1978 NAIA Division I football season

1978 NAIA Division I football season
Regular season	August–November 1978
Postseason	December 2–16, 1978
National Championship	McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium McAllen, TX
Champions	Angelo State

The 1978 NAIA Division I football season, as part of the 1978 college football season in the United States and the 23rd season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the ninth season of play of the NAIA's top division for football.

The season was played from August to November 1978 and culminated in the 1978 NAIA Division I Football National Championship. Known this year as the Palm Bowl, the title game was played on December 16, 1978 at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen, Texas.

Angelo State defeated Elon in the Palm Bowl, 24–14, to win their first NAIA national title.

Conference standings

1978 Central States Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 Kearney State $ 7 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 1 Missouri Southern 4 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Fort Hays State 4 – 2 – 1 6 – 5 – 1 Missouri Western 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Wayne State (NE) 3 – 2 – 2 4 – 4 – 2 Emporia State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Washburn 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 No. T–18 Pittsburg State* 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion * – Pittsburg State forfeited conference wins over Kearney State, Missouri Southern, Missouri Western, Wayne State (NE), Emporia State, and Washburn. Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1978 Evergreen Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 8 Oregon College $^ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Eastern Washington 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Oregon Tech 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Eastern Oregon 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Southern Oregon 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Western Washington 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Central Washington 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Central Washington forfeited victories over Eastern Oregon, Oregon Tech, and Southern Oregon because of an inelgible player. Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1978 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Grand Valley State $^ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 Wayne State (MI) 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Northwood 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Saginaw Valley State 1 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Ferris State 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 2 Hillsdale 1 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1978 Lone Star Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Angelo State $^ 7 – 0 – 0 14 – 0 – 0 No. 11 Abilene Christian 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Sam Houston State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 No. 20 Texas A&I 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Southwest Texas State 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Stephen F. Austin 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 East Texas State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Howard Payne 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1978 Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T East Central $ 4 – 0 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 NW Oklahoma State 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Northeastern State 1 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 SW Oklahoma State 1 – 2 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 SE Oklahoma State 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1978 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Western State (CO) $^ 8 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 Southern Utah 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Adams State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Western New Mexico 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Fort Lewis 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Mesa 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Westminster (UT) 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Colorado Mines 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 New Mexico Highlands 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 Southern Colorado * 0 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant * – ineligible for conference title Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1978 South Atlantic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Elon +^ 6 – 0 – 1 9 – 1 – 1 No. 13 Presbyterian + 6 – 0 – 1 8 – 2 – 1 No. T–18 Newberry 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Lenoir–Rhyne 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Mars Hill 2 – 5 – 0 5 – 7 – 0 Gardner–Webb 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 1 Catawba 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Carson–Newman 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

Conference champions

Conference	Champion	Record
Arkansas Intercollegiate	Central Arkansas	6–0
Central States	Kearney State	7–0
Evergreen	Oregon College	5–1
Great Lakes	Grand Valley State	5–0
Lone Star	Angelo State	7–0
NIC	Minnesota–Morris	8–0
Oklahoma	East Central State	4–0
PSAC	Clarion State Shippensburg State	5–1
RMAC	Western State	8–0
South Atlantic	Elon Presbyterian	6–0–1
SWAC	Grambling State	5–0–1
WVIAC	North: Shepherd South: Concord	6–3 8–1
Wisconsin State	Wisconsin–La Crosse Wisconsin–Whitewater	7–1 7–1

Postseason

	Quarterfinals December 2, 1978 Campus sites					Semifinals December 9, 1978 Campus sites					1978 Palm Bowl December 16, 1978 McAllen, TX
	Grand Valley State		24
	Wisconsin–La Crosse*		14
						Grand Valley State		7
						Elon*		13
	Concord		6
	Elon*		21
											Elon		14
											Angelo State		24
	Western State		21
	Central Arkansas*		17
						Western State		3
						Angelo State*		35
	Oregon College		0
	Angelo State*		32

See also

• 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season
• 1978 NCAA Division II football season
• 1978 NCAA Division III football season