1963 NAIA football season

1963 NAIA football season
Regular season	August–December 1963
Postseason	December 7–14, 1963
National Championship	Hughes Stadium Sacramento, CA
Champion	Saint John's (MN)

The 1963 NAIA football season, as part of the 1963 college football season in the United States, was the eighth season of college football sponsored by the NAIA. The season was played from August to December 1963, culminating in the eighth annual NAIA Football National Championship, played this year at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. During its three years in Sacramento, the game was called the Camellia Bowl (separate from the present day bowl game with the same name in Montgomery, Alabama).

Saint John's (MN) defeated Prairie View A&M in the championship game, 33–27, to win their first NAIA national title.

Conference standings

1963 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Omaha $ 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Pittsburg State 2 – 1 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Washburn * 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Fort Hays State 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 Emporia State 0 – 3 – 1 2 – 5 – 2 $ – Conference champion * — Washburn forfeited two non-conference wins	1963 Evergreen Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 Central Washington $ 7 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 Whitworth 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 Western Washington 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Puget Sound 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Eastern Washington 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Pacific Lutheran 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll	1963 Iowa Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Luther $ 8 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 Central (IA) 6 – 1 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Upper Iowa 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Simpson (IA) 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Dubuque 3 – 4 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Buena Vista 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Wartburg 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Iowa Wesleyan 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 William Penn 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1963 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 College of Emporia $^ 9 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 Ottawa 8 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Bethany (KS) 6 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Southwestern (KS) 5 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Baker 5 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Bethel (KS) 4 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 McPherson 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Kansas Wesleyan 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Sterling 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Friends 0 – 9 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA poll	1963 Missouri College Athletic Union football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T William Jewell $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 Missouri Valley 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Tarkio 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Graceland 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Culver–Stockton 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Central Methodist 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1963 Nebraska College Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Kearney State $^ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Hastings 3 – 1 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Wayne State (NE) 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Doane 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Peru State 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Chadron State 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA poll
1963 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Northeastern State $ 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 0 – 0 East Central 5 – 1 – 1 8 – 1 – 1 Panhandle A&M 4 – 2 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 Central State (OK) 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 NW Oklahoma State 2 – 3 – 2 4 – 4 – 2 Langston 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 SE Oklahoma State 1 – 5 – 1 1 – 7 – 2 SW Oklahoma State 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll	1963 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 11 Northern State $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Huron 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Black Hills 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Southern State (SD) 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 General Beadle 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Dakota Wesleyan 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 South Dakota Tech 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll	1963 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Midland $ 5 – 0 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 Concordia (NE) 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Westmar 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 1 – 2 Northwestern (IA) 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Dana 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Yankton 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Sioux Falls 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion

Postseason

	Semifinals December 7, 1963					Championship December 14, 1963 Camellia Bowl
	Prairie View A&M		20
	Kearney State*		7
						Prairie View A&M		27
						Saint John's (MN)		33
	College of Emporia		0
	St John's (MN)*		54