1973 NCAA Division II football season

1973 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	September – November 1973
Playoffs	December 1–15
National Championship	Camellia Bowl Hughes Stadium Sacramento, California

The 1973 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. The season began in September and concluded with the Division II Championship on December 15 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. This was the first season for Division II (and Division III) football, which were formerly in the College Division in 1972 and prior.

Louisiana Tech won their first Division II championship, defeating Western Kentucky 34–0 in the Camellia Bowl championship game.

Conference changes and new programs

• The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference began football play in 1973.

School	1972 Conference	1973 Conference
Akron	Independent	D-II Independent
Eastern Michigan	Independent	D-II Independent
Illinois State	Independent	D-II Independent
Nevada–Reno	Independent	D-II Independent

Conference standings

1973 Big Sky Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 Boise State $^ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 3 – 0 Montana State 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Idaho 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Northern Arizona 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Montana 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Weber State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Idaho State 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP small college poll	1973 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T SE Missouri State $ 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 NW Missouri State 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Lincoln (MO) 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 SW Missouri State 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Missouri–Rolla 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 6 – 2 NE Missouri State 2 – 3 – 1 2 – 7 – 2 Central Missouri State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1973 Ohio Valley Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Western Kentucky $^ 7 – 0 – 0 12 – 1 – 0 Murray State 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Eastern Kentucky 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Morehead State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 East Tennessee State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Middle Tennessee 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Tennessee Tech 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 1 Austin Peay 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP small college poll
1973 Southland Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Louisiana Tech $^ 5 – 0 – 0 12 – 1 – 0 Arkansas State 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Lamar 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 McNeese State 2 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 1 UT Arlington 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 SW Louisiana 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP small college poll	1973 Yankee Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Connecticut $ 5 – 0 – 1 8 – 2 – 1 Rhode Island 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 2 – 2 UMass 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 New Hampshire 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Boston University 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Maine 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Vermont 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion

Conference summaries

See also: List of NCAA Division II football seasons

Conference Champions

Big Sky Conference – Boise State Far Western Football Conference – UC Davis and Cal State Chico Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Northwood Gulf South Conference – Troy State Lone Star Conference – Abilene Christian Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina Central Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Southeast Missouri State North Central Conference – North Dakota State and South Dakota Ohio Valley Conference – Western Kentucky Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota State–Moorhead Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division II) – Bethune-Cookman Southland Conference – Louisiana Tech Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State and Jackson State Yankee Conference – Connecticut

Postseason

The 1973 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the first single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The inaugural edition had only eight teams; of the four quarterfinal games, three were played on campus and a fourth was in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The semifinals were held at the Grantland Rice Bowl in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The championship game was the Camellia Bowl, held at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs defeated the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 34–0 to win their first national title.

	First round Atlantic City, NJ & 3 campus sites December 1					Semifinals Grantland Rice Bowl Pioneer Bowl December 8					Championship Camellia Bowl Hughes Stadium Sacramento, CA December 15
	Grambling State		17
	Delaware		8
						Grambling State		20
						Western Kentucky		28
	Western Kentucky *		25
	Lehigh		16
											Western Kentucky		0
											Louisiana Tech		34
	Louisiana Tech *		18
	Western Illinois		13
						Louisiana Tech		38
						Boise State		34
	Boise State *		53
	South Dakota		10

* Denotes host institution

See also

• 1973 NAIA Division I football season
• 1973 NAIA Division II football season