1971 NAIA Division I football season

American college football season

1971 NAIA Division I football season
Regular season	August–November 1971
Postseason	November 26–December 11, 1971
National Championship	Legion Field Birmingham, AL
Champions	Livingston
← 1970 NAIA Division I football season 1972 →

The 1971 NAIA Division I football season was the 16th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA and the second season of the league's two-division structure. The season was played from August to November 1971 and culminated in the 1971 NAIA Champion Bowl, played on December 11, 1971 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Livingston defeated Arkansas Tech in the Champion Bowl, 14–12, to win their first NAIA national title.

Conference standings

1971 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 Arkansas Tech $^	6	–	0	–	0	12	–	1	–	0
Southern Arkansas	5	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Ouachita Baptist	4	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Harding	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Arkansas–Monticello	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Henderson State	1	–	4	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
State College of Arkansas	0	–	5	–	1	2	–	6	–	1

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1971 Carolinas Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Elon $	5	–	0	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Newberry	3	–	1	–	1	8	–	2	–	1
Presbyterian	3	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Catawba	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Lenoir Rhyne	1	–	3	–	1	2	–	7	–	1
Guilford	0	–	5	–	0	0	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1971 Evergreen Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Western Washington $	6	–	0	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Oregon College	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Eastern Washington	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Eastern Oregon	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Central Washington	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Southern Oregon	1	–	4	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Oregon Tech	0	–	5	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1971 Gulf South Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Livingston +^	5	–	1	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
Troy State +	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Jacksonville State	3	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Tennessee–Martin	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Delta State	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	5	–	1
Florence State	0	–	6	–	0	1	–	10	–	0
Southeastern Louisiana	0	–	6	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1971 Lone Star Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 3 Howard Payne +	7	–	1	–	1	10	–	1	–	1
No. 4 Southwest Texas State +	7	–	1	–	1	8	–	1	–	1
No. 13 Texas A&I	7	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Angelo State	6	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
East Texas State	5	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Sul Ross	3	–	6	–	0	4	–	6	–	1
Sam Houston State	3	–	6	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Tarleton State	2	–	7	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
McMurry	2	–	7	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Stephen F. Austin	2	–	7	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1971 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 7 Saint John's (MN) +	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Gustavus Adolphus +	6	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Minnesota–Duluth	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	1
Concordia-Moorhead	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Hamline	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
St. Thomas (MN)	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Macalester	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	7	–	1
Augsburg	0	–	7	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1971 Nebraska College Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Wayne State (NE) $	3	–	0	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Kearney State	2	–	1	–	0	5	–	3	–	1
Chadron State	1	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Peru State	0	–	3	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1971 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Moorhead State $	6	–	0	–	0	7	–	1	–	1
Michigan Tech	5	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Minnesota Morris	3	–	2	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
Bemidji State	3	–	2	–	1	3	–	5	–	1
St. Cloud State	2	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Winona State	1	–	5	–	0	1	–	9	–	0
Southwest State (MN)	0	–	6	–	0	0	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1971 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 12 SW Oklahoma State $	7	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Central State (OK)	5	–	2	–	1	7	–	2	–	1
Cameron	5	–	2	–	1	7	–	3	–	2
Northeastern State	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
NW Oklahoma State	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
East Central	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Panhandle	2	–	6	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Langston	2	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
SE Oklahoma State	1	–	7	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1971 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Mountain Division
Western State (CO) x	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	2	–	1
Adams State xy	5	–	1	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Southern Utah	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Western New Mexico	3	–	3	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Colorado Mines	2	–	4	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Westminster (UT)	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	4	–	0
Fort Lewis	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Plains Division
Northern Colorado xy$	5	–	0	–	0	8	–	1	–	1
Pittsburg State	3	–	1	–	1	8	–	1	–	1
Nebraska–Omaha	2	–	2	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
Emporia State	1	–	3	–	1	3	–	6	–	1
Fort Hays State	1	–	3	–	1	2	–	7	–	1
Southern Colorado	1	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Washburn *	0	–	0	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Championship: Northern Colorado 25, Adam State 15
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant * – Washburn was ineligible for conference title

1971 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 8 Northern State $^	5	–	0	–	0	8	–	1	–	1
No. 12 Dakota State	4	–	2	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
South Dakota Tech	3	–	2	–	1	3	–	4	–	1
Huron	2	–	2	–	2	?	–	?	–	?
South Dakota–Springfield	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Black Hills State	1	–	3	–	1	2	–	6	–	1
Dakota Wesleyan	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll for Northern State and NAIA Division II poll for Dakota State

1971 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 9 Grambling $	5	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Jackson State	4	–	1	–	1	9	–	1	–	1
No. 16 Alcorn A&M	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Texas Southern	3	–	2	–	1	7	–	2	–	1
Prairie View A&M	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Mississippi Valley State	1	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Southern	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	1

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll for Grambling and UPI small college poll for Alcorn A&M

1971 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 5 West Liberty State $^	7	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Fairmont State	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Salem	6	–	2	–	1	7	–	2	–	1
Bluefield State	4	–	1	–	1	4	–	3	–	1
Shepherd	3	–	1	–	2	7	–	1	–	2
Glenville State	4	–	3	–	1	4	–	5	–	0
West Virginia State	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
West Virginia Tech	1	–	5	–	1	2	–	6	–	1
West Virginia Wesleyan	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Concord	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Conference standings based on power ratings Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1971 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 11 Wisconsin–Platteville +	7	–	1	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
No. 14 Wisconsin–La Crosse +	7	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Wisconsin–Superior	6	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Wisconsin–Eau Claire	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Wisconsin–Oshkosh	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin–Stout	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Wisconsin–River Falls	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Wisconsin–Whitewater	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Wisconsin–Stevens Point	1	–	7	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Wisconsin–Whitewater forfeited five games. Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1971 NAIA Division I independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 6 Carson–Newman		–		10	–	2	–	0
Kentucky State		–		8	–	2	–	0
Wofford		–		6	–	4	–	0
Hillsdale		–		6	–	5	–	0
Eastern New Mexico		–		4	–	5	–	1
New Mexico Highlands		–		1	–	8	–	1

Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

Postseason

Semifinals November 26–27, 1971		1971 Champion Bowl December 11, 1971 Birmingham, AL

Northern State (SD)	0

Arkansas Tech*	24
		Arkansas Tech	12

		Livingston*	14
Livingston	25

West Liberty State*	2

References

"NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
"1971 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 27, 2015.

NAIA football

Seasons

1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970–1996 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
Division I	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
Division II	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
Women's flag	2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

Championships

1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970–1996 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
Division I	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
Division II	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996

Records & statistics

Categories:

Misplaced Pages

1971 NAIA Division I football season

Conference standings

Postseason

See also

References