1974 NCAA Division II football season

The 1974 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 September and concluded with the Division II Championship on December 14 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California.

1974 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	September – November 1974
Playoffs	November – December 1974
National Championship	Hughes Stadium Sacramento, CA
Champion	Central Michigan

Central Michigan defeated Delaware 54–15 in the Camellia Bowl to win their only Division II national title.[1][2] CMU moved up to Division I in 1975.

Conference standings

1974 Big Sky Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 5 Boise State $^ 6 – 0 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 Montana State 4 – 2 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 Idaho 2 – 2 – 1     2 – 8 – 1 Montana 2 – 3 – 1     3 – 6 – 1 Northern Arizona 2 – 3 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Idaho State 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Weber State 1 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA College Division AP Poll	1974 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T UC Riverside $ 4 – 0 – 0     8 – 3 – 0 Cal Poly 2 – 1 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 Cal Poly Pomona 1 – 1 – 2     5 – 3 – 2 Cal State Northridge 1 – 3 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Cal State Los Angeles 0 – 3 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1974 Far Western Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T UC Davis $ 5 – 0 – 0     9 – 1 – 0 San Francisco State 2 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Humboldt State 2 – 3 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Chico State 2 – 3 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Cal State Hayward 2 – 3 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Sacramento State 2 – 3 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from College Division poll
1974 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Butler $ 6 – 0 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Evansville 5 – 1 – 0     8 – 1 – 0 DePauw 4 – 2 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 Indiana Central 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Wabash 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Valparaiso 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Saint Joseph's (IN) 0 – 6 – 0     0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1974 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T South Carolina State $ 5 – 1 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Howard 4 – 1 – 1     8 – 2 – 1 North Carolina Central 4 – 1 – 1     7 – 2 – 2 Morgan State 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 North Carolina A&T 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Maryland Eastern Shore 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 6 – 0 Delaware State 0 – 6 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1974 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T NW Missouri State $ 5 – 1 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Missouri–Rolla 4 – 1 – 1     6 – 4 – 1 SW Missouri State 4 – 2 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 SE Missouri State 4 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 NE Missouri State 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Central Missouri State 1 – 4 – 1     3 – 7 – 1 Lincoln (MO) * 0 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Lincoln's overall record includes a forfeit from Arkansas–Pine Bluff.
1974 North Central Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T South Dakota + 5 – 2 – 0     8 – 3 – 0 North Dakota State + 5 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 North Dakota + 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 South Dakota State 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Mankato State 3 – 3 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 Northern Iowa 3 – 3 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 Augustana (SD) 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Morningside 0 – 7 – 0     0 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1974 Ohio Valley Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Eastern Kentucky $ 6 – 1 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Murray State 5 – 2 – 0     9 – 2 – 0 Western Kentucky 5 – 2 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 Tennessee Tech 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 East Tennessee State 3 – 3 – 1     4 – 6 – 1 Middle Tennessee State 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Austin Peay 1 – 5 – 1     3 – 7 – 1 Morehead State 1 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1974 Southland Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Louisiana Tech $^ 5 – 0 – 0     11 – 1 – 0 Lamar 4 – 1 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Arkansas State 3 – 2 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 McNeese State 2 – 3 – 0     6 – 4 – 1 Texas–Arlington 1 – 4 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 SW Louisiana 0 – 5 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
1974 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 14 AP / #13 UPI Alcorn State +^   5 – 1         9 – 2   No. 7 AP / #6 UPI Grambling State +   5 – 1         11 – 1   Jackson State   4 – 2         7 – 3   Southern   3 – 3         8 – 3   Texas Southern   3 – 3         6 – 4   Mississippi Valley State   1 – 5         5 – 5   Prairie View A&M   0 – 6         0 – 10   + – Conference co-champions ^ – College Division playoff participant Rankings from College Division poll	1974 Yankee Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T UMass + 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Maine + 4 – 2 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 New Hampshire 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Rhode Island 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Boston University 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 1 Connecticut 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Vermont 1 – 5 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1974 NCAA Division II independents football records Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 1 Central Michigan ^   –       12 – 1 – 0 No. 6 UNLV ^   –       12 – 1 – 0 No. 4 Delaware ^   –       12 – 2 – 0 Tennessee State   –       8 – 2 – 0 Santa Clara   –       7 – 3 – 0 Wayne State (MI)   –       7 – 3 – 0 Northeastern   –       6 – 4 – 0 Central State (OH)   –       6 – 5 – 0 Akron   –       5 – 5 – 0 Indiana State   –       5 – 5 – 0 Nevada   –       5 – 6 – 0 Portland State   –       5 – 6 – 0 Eastern Michigan   –       4 – 6 – 1 Milwaukee   –       4 – 6 – 0 Northeast Louisiana   –       4 – 6 – 0 Chattanooga   –       4 – 7 – 0 Nebraska–Omaha   –       3 – 7 – 0 Bucknell   –       2 – 8 – 0 Northern Michigan   –       0 – 10 – 0 ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll

Conference summaries

See also: List of NCAA Division II football seasons

Conference Champions

Big Sky Conference – Boise State Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Norfolk State Far Western Football Conference – UC Davis Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Ferris State and Northwood Gulf South Conference – Jacksonville State Lone Star Conference – Texas A&I Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Northwest Missouri State North Central Conference – North Dakota State, North Dakota, and South Dakota Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Michigan Tech Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Western State Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division II) – Tuskegee Yankee Conference – Maine and Massachusetts

Postseason

1974 NCAA Division II Football Championship
Teams	8
Finals Site	Hughes Stadium Sacramento, California
Champion	Central Michigan (1st title, 1st title game)
Runner-up	Delaware (1st title game)
Semifinalists	Louisiana Tech UNLV
Winning Coach	Roy Kramer 1st championship

The 1974 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the second single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division II college football.

The four quarterfinal games were played on campus and all four host teams advanced. The semifinals were the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas, and the Grantland Rice Bowl in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The championship game was the Camellia Bowl, held at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California for the second consecutive year. The Central Michigan Chippewas defeated the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens 54–14 to win their first national title.[1][3] After opening with a home loss to Division I Kent State, CMU won twelve straight to finish as D-II champions.[1]

Playoff bracket

	First round Campus sites November 30					Semifinals Pioneer Bowl Grantland Rice Bowl December 7					Championship Camellia Bowl Hughes Stadium Sacramento, CA December 14
	Central Michigan *		20
	Boise State		6
						Central Michigan		35
						Louisiana Tech		14
	Louisiana Tech *		10
	Western Carolina		7
											Central Michigan		54
											Delaware		14
	UNLV *		35
	Alcorn State		22
						UNLV		11
						Delaware		49
	Delaware *		35
	Youngstown State		14

* Denotes host institution

Rankings

Main article: 1974 NCAA College Division football rankings

In 1974, United Press International (UPI) and the Associated Press (AP) ranked teams in their College Division or "small college" polls – which had started in 1958 and 1960, respectively – for the final time. UPI published their final poll at the end of the regular season, while the AP waited until postseason games had been completed. UPI's number one selection was the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, who during the regular season were 10–0 while outscoring opponents 294–103. The Bulldogs later lost in the playoffs to the Central Michigan Chippewas, winners of the tournament. AP's number one selection was the Chippewas, who were 9–1 during the regular season and finished with an overall record of 12–1 while outscoring opponents 450–127.

United Press International (coaches) final poll Published on November 27[4] Rank School Record No. 1 votes Total points 1 Louisiana Tech 10–0 27 322 2 Nevada-Las Vegas 11–0 5 254 3 Boise State 10–1 1 188 4 Delaware 10–1 168 5 Texas A&I 11–0 132 6 Grambling State 10–1 124 7 Central Michigan 9–1 101 8 Youngstown State 8–1 40 9 Tennessee State 8–2 38 10 Western Carolina 9–1 34

Associated Press (writers) final poll Published on December 24[5] Rank School Record No. 1 votes Total points 1 Central Michigan 12–1^D 32 658 2 Louisiana Tech 10–1^E1^D 477 3 Texas A&I 13–0^N 2 461 4 Delaware 12–2^D 460 5 Boise State 10–2^D 401 6 Nevada-Las Vegas 12–1^D 381 7 Grambling State 11–1^P 322 8 Western Carolina 9–1^E2^D 241 9 Tennessee State 8–2 180 10 Texas Lutheran 11–0^N 171 ^D Record includes Division II playoff games ^E1 Louisiana Tech final record actually 11–1 ^E2 Western Carolina final record actually 9–2 ^N Record includes NAIA playoff games ^P Record includes Pelican Bowl win

See also

• 1974 NAIA Division I football season
• 1974 NAIA Division II football season

References

1. "Central Michigan destroys Delaware". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 15, 1974. p. 6D.
2. "1974 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
3. "1974 NCAA Division II Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
4. "LOUISIANA TECH WINS UPI FOOTBALL TITLE". The Minneapolis Star. United Press International. November 27, 1974. Retrieved February 28, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
5. "A.P. final small college football ranking". Great Bend Tribune. Great Bend, Kansas. Associated Press. December 24, 1974. Retrieved February 28, 2017 – via newspapers.com.