboldt State	4	–	1	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Chico State	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
San Francisco State	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Sacramento State	2	–	3	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Cal State Hayward	0	–	5	–	0	1	–	8	–	1

$ – Conference champion

1976 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 15 Northwood $	4	–	1	–	0	5	–	2	–	1
No. 7 Grand Valley State	3	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Wayne State (MI)	3	–	2	–	0	6	–	2	–	0
Ferris State	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Hillsdale	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Saginaw Valley State	0	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1976 Gulf South Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 6 Troy State $	7	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	1
Southeastern Louisiana	6	–	1	–	1	9	–	1	–	1
Jacksonville State	6	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Tennessee–Martin	5	–	3	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Livingston	5	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
North Alabama	3	–	4	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
Delta State	2	–	5	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
Nicholls State	2	–	5	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
Mississippi College	0	–	8	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1976 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Saint Joseph's (IN) +	4	–	1	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Evansville +	4	–	1	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Indiana Central	3	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Butler	2	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Valparaiso	2	–	3	–	0	2	–	7	–	1
DePauw	0	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions

1976 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. T–8 South Carolina State +	5	–	1	–	0	10	–	1	–	0
Morgan State +	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
North Carolina A&T	3	–	2	–	1	6	–	4	–	1
Howard	3	–	2	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
North Carolina Central	2	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Delaware State	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	1
Maryland Eastern Shore	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from Associated Press poll

1976 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
SE Missouri State +	4	–	1	–	1	7	–	3	–	1
NE Missouri State +	4	–	1	–	1	5	–	3	–	1
NW Missouri State	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
SW Missouri State	4	–	2	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Missouri–Rolla	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	1
Central Missouri State	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Lincoln (MO)	0	–	6	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions

1976 North Central Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. T–8 North Dakota State $^	6	–	0	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
South Dakota State	4	–	1	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
Northern Iowa	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
South Dakota	3	–	2	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
North Dakota	1	–	4	–	1	1	–	7	–	1
Augustana (SD)	1	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Morningside	0	–	5	–	1	1	–	7	–	1

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP Poll

1976 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 10 Minnesota Morris $	7	–	0	–	0	8	–	1	–	1
Michigan Tech	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Minnesota Duluth	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
St. Cloud State	4	–	3	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Bemidji State	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Moorhead State	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Winona State	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	9	–	0
Southwest State (MN)	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion St. Cloud State forfeited a conference win over Minnesota Duluth and three non-conference wins; NCAA, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, and St. Cloud State records do not reflect the forfeits in the team's overall record. Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1976 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 5 Eastern Kentucky $^	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Tennessee Tech	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Murray State	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Austin Peay	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Western Kentucky	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	1
East Tennessee State	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Middle Tennessee	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Morehead State	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Morehead State record adjusted for forfeit to Marshall Rankings from Associated Press poll

1976 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
East Division
East Stroudsburg xy+	6	–	0	–	0	9	–	0	–	1
West Chester	4	–	1	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Millersville	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Kutztown	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Bloomsburg	2	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Cheyney	1	–	5	–	0	1	–	7	–	0
Mansfield	0	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	1
West Division
Shippensburg xy+	5	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	1
Slippery Rock x	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Edinboro	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Clarion	3	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Indiana (PA)	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
California (PA)	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Lock Haven	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Championship: East Stroudsburg 14, Shippensburg 14
+ – Conference co-champions x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

1976 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. T–8 Alcorn State $	5	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Southern	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Grambling State	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Prairie View A&M	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Jackson State	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Mississippi Valley State	1	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Texas Southern	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from Associated Press poll

1976 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Division I
Bethune–Cookman x	4	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Tuskegee	3	–	1	–	1	6	–	3	–	1
Florida A&M	3	–	1	–	1	6	–	3	–	2
Morris Brown	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	1
Alabama A&M	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Albany State	1	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Division II
Fort Valley State x	5	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Knoxville	3	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Lane	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Morehouse	3	–	2	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Clark (GA)	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Miles	2	–	3	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Fisk	1	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Savannah State	0	–	5	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

x – Division champion/co-champions

1976 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Northern Division
No. 5 Shepherd xy	4	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 11 Salem	3	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	1
West Liberty State	2	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Fairmont State	1	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
West Virginia Wesleyan	0	–	4	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Southern Division
No. T–19 Concord xy$	4	–	0	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
West Virginia State	2	–	2	–	0	4	–	4	–	1
Bluefield State	2	–	2	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
West Virginia Tech	1	–	3	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Glenville State	1	–	3	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Championship: Concord 21, Shepherd 7
$ – Conference champion Conference standings based on power ratings Rankings from NAIA Division I poll for Salem and Shepherd and NAIA Division II poll for Concord

1976 Yankee Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. T–8 New Hampshire $^	4	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
UMass	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Maine	2	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Rhode Island	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Boston University	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Connecticut	2	–	3	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll

1976 NCAA Division II independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 2 Northern Michigan ^		–		11	–	2	–	0
No. 3 Akron ^		–		10	–	3	–	0
No. 7 UNLV ^		–		9	–	3	–	0
No. 4 Delaware ^		–		8	–	3	–	1
Nevada		–		8	–	3	–	0
Portland State		–		8	–	3	–	0
Tennessee State		–		7	–	2	–	1
American International		–		6	–	3	–	0
Northern Colorado		–		6	–	3	–	0
Madison		–		7	–	4	–	0
Santa Clara		–		7	–	4	–	0
Western Carolina		–		6	–	4	–	0
Chattanooga		–		6	–	4	–	1
Southern Connecticut State		–		5	–	4	–	0
Central State (OH)		–		6	–	5	–	0
Lehigh		–		6	–	5	–	0
Cal State Los Angeles		–		5	–	3	–	1
Arkansas–Pine Bluff		–		5	–	5	–	0
Central Connecticut		–		5	–	5	–	0
Lafayette		–		5	–	5	–	0
Eastern Illinois		–		5	–	6	–	0
Bucknell		–		4	–	5	–	0
Youngstown State		–		4	–	6	–	0
Kentucky State		–		3	–	7	–	1
Nebraska–Omaha		–		3	–	8	–	0
Northeastern		–		2	–	7	–	0

^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll

Conference summaries

Conference Champions
Big Sky Conference – Montana State Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Norfolk State Far Western Football Conference – UC Davis Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Northwood Gulf South Conference – Troy State Indiana Collegiate Conference - Evansville and St. Joseph's Lone Star Conference – Texas A&I Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Northeast Missouri State and Southeast Missouri State North Central Conference – North Dakota State Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Morris Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – East Stroudsburg Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Western State (CO) South Atlantic Conference – Elon Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division II) – Bethune-Cookman Yankee Conference – New Hampshire

Postseason

The 1976 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the fourth single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's Division II college football. The championship game (Pioneer Bowl) was held at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas for the first time.

Playoff bracket

First round Campus sites November 27		Semifinals Campus sites Knute Rockne Bowl Grantland Rice Bowl December 4		Championship Pioneer Bowl Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, TX December 11

Akron*	27

UNLV	6
		Akron*	29

		Northern Michigan	26
Northern Michigan	28

Delaware*	17
				Akron	13

				Montana State	24
North Dakota State	10

Eastern Kentucky*	7
		North Dakota State*	3

		Montana State	10
Montana State*	17

New Hampshire	16

* Denotes host institution

References

^ "1976 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
^ "Montana State wins title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. 4B.
^ "Dennehy leads Montana State's bowl win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. D1.

[1] "1976 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 2, 2014.

[mswti-2] "Montana State wins title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. 4B.

[dlmsbw-3] "Dennehy leads Montana State's bowl win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. D1.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e NCAA football seasons
Pre-NCAA	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905
NCAA pre-divisional	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961
NCAA University Division	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division I	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
NCAA Division I-A/FBS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA College Division	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division II	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NCAA Division III	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

1976 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	8
Finals Site	Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, TX
Champion	Montana State (1st title, 1st title game)
Runner-up	Akron (1st title game)
Semifinalists	Northern Michigan North Dakota State
Winning coach	Sonny Holland 1st championship
Attendance	13,200 (Pioneer Bowl)