1970 NCAA College Division football season

1970 NCAA College Division football season
Champion(s)	Arkansas State (AP, UPI) Tennessee State (black)
College Division football seasons

The 1970 NCAA College Division football season was the 15th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the NCAA College Division level.

Conference standings

1970 Big Sky Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Montana $ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 Boise State 2 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Idaho State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Weber State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 1 Idaho 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Montana State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Northern Arizona 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1970 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 20 Cal Poly $ 3 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Cal State Fullerton 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 1 Valley State 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Cal Poly Pomona 1 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 UC Riverside 0 – 2 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from UPI small college poll	1970 Far Western Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Chico State + 3 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Cal State Hayward + 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 UC Davis 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Humboldt State 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 San Francisco State 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 9 – 1 Sonoma State * 0 – 0 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Sacramento State * 0 – 0 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 + – Conference co-champions * – ineligible for conference championship
1970 Gulf States Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Southwestern Louisiana $ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Northwestern State 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Northeast Louisiana 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 McNeese State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Southeastern Louisiana 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Louisiana Tech 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1970 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Evansville $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Saint Joseph's (IN) 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Butler 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 1 Valparaiso 1 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 DePauw 0 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1970 Iowa Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Luther $ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 17 Central (IA) 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 No. 18 Simpson (IA) 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 William Penn 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Wartburg 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Dubuque 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Upper Iowa 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 6 – 1 Buena Vista 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1970 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 12 Toledo $ 5 – 0 – 0 12 – 0 – 0 Miami (OH) 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Ohio 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Western Michigan 2 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Kent State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Bowling Green 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1970 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northern Division Susquehanna x 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Albright 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Upsala 3 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Lycoming 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Delaware Valley 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Juniata 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 Wagner * 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Wilkes * 0 – 2 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Southern Division Moravian x 6 – 1 – 2 6 – 1 – 2 Muhlenberg 7 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Johns Hopkins 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Lebanon Valley 5 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Western Maryland 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Pennsylvania Military 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Franklin & Marshall 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Ursinus 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Dickinson 2 – 4 – 1 2 – 4 – 1 Swarthmore 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Haverford 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 x – Division champion/co-champions * – Ineligible due to insufficient conference games Rankings from AP Poll	1970 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Central Missouri State + 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 NE Missouri State + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 SE Missouri State 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Lincoln (MO) 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Missouri–Rolla 2 – 3 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 SW Missouri State 1 – 4 – 1 2 – 7 – 1 NW Missouri State 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1970 New Jersey State Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Montclair State $ 3 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Glassboro State 2 – 1 – 0 3 – 4 – 1 Jersey City State 1 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Trenton State 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1970 Ohio Valley Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 12/9 Western Kentucky $ 5 – 1 – 1 8 – 1 – 1 Eastern Kentucky 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 East Tennessee State 4 – 1 – 2 7 – 1 – 2 Morehead State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Middle Tennessee 3 – 3 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Austin Peay 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Tennessee Tech 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Murray State 1 – 6 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP/UPI small college polls	1970 Southland Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Arkansas State $ 4 – 0 – 0 11 – 0 – 0 No. 14 Abilene Christian 3 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Trinity (TX) 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Lamar Tech 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 UT Arlington 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP small college poll
1970 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7/9 Alcorn A&M $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 No. 13/16 Grambling 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Texas Southern 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Southern 2 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1 Prairie View A&M 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Jackson State 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Mississippi Valley State 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll and AP small college poll	1970 Yankee Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Connecticut $ 4 – 0 – 1 4 – 4 – 2 UMass 3 – 1 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 New Hampshire 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Rhode Island 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Maine 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Vermont 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1970 NCAA College Division independents football records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Tampa   –   10 – 1 – 0 No. 5 Tennessee State   –   10 – 0 – 0 No. 11 Delaware   –   9 – 2 – 0 Hawaii   –   9 – 2 – 0 Northern Michigan   –   8 – 2 – 0 No. 19 Eastern Michigan   –   7 – 2 – 1 Akron   –   7 – 3 – 0 Central Michigan   –   7 – 3 – 0 Temple   –   7 – 3 – 0 Drake   –   7 – 4 – 0 Wayne State (MI)   –   6 – 2 – 0 Arkansas AM&N   –   6 – 3 – 0 Southern Illinois   –   6 – 3 – 0 St. Norbert   –   6 – 3 – 0 Nevada   –   6 – 3 – 1 Portland State   –   6 – 4 – 0 UNLV   –   6 – 4 – 0 Boston University   –   5 – 4 – 0 Cortland   –   5 – 4 – 0 Indiana (PA)   –   5 – 4 – 0 Santa Clara   –   5 – 4 – 1 Lafayette   –   6 – 5 – 0 Colorado College   –   4 – 4 – 0 Drexel   –   4 – 4 – 0 Hofstra   –   5 – 5 – 0 Indiana State   –   5 – 5 – 0 Samford   –   5 – 5 – 0 Wabash   –   3 – 3 – 2 Saint Mary's   –   3 – 4 – 0 Ashland   –   4 – 6 – 0 Bucknell   –   4 – 6 – 0 Lehigh   –   4 – 6 – 0 Rose Poly   –   3 – 5 – 1 Northeastern   –   3 – 5 – 0 Indiana Central   –   3 – 6 – 0 Lake Forest   –   3 – 6 – 0 Kentucky State   –   3 – 6 – 0 Chicago   –   2 – 5 – 0 Chattanooga   –   3 – 8 – 0 Parsons   –   2 – 7 – 0 Eastern Illinois   –   2 – 8 – 0 Milwaukee   –   1 – 9 – 0 Rankings from AP small college poll

Rankings

Main article: 1970 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 1970, both UPI and AP ranked Arkansas State (10–0) number one. The 34 coaches on the UPI board ranked Tampa second, followed by Montana, while the AP panel ranked Montana second, followed by North Dakota State. Arkansas State went on to beat Central Missouri State in the Pecan Bowl, 38–21, while Montana lost to North Dakota State in the Camellia Bowl, 31–16.

United Press International (coaches) final poll
Published on December 2

Rank	School	Record	No. 1 votes	Total points
1	Arkansas State	10–0	21	318
2	Tampa	10–1	8	279
3	Montana	10–0	3	272
4	North Dakota State	8–0–1		201
5	Tennessee State	10–0	1	173
6	Long Beach State	9–2		140
7	Wofford	10–0	1	125
8	Delaware	8–2		89
9	Western Kentucky	8–1–1		55
10	Hawaii	9–1		46

Associated Press (writers) final poll
Published on December 3

Rank	School	Record	No. 1 votes	Total points
1	Arkansas State	10–0	4	201
2	Montana	10–0	3	162
3	North Dakota State	8–0–1		147
4	Tampa	10–1	2	146
5	Tennessee State	10–0		131
6	Wofford	11–0†	2	109
7	Texas A&I	10–1	1	99
8	Jacksonville State	9–0		87
9	Alcorn A&M	9–1		87
10	Southwestern Louisiana	9–2		73

†Includes NAIA playoff win

Bowl games

The postseason consisted of four bowl games as regional finals, all played on December 12.

Bowl	Region	Location	Winning team		Losing team		Ref
Boardwalk	East	Atlantic City, New Jersey	Delaware	38	Morgan State	23
Grantland Rice	Mideast	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Tennessee State	26	Southwestern Louisiana	25
Pecan	Midwest	Arlington, Texas	Arkansas State	38	Central Missouri State	21
Camellia	West	Sacramento, California	North Dakota State	31	Montana	16

This was the final year for the Pecan Bowl; it was succeeded by the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls in 1971.