1965 NCAA College Division football season

The 1965 NCAA College Division football season was the tenth season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the NCAA College Division level.

1965 NCAA College Division football season
Champion(s)	North Dakota State (AP, UPI) Tennessee A&I (black)
College Division football seasons

Conference standings

1966 Big Sky Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Weber State + 3 – 1 – 0     8 – 1 – 0 Idaho + 3 – 1 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Montana 2 – 2 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Idaho State 1 – 3 – 0     3 – 5 – 1 Montana State 1 – 3 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1965 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 4 AP / #2 UPI Cal St Los Angeles $ 5 – 0 – 0     9 – 1 – 0 No. 9 UPI Cal State Long Beach 4 – 1 – 0     9 – 1 – 0 San Diego State 3 – 2 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Fresno State 1 – 3 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Cal Poly 1 – 4 – 0     2 – 8 – 0 Valley State 0 – 4 – 0     1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from College Division poll	1965 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Omaha $ 4 – 0 – 0     8 – 1 – 0 Fort Hays State 3 – 1 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Pittsburg State 2 – 2 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Washburn 1 – 3 – 0     2 – 6 – 1 Emporia State 0 – 4 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1965 Far Western Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T San Francisco State $ 5 – 0 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Nevada 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 UC Davis 3 – 2 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Humboldt State 2 – 3 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Sacramento State 1 – 4 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Chico State 0 – 5 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Cal State Hayward* 0 – 0 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion * – Games vs. Cal State Hayward did not count as conference games in 1965. Rankings from College Division poll	1965 Gulf States Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Southwestern Louisiana + 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 McNeese State + 4 – 1 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Louisiana Tech 3 – 2 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Northwestern State 2 – 3 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Southeastern Louisiana 2 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Northeast Louisiana State 0 – 5 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1965 Hoosier Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Anderson (IN) $ 4 – 1 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Taylor 3 – 1 – 1     3 – 5 – 1 Indiana Central 3 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Franklin (IN) 2 – 2 – 1     3 – 5 – 1 Manchester (IN) 0 – 3 – 2     2 – 5 – 2 Hanover 1 – 4 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1965 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Ball State $ 6 – 0 – 0     9 – 0 – 1 Butler 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Evansville 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Indiana State 2 – 3 – 1     4 – 3 – 1 Saint Joseph's (IN) 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 Valparaiso 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 DePauw 1 – 4 – 1     2 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1965 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Northern Illinois $ 4 – 0 – 0     9 – 1 – 0 Central Michigan 3 – 1 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Western Illinois 2 – 2 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Eastern Illinois 1 – 3 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 Illinois State 0 – 4 – 0     0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1965 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Central (IA) $ 7 – 0 – 0     8 – 1 – 0 Luther 6 – 1 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Dubuque 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 2 – 1 Buena Vista 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Upper Iowa 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Simpson 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Wartburg 1 – 6 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 William Penn 0 – 7 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1965 Lone Star Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Sul Ross $^ 6 – 0 – 0     10 – 1 – 0 Southwest Texas State 4 – 2 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Stephen F. Austin 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Texas A&I 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 East Texas State 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Sam Houston State 1 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Howard Payne 0 – 6 – 0     2 – 8 – 0 McMurry 0 – 0 – 0     4 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant	1965 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Bowling Green + 5 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Miami + 5 – 1 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 Western Michigan 3 – 2 – 1     6 – 2 – 1 Kent State 3 – 2 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 Marshall 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Toledo 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 5 – 1 Ohio 0 – 6 – 0     0 – 10 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1965 Mid-Ohio Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Ashland $ 3 – 0 – 0     7 – 1 – 1 Bluffton 2 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Defiance 1 – 2 – 0     3 – 4 – 0 Wilmington (OH) 0 – 3 – 0     0 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1965 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T University Bucknell x 5 – 1 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Hofstra 4 – 1 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Temple 3 – 2 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Delaware 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Gettysburg 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Lehigh 1 – 3 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 Lafayette 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 College–Northern Wilkes x 6 – 1 – 0     7 – 1 – 0 Upsala 5 – 2 – 0     ? – ? – ? Lycoming 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Juniata 3 – 2 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 Moravian 4 – 4 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Albright 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Wagner 2 – 3 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Susquehanna* 0 – 3 – 0     0 – 9 – 0 College–Southern Swarthmore x 6 – 0 – 0     6 – 1 – 0 Dickinson 7 – 1 – 0     7 – 1 – 0 Drexel 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 Lebanon Valley 4 – 3 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Franklin & Marshall 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Haverford 2 – 3 – 0     2 – 5 – 0 Western Maryland 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Pennsylvania Military 2 – 6 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 Muhlenberg 1 – 8 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 Johns Hopkins 1 – 4 – 1     1 – 6 – 1 Ursinus 1 – 4 – 1     1 – 6 – 1 West Chester* 0 – 0 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 x – Division champion/co-champions * – Ineligible due to insufficient conference games Rankings from AP Poll	1965 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T NE Missouri State $ 5 – 0 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 SW Missouri State 4 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 NW Missouri State 3 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 SE Missouri State 2 – 3 – 0     2 – 8 – 0 Central Missouri State 1 – 4 – 0     2 – 6 – 1 Missouri–Rolla 0 – 5 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1965 North Central Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T North Dakota State $ 6 – 0 – 0     11 – 0 – 0 North Dakota 5 – 1 – 0     9 – 1 – 0 State College of Iowa 4 – 2 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Morningside 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Augustana (SD) 1 – 4 – 1     1 – 6 – 1 South Dakota State 1 – 4 – 1     1 – 8 – 1 South Dakota 0 – 6 – 0     2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1965 Ohio Valley Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 2 AP / No. 3 UPI Middle Tennessee State $ 7 – 0 – 0     10 – 0 – 0 Austin Peay 6 – 1 – 0     8 – 1 – 0 Eastern Kentucky 4 – 2 – 1     4 – 4 – 1 Morehead State 3 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Tennessee Tech 3 – 4 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Murray State 1 – 4 – 2     2 – 6 – 2 Western Kentucky 1 – 5 – 1     2 – 6 – 2 East Tennessee State 1 – 6 – 0     2 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from College Division poll	1965 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Western State $ 3 – 0 – 0     7 – 1 – 0 Colorado State–Greeley 2 – 1 – 0     4 – 4 – 2 Adams State 1 – 2 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Colorado Mines 0 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1965 Southland Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Lamar Tech $ 3 – 1 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Arlington State 2 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Trinity (TX) 2 – 2 – 0     4 – 5 – 1 Abilene Christian 2 – 2 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Arkansas State 1 – 3 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1965 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 13 UPI Grambling $^ 6 – 1 – 0     8 – 3 – 0 Southern 4 – 2 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 Texas Southern 4 – 2 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 Jackson State 3 – 3 – 1     5 – 3 – 1 Prairie View A&M 3 – 3 – 1     5 – 3 – 1 Arkansas AM&N 3 – 3 – 1     3 – 5 – 1 Alcorn A&M 2 – 4 – 1     3 – 5 – 1 Wiley 0 – 7 – 0     1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – College Division playoff participant Rankings from College Division poll	1965 Yankee Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Maine $ 5 – 0 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 UMass 4 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Vermont 2 – 2 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 Connecticut 2 – 2 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Rhode Island 1 – 4 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 New Hampshire 0 – 5 – 0     0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1965 NCAA College Division independents football records Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Parsons   –       8 – 1 – 0 Santa Clara   –       8 – 1 – 0 UC Santa Barbara   –       8 – 2 – 0 Wabash   –       7 – 2 – 0 Northeastern   –       6 – 2 – 0 UC Riverside   –       6 – 2 – 0 Tampa   –       6 – 2 – 1 Northern Michigan   –       7 – 3 – 0 La Verne   –       5 – 3 – 0 Rose Poly   –       5 – 3 – 0 Drake   –       6 – 4 – 0 Chattanooga   –       5 – 4 – 1 Cal Poly Pomona   –       4 – 5 – 0 Portland State   –       4 – 6 – 0 Milwaukee   –       2 – 6 – 0 Southern Illinois   –       2 – 8 – 0 Pacific (CA)   –       2 – 8 – 0 Hawaii   –       1 – 8 – 1 Carnegie Tech   –       1 – 7 – 0

Rankings

Main article: 1965 NCAA College Division football rankings

College Division teams (also referred to as "small college") were ranked in polls by the AP (a panel of writers) and by UPI (coaches). The national champion(s) for each season were determined by the final poll rankings, published at or near the end of the regular season, before any bowl games were played.

College Division final polls

In 1965, both services ranked North Dakota State (10–0) first; the UPI coaches' poll had Cal State Los Angeles (8–1) second, while the AP poll had Middle Tennessee (9–0) as the number two team.[1] North Dakota State later beat Grambling, 20–7 in the Pecan Bowl in Abilene, Texas.[2][3]

Associated Press (writers) final poll Published on November 26[4] Rank School Record No. 1 votes Total points 1 North Dakota State 10–0 4 84 2 Middle Tennessee 9–0 2 68 3 Sul Ross 10–0 1 43 4 Cal State Los Angeles 8–1 35 5 Tennessee A&I 8–0 32 6 Northern Illinois 9–0 30 7 Maine 8–1 30 8 East Carolina 8–1 1 27 9 Saint John's (MN) 9–0 20 10 East Stroudsburg 9–0 19 Denotes team won a game after AP poll, hence record differs in UPI poll

United Press International (coaches) final poll Published on December 5[5] Rank School Record No. 1 votes Total points 1 North Dakota State 10–0 21 301 2 Cal State Los Angeles 8–1 2 224 3 Middle Tennessee 10–0 3 209 4 East Carolina 8–1 1 187 5 Weber State 8–1 3 117 6 Maine 8–1 116 7 Northern Illinois 9–0 104 8 North Dakota 8–1 1 97 9 Long Beach State 9–1 76 10 Sul Ross 10–0 73

Bowl games

The postseason consisted of four bowl games as regional finals, played on December 11.

Bowl	Region	Location	Winning team		Losing team		Ref
Tangerine	East	Orlando, Florida	East Carolina	31	Maine	0	[6]
Grantland Rice	Mideast	Murfreesboro, Tennessee	Tennessee A&I 14, Ball State 14				[7]
Pecan	Midwest	Abilene, Texas	North Dakota State	20	Grambling	7	[2]
Camellia	West	Sacramento, California	Cal State Los Angeles	18	UC Santa Barbara	10	[8]

References

1. "Pecan Bowl-Bound Bisons No. 1," Abilene Reporter-News, November 24, 1965, p4-A
2. "Pecan Bowl to N. Dakota State 20 to 7,". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. December 12, 1965. p. 4, section 2.
3. "Bisons win Pecan Bowl". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 12, 1965. p. D1.
4. AP (November 26, 1965). "Bisons First In AP Small College Poll". News-Journal. Mansfield, Ohio. Retrieved February 19, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
5. UPI (December 5, 1965). "Football Honors". Lansing State Journal. Lansing, Michigan. Retrieved February 19, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
6. "East Carolina whips Maine 31-0, in Tangerine Bowl". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 12, 1965. p. D1.
7. "Rice Bowl rivals tie". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 12, 1965. p. D2.
8. "Los Angeles State Wins in Camellia". Chicago Tribune. UPI. December 12, 1965. sec. 2 p. 3.