1977 NAIA Division II football season

American college football season

1977 NAIA Division II football season
Regular season	August–November 1977
Postseason	November–December 1977
National Championship	Thousand Oaks, CA
Champions	Westminster (PA) (3)
←1976 NAIA Division II football season 1978→

The 1977 NAIA Division II football season was the 22nd season of college football sponsored by the NAIA and the eighth season of play of the NAIA's lower division for football.

The season was played from August to November 1977 and culminated in the 1977 NAIA Division II Football National Championship, played on the campus of California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.

The Westminster Titans defeated the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen in the championship game, 17–9, to win their third, and second consecutive, NAIA national title.

Conference changes

The Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association began play this season, with five members from Texas. The TIAA would remain an NAIA conference until 1996, after which its remaining membership joined the NCAA Division III American Southwest Conference for the 1997 season.

Team	1976 conference	1977 conference
Tarleton State	Lone Star (NAIA Division I)	TIAA (NAIA Division II)
Sul Ross State	Lone Star (NAIA Division I)	TIAA (NAIA Division II)

Conference standings

1977 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Illinois Wesleyan +	6	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Millikin +	6	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
North Central (IL)	5	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Carthage	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Wheaton (IL)	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Elmhurst	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Augustana (IL)	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Carroll (WI)	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
North Park	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions

1977 Frontier Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 20 Western Montana $	4	–	0	–	0	6	–	2	–	1
Carroll (MT)	3	–	1	–	0	4	–	4	–	0
Eastern Montana	2	–	2	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Rocky Mountain	1	–	3	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Montana Tech	0	–	4	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1977 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 18 Grand Valley State $	4	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Wayne State (MI)	3	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Hillsdale	2	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Northwood	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Saginaw Valley State	2	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Ferris State	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1977 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 7 Missouri Valley $	6	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
No. 13 Baker	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
No. T–14 Graceland	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Ottawa	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
William Jewell	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Central Methodist	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Tarkio	0	–	6	–	0	3	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1977 Hoosier–Buckeye Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Defiance +	6	–	1	–	1	6	–	2	–	1
Findlay +	6	–	1	–	1	6	–	2	–	1
Hanover	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Wilmington (OH)	6	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Taylor	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Anderson (IN)	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Bluffton	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Earlham	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Manchester (IN)	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions

1977 Illini–Badger Football Conference standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Northeastern Illinois $	4	–	0	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Milton	3	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Eureka	2	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Lakeland	1	–	3	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Concordia (IL)	0	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1977 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 8 Bethany (KS) $	8	–	0	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
Bethel (KS)	7	–	1	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Southwestern (KS)	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Friends	5	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Sterling	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Tabor	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Kansas Wesleyan	2	–	5	–	1	2	–	7	–	1
St. Mary of the Plains	0	–	6	–	2	0	–	7	–	2
McPherson	0	–	7	–	1	0	–	8	–	1

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1977 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Saint John's (MN) $^	7	–	0	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Concordia–Moorhead	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Gustavus Adolphus	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
St. Thomas (MN)	3	–	3	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
Augsburg	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
St. Olaf	2	–	4	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
Hamline	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Macalester	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1977 Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 19 Midland $	5	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Doane	3½	–	1½	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Hastings	2½	–	2½	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Dana	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	4	–	0
Nebraska Wesleyan	2	–	3	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Concordia (NE)	0	–	5	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Hastings and Doane played twice; each game counted as ½ of a game in the conference standings. Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1977 North Dakota College Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 5 Valley City State $	6	–	0	–	0	9	–	0	–	0
No. 12 Jamestown	4	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Wahpeton Science	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	2	–	0
Dickinson State	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Mayville State	3	–	3	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Minot State	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Bismarck JC	0	–	6	–	0	0	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1977 Northwest Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 3 Linfield $^	6	–	0	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Pacific Lutheran	5	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Willamette	4	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Lewis & Clark	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	4	–	0
College of Idaho	2	–	4	–	0	2	–	6	–	0
Whitworth	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Pacific (OR)	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	7	–	0

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

1977 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 6 Dakota State $	5	–	0	–	0	10	–	0	–	0
South Dakota Tech	4	–	1	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Black Hills State	3	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Huron	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Dakota Wesleyan	1	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
South Dakota–Springfield	0	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1977 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Redlands $	5	–	0	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
No. T–14 Whittier	4	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Occidental	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
La Verne	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Claremont-Mudd	1	–	4	–	0	1	–	7	–	0
Pomona-Pitzer	0	–	5	–	0	0	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Redlands forfeited two non-conference wins. Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1977 Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Tarleton State $	4	–	0	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Trinity (TX)	3	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
McMurry	2	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Austin	1	–	3	–	0	1	–	8	–	0
Sul Ross	0	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1977 Tri-State Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Northwestern (IA) $	2	–	0	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Westmar	1	–	1	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Sioux Falls	0	–	2	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Northwestern (IA) and Sioux Falls played twice, but only the first meeting counted in the conference stnadings.

1977 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Northern Division
No. 9 West Virginia Wesleyan xy	3	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Salem x	3	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Shepherd x	3	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
West Liberty State	1	–	3	–	0	3	–	6	–	1
Fairmont State	0	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Southern Division
No. 4 Concord xy$^	4	–	0	–	0	9	–	2	–	1
West Virginia Tech	3	–	1	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
West Virginia State	2	–	2	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Glenville State	1	–	3	–	0	1	–	8	–	0
Bluefield State	0	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Championship: Concord 33, West Virginia Wesleyan 17
$ – 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

1977 NAIA Division II independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 1 Westminster (PA) ^		–		11	–	0	–	0
No. 17 Illinois College		–		7	–	1	–	0
No. 2 Cal Lutheran ^		–		9	–	2	–	0
No. 10 Chadron State		–		8	–	2	–	0
No. 16 Franklin (IN)		–		8	–	2	–	0
No. 11 Waynesburg		–		7	–	2	–	0
Benedictine (KS)		–		7	–	4	–	0
Georgetown (KY)		–		6	–	4	–	0
Peru State		–		5	–	5	–	0
Azusa Pacific		–		4	–	5	–	0
Texas Lutheran		–		4	–	6	–	0
Simon Fraser		–		3	–	5	–	1
Iowa Wesleyan		–		2	–	7	–	0
Geneva		–		1	–	8	–	0
Oklahoma Panhandle State		–		1	–	8	–	0

^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

Conference champions

Conference	Champion	Record
Hoosier-Buckeye	Findlay Defiance	6–1–1
Illini-Badger	Northeastern Illinois	4–0
Kansas	Bethany	8–0
Minnesota	Saint John's (MN)	7–0
Nebraska	Midland Lutheran	5–0
North Dakota	Valley City State	4–0
Pacific Northwest	Linfield	6–0
South Dakota	Dakota State	6–0
SCIAC	Redlands	5–0
Texas	Tarleton State	4–0
WVIAC	Concord	7–1–1

Postseason

Semifinals Campus sites			Championship Thousand Oaks, CA

	Westminster (PA)*	14

	Concord	13
				Westminster (PA)	17

				Cal Lutheran*	9
	Linfield	28

	Cal Lutheran*	29

References

"NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
"NAIA Football Regular Season Records" (PDF). NAIA. p. 20. Retrieved December 11, 2021.

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

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