1976 NAIA Division I football season

The 1976 NAIA Division I football season, as part of the 1976 college football season in the United States and the 21st season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the seventh season of play of the NAIA's top division for football.

1976 NAIA Division I football season
Regular season	August–November 1976
Postseason	December 4–11, 1976
National Championship	Javelina Stadium Kingsville, TX
Champions	Texas A&I (5)

The season was played from August to November 1976 and culminated in the 1976 NAIA Division I Champion Bowl, played on December 11, 1976 at Javelina Stadium on the campus of Texas A&I University in Kingsville, Texas.[1] Texas A&I defeated Central Arkansas in the Champion Bowl, 26–0, to win their fifth, and third consecutive, NAIA national title.[2]

Conference standings

1976 Central States Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Fort Hays State $ 5 – 1 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Kearney State 4 – 1 – 0     9 – 1 – 0 Missouri Southern 4 – 1 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Washburn 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Missouri Western 1 – 4 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Pittsburg State 1 – 4 – 0     3 – 5 – 1 Emporia State 0 – 6 – 0     0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1976 Evergreen Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Oregon College $ 6 – 0 – 0     9 – 1 – 0 Western Washington 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Eastern Washington 3 – 2 – 1     4 – 4 – 1 Central Washington 3 – 3 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Southern Oregon 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Eastern Oregon 1 – 4 – 1     1 – 7 – 1 Oregon Tech 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1976 Lone Star Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Texas A&I $^ 7 – 0 – 0     13 – 0 – 0 Abilene Christian 5 – 2 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 East Texas State 4 – 3 – 0     5 – 3 – 1 Southwest Texas State 4 – 3 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Angelo State 3 – 3 – 1     5 – 5 – 1 Sam Houston State 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 5 – 1 Howard Payne 1 – 5 – 1     1 – 8 – 1 Stephen F. Austin 1 – 6 – 0     2 – 9 – 1 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
1976 Nebraska College Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Kearney State $ 3 – 0 – 0     9 – 1 – 0 Chadron State 1 – 2 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Peru State 1 – 2 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Wayne State (NE) 1 – 2 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1976 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Western State $^ 9 – 0 – 0     9 – 2 – 0 Fort Lewis 7 – 2 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Southern Colorado 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 4 – 1 Southern Utah 4 – 5 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Colorado Mines 3 – 4 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Mesa State 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 5 – 1 Westminster (UT) 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Western New Mexico 3 – 5 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Adams State 3 – 6 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 New Mexico Highlands 1 – 7 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant

Postseason

	Semifinals December 4, 1976					1976 NAIA Champion Bowl December 11, 1976 Kingsville, TX
	Central Arkansas		10
	Elon*		7
						Central Arkansas		0
						Texas A&I*		26
	Western State (CO)		14
	Texas A&I*		56

See also

• 1976 NCAA Division I football season
• 1976 NCAA Division II football season
• 1976 NCAA Division III football season

References

1. "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
2. "1975 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 21, 2015.