SWC75
Bored Historian
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SMALL COLLEGES
For decades there was a vague concept of “Big Time” and “Small Time” in college football. In the one platoon era the difference was smaller than it later became and the “map” of college football looked more like college basketball with many more schools playing “big time” ball, including schools like Fordham, NYU, Carnegie Tech, Georgetown, Duquesne, etc. And the big time teams played the acknowledged small time teams more often. A typical college schedule for a big-time team began with 2-3 games against small-time teams as warm ups and then they’d they start playing the big time teams and find out how good they really were. If you look at Syracuse’s schedule before the war, they’d play St. Lawrence, Hobart, Ohio Wesleyan, etc. to start each year. Notre Dame became Notre Dame by being the first school to drop those games and play an all-big time schedule and going around the country to play the top teams in each section. They became the litmus test for everyone else: could you get Notre Dame to play you and how did you do? Kids wanted to play either for the local team or for Notre Dame.
In the post war era, television and the two platoon era, things changed. Television wasn’t interested in 50 point wins over Hobart and two platoon football requires the recruitment of at least twice as many players and the gap between big time and small time grew. There might be one game against an area small college team on a big time team’s schedule. Most of them avoided even that because they’d be criticized for picking on a team that couldn’t compete with them and having a weak schedule. In recent years, this trend has somewhat reversed itself. With the BCS, (and now the 4 team playoff), there’s a balance between wanting to avoid having a weak schedule and wanting to be undefeated so you can get a shot at the title game. Most FBS teams play at least one FCS team and are allowed to count a single FCS game toward bowl eligibility. Smaller schools like being in FCS rather than Division II because they get to play such games and the money they are guaranteed helps them balance their athletic department budgets.
The idea slowly dawned that perhaps the strongest smaller teams should be acknowledged in some way. The first organization to conduct a championship for the small schools was the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, (NAIA). The NAIA was the creation of Dr. James Naismith, who wanted to provide a national championship tournament for smaller basketball schools. The organization was first known as the National Association for Intercollegiate Basketball, (NAIB), but became an all-sports organization and the NAIA in 1952. They had held their first basketball tournament in 1937, (even before there was an NIT or NCAA tournament), with 8 teams and then went to 32 teams in 1938. They first held a tournament for small college football in 1956. It started out as a sort of small college BCS, with just two teams selected to play in what was first called the “Aluminum Bowl”. It became the Holiday Bowl in 1957 and a four team playoff leading to the championship in the Holiday Bowl in 1958. The Holiday Bowl became the Camellia Bowl in 1960 and just the Championship Bowl in 1964. In 1970 the NAIA, (which always seems to be ahead of the NCAA in these things), split into two divisions and had four team championships in each. The field was expanded to eight teams in each division in 1978 and sixteen in 1987. Division 1 backtracked to eight teams in 1989 but Division 2 remained at sixteen. In 1995 Division 1 went back to a four team playoff with Division 2 remaining at sixteen. In 1997, they dropped the two division set-up for one sixteen team playoff, which it’s remained ever since. One problem is that they keep losing teams to the NCAA playoffs. Several NCAA champions have been previous NAIA champions. Frankly, I’m not sure why there is a need for an NAIA anymore and I’d like to see all their teams in the NCAA playoff system to get an overall champion at each level.
The NAIA allowed ties for a time. In fact, that first Aluminum Bowl in 1956 was a 0-0 tie between Montana State and St. Joseph’s of Indiana. They went in the books as co-champions that year. In 1960 Lenoir-Rhyne and Northern Michigan tied in a semi-final game but Lenoir-Rhyne was declared the winner “on penetrations”, per the NAIA website. From my reading from other sources, yardage gained was the tie-breaker and L-R had outgained NM by 25 yards so they were allowed to proceed to the title game, which they won 15-14 over Humbolt State. But ties and co-champions were still allowed in the title game and in 1964 Concordia of Minnesota and Sam Houston State tied 7-7 in the title game and were co-champions for that year. Westminster tied Carthage 28-28 in a D2 semi-final in 1971. Carson-Newman tied Livingston 7-7 in a D1 semi-final in 1972. Westminster and Carson-Newman both advanced “on penetrations“. Both lost in the championship game. They went to overtime for preliminary games in 1976 but still allowed ties in championship games. Austin College and Concordia of Minnesota tied 24-24 in the 1981 D2 title game. Carson-Newman and Central Arkansas tied 19-19 in the 1984 D1 title game and Hillsdale and Central Arkansas tied 10-10 in the 1985 D1 title game. They are regarded as “co-champions” for those years.
The wire services got into the act beginning in 1958 when United Press International, (UPI) did a coach’s poll for “College Division” teams, (even if they weren’t really a division yet: the term “College Division” seems to have been used beginning in 1964, when the NCAA set up some regional bowl games for the smalls to play in). The Associated Press, (AP) and the writer’s joined them in 1960. They continued doing polls after the NCAA playoffs began but they were no longer “official” at that point. But from 1958-1972 these polls determined the “National Small College Champion”. The teams they chose were:
1958 Southern Mississippi
1959 Bowling Green
1960 Ohio University
1961 Kansas State Teacher’s College, (now Pittsburg State)
1962 Southern Mississippi, (UPI), Florida A&M (AP)
1963 Delaware (UPI), Northern Illinois (AP)
1964 Los Angeles State, (now Cal State LA) (UPI, Wittenberg (AP)
1965 North Dakota State
1966 San Diego State
1967 San Diego State
1968 San Diego State (UPI), North Dakota State (AP)
1969 North Dakota State
1970 Arkansas State
1971 Delaware
1972 Delaware
It’s interesting that, of these twelve schools, half of them are now FBS schools but schools with no shot as the FBS title. They moved into the major college ranks but were unable to accomplish what Boise State eventually accomplished: to become a respected major college power. Even the Broncos can’t get into a national title game but at least these were considered contenders but these other former small college champions never have been, even when they’ve won all their games, (as Ohio U. did in 1968, San Diego State in 1969 and Bowling Green in 1985, as well as did 1992 and 1996 FCS champion Marshall as an FBS team in 1999). By moving up, they essentially prevented their student-athletes from competing for a national title. I have always felt that if a school’s team could win all its games and not have a chance at the title, they belong in a division where they could compete for a national title.
The NCAA finally decided to create formal divisions and have playoffs in 1973. They created three divisions: 1, 2 and 3. I agree with that arrangement. To me there are three levels of college football: big time, small time and in between time. “Big time” can best be defined by saying that if a team won all its games they would get some consideration for being the Division 1 national champions. If not, they are in the wrong division. “Small time” would be pure student athletes: no athletic scholarships, just students who played football in high school who wanted to continue to do so in college. “In between time” are the schools that emphasize football too much to be small time but lack the resources to be big time or are too big to be small time but don’t emphasize the sport enough to be big time.
The problem is, some of the schools involved weren’t happy with that. The lesser major colleges didn’t slide into Division 2 so their kids could compete for a national championship. Instead they clung to their Division 1 status, both for prestige and so they could get games against the top Division 1 powers for the financial guarantees. In an effort to appease those schools but still give their players a real shot at competing for a championship, the NCAA created Division 1AA in 1978. These would be schools that could call themselves Division 1 schools and would be allowed to schedule games against the big powers but they could still compete for a championship. That still didn’t satisfy a lot of schools. Some schools dropped down, like the Southern Conference and the historically black schools. Others like the Patriot League and the Ivy League later joined them. But other schools with no shot at a 1A championship insisted on staying there. I remember the president of Kent State saying he considered his school “on the same level as Ohio State”. There was a proposal that a school needed a stadium seating at least 50,000 to be 1A. The Kent State president said that if that was passed, his school would build a 50,000 seat stadium to stay at the 1A level. When has Kent State ever been anywhere near as good as Ohio State? When have they ever played before 50,000 fans? When have they ever competed for a national championship? I think it’s sad that players for such schools are denied a chance to compete for national championships and forced to play schools that over-match them in exchange for money guarantees, becoming the equivalent of boxing’s “tomato cans”.
What happened instead of Division 1A schools migrating to Division 1AA so their kids could compete for championships is that the Division 2 schools migrated to 1AA for the additional prestige and the opportunity to get those guarantees. Division 1AA looks almost exactly like the Division 2 of the 1970’s and that‘s basically what it is. The current Division 2 is full of teams that started out in Division 3.
If I had a magic wand, (and that’s apparently what it would take), I’d have a Division 1 consisting only of schools that would have a chance to at least make a BCS Bowl if they won all their games. Then I’d take the FBS teams that could run the table and not wind up in a BCS bowl and add them to FCS to create a new Division 2. Then combine the current NCAA Divisions 2 and 3 and the NAIA into a new Division 3. Each of them would have their own playoff. Perfect! But it’s not up to me.
Here is a list of all the schools that have won an NAIA (Division 1 or 2 or overall) title, a #1 ranking in an AP or UPI poll from 1958-72 or an NCAA FCS, (1AA), 2 or 3 championship since 1956. Smaller schools are more susceptible to name changes than larger schools so I’ve listed any name the school has used since 1956 but alphabetized them under their current name. The schools that will never add to their total because they’ve migrated to FBS are in italics. (I’ve included Boise State, the one school that has built up enough of a reputation they might someday prove the exception.) Dayton, Furman, Marshall and Villanova were FBS or the equivalent and dropped down, which gave their kids a chance to win a title. Marshall later moved back up again and that ended that.
I’ve decided to add in the Historically Black College National Champions as listed here:
Black college football national championship - Wikipedia
I’ll designate them as “HBC”: Historically Black College champions
Alabama State- HBC- 1991, 2011 (2)
Allegheny- NCAA D3 1990 (1)
Albion- NCAA D3 1994 (1)
Abilene Christian- NAIA D1 1973, 1977 (2)
Albany State (Ga) HBC- 2003, 2004, 2010 (3)
Alcorn State HBC- 1968, 1969, 1974, 1984, 2014 (5)
Angelo State (San Angelo College)- NAIA D1 1978 (1)
Appalachian State- FCS 2005, 2006, 2007 (3)
Arkansas Pine Bluff- HBC- 2012 (1)
Arkansas State- POLL 1970 (1)
Augustana (Illinois)- NCAA D3 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 (4)
Austin College- NAIA D2 1981 (1)
Azusa Pacific- NAIA 1998 (1)
Baldwin-Wallace- NCAA D3 1978 (1)
Bethune Cookman- HBC – 2002, 2010, 2012, 2013 (4)
Bluefield State- HBC 1927, 1928 (2)
Boise State- FCS 1980 (1)
Bowling Green- POLL 1959 (1)
California Lutheran- NAIA D2 1971 (1)
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo- NCAA D2- 1980 (1)
Cal State LA (Los Angeles State) POLL 1964 (1)
Cameron (Cameron State) NAIA D1- 1987 (1)
Carroll (of Montana) NAIA- 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010 (6)
Carson-Newman- NAIA D1 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989 (5)
Central Arkansas, (Arkansas State Teachers, State College of Arkansas) - NAIA D1 1984, 1985, 1991 (3)
Central Iowa NCAA D3- 1974 (1)
Central Michigan- NCAA D2 1974 (1)
Central Ohio- HBC- 1948, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 NAIA D1 & HBC-1990, 1992, NAIA D1- 1995 (9)
Central Oklahoma- NAIA 1962, NAIA D1 1982 (2)
Central Washington- NAIA D2 1995 (1)
Colorado State-Pueblo NCAA D2- 2014 (1)
Concordia (of Minnesota)- NAIA 1964, NAIA D2 1978, 1981 (3)
Delaware- POLL- 1963, 1971, 1972 NCAA D2 1979, FCS 2003 (5)
Delaware State- HBC- 2007 (1)
Delta State- NCAA D2 2000 (1)
Dayton- NCAA D3 1980, 1989 (2)
East Central (East Central Oklahoma) NAIA D1 1993 (1)
Eastern Illinois- NCAA II 1978 (1)
Eastern Kentucky- FCS 1979, 1982 (2)
Eastern Washington- FCS 2010 (1)
Elon- NAIA D1 1980, 1981 (2)
Fairmount State- NAIA 1967 (1)
Fayetteville State- HBC- 2002 (1)
Findlay- NAIA D2 1979, 1992, NAIA 1997 (3)
Florida A&M- HBC- 1938, 1942, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, POLL 1962, HBC- 1965, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, FCS 1978, HBC- 1982, 1983, 1984, 2012, 2013 (19)
Furman- FCS 1988 (1)
Georgetown (Kentucky)- NAIA D2 1991, NAIA 2000, 2001 (3)
Georgia Southern (Georgia Teachers)- FCS 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1999, 2000 (6)
Grambling HBC- 1955, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2016 (15)
Grand Valley State- NCAA D2 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 (4)
Grand View- NAIA 2013 (1)
Hampton- HBC-1922, 1985, 1994, 2004, 2005, 2006 (6)
Hillsdale- NAIA D1 1985 (1)
Howard- HBC- 1920, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1987, 1993, 1996 (7)
Idaho State- FCS 1981 (1)
Ithaca- NCAA D3 1979, 1988, 1991 (3)
Jackson State HBC- 1952, 1985, 1996 (3)
Jacksonville State- NCAA D2 1992 (1)
James Madison (Madison College)- FCS-2004, 2016 (2)
Kentucky State HBC- 1933, 1934, 1935 (3)
Langston HBC- 1939, 1941 (2)
Lehigh- NCAA D2 1977 (1)
Lenoir-Rhyne- NAIA 1960 (1)
Lincoln (Mo) HBC- 1952 (1)
Lincoln (Pa) HBC- 1923 (1)
Linfield- NAIA D2 1982, 1984, 1986 NCAA D3 2004 (4)
Louisiana-Monroe (Northeast Louisiana)- FCS 1987 (1)
Louisiana Tech- NCAA D2 1973 (1)
Marian- NAIA 2012 , 2015 (2)
Marshall- FCS 1992, 1996 (2)
Mary Hardin-Baylor D3- 2016 (1)
Massachusetts- FCS 1998 (1)
Minnesota-Duluth- NCAA D2 2008, 2010 (2)
Mississippi College NCAA D2 1989 (1)
Missouri Southern- NAIA D2 1972 (1)
Montana- FCS 1995, 2001 (2)
Montana State- NAIA 1956, NCAA D2 1976, FCS 1984 (3)
Morgan State HBC- 1933, 1937, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1949, 1967 ((7)
Morris Brown HBC- 1940, 1941, 1951 (3)
Mount Union- D3 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015 (12)
Norfolk State- HBC- 2011 (1)
North Alabama (Florence State)- NCAA D2 1993, 1994, 1995 (3)
North Carolina A&T HBC- 1951, 1968, 1990, 1999, 2015 (5)
North Carolina Central HBC- 1954, 2005, 2006 (3)
North Dakota- NCAA D2 2001 (1)
North Dakota State - POLL 1965, 1968, 1969, NCAA D2 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, FCS 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 (13)
Northeast Oklahoma- NAIA 1958, NAIA D1 1994 (2)
Northern Colorado (Colorado State College)- NCAA D2 1996, 1997 (2)
Northern Illinois- POLL 1963 (1)
Northern Michigan- NCAA D2 1975 (1)
Northwest Missouri- NCAA D2 1998, 1999, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016 (6)
Northwestern Iowa- NAIA D2 1973, 1983 (2)
Northwestern Oklahoma- NAIA 1999 (1)
Ohio U.- POLL 1960 (1)
Pacific Lutheran- NAIA D2 1980, 1987, 1993, NCAA D3 1999 (4)
Paul Quinn- HBC- 1924 (1)
Peru State- NAIA 1990 (1)
Pittsburgh State, (Kansas State Teachers, Kansas State College) NAIA 1957 NAIA & POLL 1961, NCAA D2 1991, 2011 (4)
Prairie View A&M HBC- 1953, 1954, 1958, 1963, 1964, 2009 (6)
Richmond- FCS 2008 (1)
St. Francis (Ind) NAIA- 2016 (1)
St. John’s (Minnesota) NAIA 1963, 1965, NCAA D3 1976, 2003 (4)
St. Joseph’s (Ind) NAIA 1956 (1)
St. Xavier (Ill) NAIA 2011 (1)
Sam Houston State NAIA 1964 (1)
San Diego State- POLL 1966, 1967, 1968 (3)
Shaw HBC- 1947 (1)
Sioux Falls- NAIA D2 1996, NAIA 2006, 2008, 2009 (4)
South Carolina State HBC- 1976, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1994, 2008, 2009 (7)
Southern Oregon- NAIA 2014 (1)
Southern Illinois- FCS 1983 (1)
Southern Mississippi, (Mississippi Southern)- POLL 1958, 1962 (2)
Southern University HBC- 1948, 1949, 1950, 1954, 1960, 1975, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2003 (11)
Southwest Oklahoma NAIA D1 1996 (1)
Talladega HBC- 1920, 1921 (2)
Tennessee State HBC- 1946, 1947, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 2012, 2013 (16)
Texas A&M-Commerce (East Texas State) NAIA D1 1993 (1)
Texas A&M-Kingsville, (Texas A&I) NAIA 1959, 1969, NAIA D1 1970, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979 (7)
Texas College HBC- 1935 (1)
Texas Lutheran- NAIA D2 1974, 1975 (2)
Texas Southern HBC- 1952, 2010 (2)
Texas State (Southwest Texas State) NCAA D2 1981, 1982 (2)
Troy (Troy State) NAIA 1968, NCAA D2 1984, 1987 (3)
Tuskegee- HBC- 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1930, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2015, 2016 (13)
Valdosta State- NCAA D2 2004, 2007, 2012 (3)
Villanova- FCS 2009 (1)
Virginia State- HBC- 1936, 1952, 2014 (3)
Virginia Union- HBC -1923, 1981 (2)
Wagner- NCAA D3 1987 (1)
Waynesburg- NAIA 1966 (1)
West Alabama (Livingstone State)- NAIA D1 1971 (1)
West Georgia- NCAA D3 1982 (1)
West Virginia State- HBC- 1936 (1)
Western Kentucky- FCS 2002 (1)
Westminster (Pennsylvania)- NAIA D2- 1970, 1976, 1977, 1988, 1989, 1994 (6)
Widener (Penn Military)- NCAA D3 1977, 1981 (2)
Wilberforce- HBC- 1931
Wiley- HBC- 1921, 1928, 1932, 1945 (4)
Winston-Salem State- HBC- 2011. 2012, 2013, 2016 (4)
Wisconsin- Lacrosse (Lacrosse State)- NAIA D2 1985, NCAA D3 1992, 1995 (3)
Wisconsin-Whitewater - NCAA D3 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 (6)
Wittenberg- POLL 1964, NCAA D3 1973, 1975 (3)
Youngstown State (Youngstown University)- FCS 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997 (4)
Here is a listing of schools that have won national championships, in rank order:
19- Florida A&M
16- Tennessee State
15- Grambling
13- North Dakota State, Tuskegee
12- Mount Union
11- Southern U.
9- Central Ohio
7- Howard, Morgan State, South Carolina State, Texas A&M-Kingsville
6- Carroll, (Montana), Georgia Southern, Hampton, Northwest Missouri, Prairie View A&M , Westminster (Pennsylvania) Wisconsin-Whitewater
5- Alcorn State, Carson-Newman, Delaware, North Carolina A&T
4- Augustana, (Illinois), Bethune Cookman, Grand Valley State, Linfield, Pacific Lutheran, Pittsburg State, St. John’s, (Minnesota), Sioux Falls, Wiley, Winston-Salem State , Youngstown State
3- Albany State (Ga), Appalachian State, Central Arkansas, Central Ohio, Concordia (Minnesota), Findlay, Georgetown (Kentucky), Ithaca, Jackson State, Kentucky State, Montana State, Morris Brown, North Alabama, North Carolina Central, San Diego State, Troy, Valdosta State, Virginia State , Wisconsin-Lacrosse, Wittenberg
2- Abilene Christian, Alabama State , Bluefield State , Central Oklahoma, Dayton, Eastern Kentucky, Elon, James Madison, Langston, Marian, Marshall, Montana, Minnesota-Duluth, Northern Colorado, Northeastern Oklahoma, Northwestern Iowa, Southern Mississippi, Talladega, Texas Lutheran, Texas Southern, Virginia Union, Widener, Texas State
1- Arkansas Pine Bluff, Arkansas State, Allegheny, Albion, Angelo State, Austin College, Azusa Pacific, Baldwin-Wallace, Boise State, Bowling Green, Cal Lutheran, Cal Poly SLO, Cal State LA, Cameron State, Central Iowa, Central Michigan, Central Washington, Colorado State- Pueblo, Delta State, Delaware State , East Central, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Washington, Fairmount State, Fayetteville State, Furman, Grand View, Hillsdale, Jacksonville State, Lehigh, Lenoir-Rhyne, Lincoln (Mo), Lincoln (Pa), Louisiana Tech, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Massachusetts, Mississippi College, Missouri Southern, Norfolk State , North Dakota, Louisiana Monroe, Northern Illinois, Northern Michigan, Northwest Oklahoma, Ohio University, Paul Quinn, Peru State, Richmond, St. Francis (Ind), St. Joseph’s (Missouri), St. Xavier (Ill.), Sam Houston State, Shaw, Southern Illinois, Southern Oregon, Southwest Oklahoma, Texas A&M- Commerce, Texas College, Villanova, Wagner, Waynesburg, Western Kentucky, West Alabama, West Georgia, West Virginia State, Wilberforce
I’ll be posting articles giving match-ups and updates for the NAIA, NCAA Division 3, Division 2 and FCS playoffs as they go along, just as I’ve done for local high school football. The first three tournaments begin this week. FCS will begin next week, with the brackets yet to be determined at this point.
For decades there was a vague concept of “Big Time” and “Small Time” in college football. In the one platoon era the difference was smaller than it later became and the “map” of college football looked more like college basketball with many more schools playing “big time” ball, including schools like Fordham, NYU, Carnegie Tech, Georgetown, Duquesne, etc. And the big time teams played the acknowledged small time teams more often. A typical college schedule for a big-time team began with 2-3 games against small-time teams as warm ups and then they’d they start playing the big time teams and find out how good they really were. If you look at Syracuse’s schedule before the war, they’d play St. Lawrence, Hobart, Ohio Wesleyan, etc. to start each year. Notre Dame became Notre Dame by being the first school to drop those games and play an all-big time schedule and going around the country to play the top teams in each section. They became the litmus test for everyone else: could you get Notre Dame to play you and how did you do? Kids wanted to play either for the local team or for Notre Dame.
In the post war era, television and the two platoon era, things changed. Television wasn’t interested in 50 point wins over Hobart and two platoon football requires the recruitment of at least twice as many players and the gap between big time and small time grew. There might be one game against an area small college team on a big time team’s schedule. Most of them avoided even that because they’d be criticized for picking on a team that couldn’t compete with them and having a weak schedule. In recent years, this trend has somewhat reversed itself. With the BCS, (and now the 4 team playoff), there’s a balance between wanting to avoid having a weak schedule and wanting to be undefeated so you can get a shot at the title game. Most FBS teams play at least one FCS team and are allowed to count a single FCS game toward bowl eligibility. Smaller schools like being in FCS rather than Division II because they get to play such games and the money they are guaranteed helps them balance their athletic department budgets.
The idea slowly dawned that perhaps the strongest smaller teams should be acknowledged in some way. The first organization to conduct a championship for the small schools was the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, (NAIA). The NAIA was the creation of Dr. James Naismith, who wanted to provide a national championship tournament for smaller basketball schools. The organization was first known as the National Association for Intercollegiate Basketball, (NAIB), but became an all-sports organization and the NAIA in 1952. They had held their first basketball tournament in 1937, (even before there was an NIT or NCAA tournament), with 8 teams and then went to 32 teams in 1938. They first held a tournament for small college football in 1956. It started out as a sort of small college BCS, with just two teams selected to play in what was first called the “Aluminum Bowl”. It became the Holiday Bowl in 1957 and a four team playoff leading to the championship in the Holiday Bowl in 1958. The Holiday Bowl became the Camellia Bowl in 1960 and just the Championship Bowl in 1964. In 1970 the NAIA, (which always seems to be ahead of the NCAA in these things), split into two divisions and had four team championships in each. The field was expanded to eight teams in each division in 1978 and sixteen in 1987. Division 1 backtracked to eight teams in 1989 but Division 2 remained at sixteen. In 1995 Division 1 went back to a four team playoff with Division 2 remaining at sixteen. In 1997, they dropped the two division set-up for one sixteen team playoff, which it’s remained ever since. One problem is that they keep losing teams to the NCAA playoffs. Several NCAA champions have been previous NAIA champions. Frankly, I’m not sure why there is a need for an NAIA anymore and I’d like to see all their teams in the NCAA playoff system to get an overall champion at each level.
The NAIA allowed ties for a time. In fact, that first Aluminum Bowl in 1956 was a 0-0 tie between Montana State and St. Joseph’s of Indiana. They went in the books as co-champions that year. In 1960 Lenoir-Rhyne and Northern Michigan tied in a semi-final game but Lenoir-Rhyne was declared the winner “on penetrations”, per the NAIA website. From my reading from other sources, yardage gained was the tie-breaker and L-R had outgained NM by 25 yards so they were allowed to proceed to the title game, which they won 15-14 over Humbolt State. But ties and co-champions were still allowed in the title game and in 1964 Concordia of Minnesota and Sam Houston State tied 7-7 in the title game and were co-champions for that year. Westminster tied Carthage 28-28 in a D2 semi-final in 1971. Carson-Newman tied Livingston 7-7 in a D1 semi-final in 1972. Westminster and Carson-Newman both advanced “on penetrations“. Both lost in the championship game. They went to overtime for preliminary games in 1976 but still allowed ties in championship games. Austin College and Concordia of Minnesota tied 24-24 in the 1981 D2 title game. Carson-Newman and Central Arkansas tied 19-19 in the 1984 D1 title game and Hillsdale and Central Arkansas tied 10-10 in the 1985 D1 title game. They are regarded as “co-champions” for those years.
The wire services got into the act beginning in 1958 when United Press International, (UPI) did a coach’s poll for “College Division” teams, (even if they weren’t really a division yet: the term “College Division” seems to have been used beginning in 1964, when the NCAA set up some regional bowl games for the smalls to play in). The Associated Press, (AP) and the writer’s joined them in 1960. They continued doing polls after the NCAA playoffs began but they were no longer “official” at that point. But from 1958-1972 these polls determined the “National Small College Champion”. The teams they chose were:
1958 Southern Mississippi
1959 Bowling Green
1960 Ohio University
1961 Kansas State Teacher’s College, (now Pittsburg State)
1962 Southern Mississippi, (UPI), Florida A&M (AP)
1963 Delaware (UPI), Northern Illinois (AP)
1964 Los Angeles State, (now Cal State LA) (UPI, Wittenberg (AP)
1965 North Dakota State
1966 San Diego State
1967 San Diego State
1968 San Diego State (UPI), North Dakota State (AP)
1969 North Dakota State
1970 Arkansas State
1971 Delaware
1972 Delaware
It’s interesting that, of these twelve schools, half of them are now FBS schools but schools with no shot as the FBS title. They moved into the major college ranks but were unable to accomplish what Boise State eventually accomplished: to become a respected major college power. Even the Broncos can’t get into a national title game but at least these were considered contenders but these other former small college champions never have been, even when they’ve won all their games, (as Ohio U. did in 1968, San Diego State in 1969 and Bowling Green in 1985, as well as did 1992 and 1996 FCS champion Marshall as an FBS team in 1999). By moving up, they essentially prevented their student-athletes from competing for a national title. I have always felt that if a school’s team could win all its games and not have a chance at the title, they belong in a division where they could compete for a national title.
The NCAA finally decided to create formal divisions and have playoffs in 1973. They created three divisions: 1, 2 and 3. I agree with that arrangement. To me there are three levels of college football: big time, small time and in between time. “Big time” can best be defined by saying that if a team won all its games they would get some consideration for being the Division 1 national champions. If not, they are in the wrong division. “Small time” would be pure student athletes: no athletic scholarships, just students who played football in high school who wanted to continue to do so in college. “In between time” are the schools that emphasize football too much to be small time but lack the resources to be big time or are too big to be small time but don’t emphasize the sport enough to be big time.
The problem is, some of the schools involved weren’t happy with that. The lesser major colleges didn’t slide into Division 2 so their kids could compete for a national championship. Instead they clung to their Division 1 status, both for prestige and so they could get games against the top Division 1 powers for the financial guarantees. In an effort to appease those schools but still give their players a real shot at competing for a championship, the NCAA created Division 1AA in 1978. These would be schools that could call themselves Division 1 schools and would be allowed to schedule games against the big powers but they could still compete for a championship. That still didn’t satisfy a lot of schools. Some schools dropped down, like the Southern Conference and the historically black schools. Others like the Patriot League and the Ivy League later joined them. But other schools with no shot at a 1A championship insisted on staying there. I remember the president of Kent State saying he considered his school “on the same level as Ohio State”. There was a proposal that a school needed a stadium seating at least 50,000 to be 1A. The Kent State president said that if that was passed, his school would build a 50,000 seat stadium to stay at the 1A level. When has Kent State ever been anywhere near as good as Ohio State? When have they ever played before 50,000 fans? When have they ever competed for a national championship? I think it’s sad that players for such schools are denied a chance to compete for national championships and forced to play schools that over-match them in exchange for money guarantees, becoming the equivalent of boxing’s “tomato cans”.
What happened instead of Division 1A schools migrating to Division 1AA so their kids could compete for championships is that the Division 2 schools migrated to 1AA for the additional prestige and the opportunity to get those guarantees. Division 1AA looks almost exactly like the Division 2 of the 1970’s and that‘s basically what it is. The current Division 2 is full of teams that started out in Division 3.
If I had a magic wand, (and that’s apparently what it would take), I’d have a Division 1 consisting only of schools that would have a chance to at least make a BCS Bowl if they won all their games. Then I’d take the FBS teams that could run the table and not wind up in a BCS bowl and add them to FCS to create a new Division 2. Then combine the current NCAA Divisions 2 and 3 and the NAIA into a new Division 3. Each of them would have their own playoff. Perfect! But it’s not up to me.
Here is a list of all the schools that have won an NAIA (Division 1 or 2 or overall) title, a #1 ranking in an AP or UPI poll from 1958-72 or an NCAA FCS, (1AA), 2 or 3 championship since 1956. Smaller schools are more susceptible to name changes than larger schools so I’ve listed any name the school has used since 1956 but alphabetized them under their current name. The schools that will never add to their total because they’ve migrated to FBS are in italics. (I’ve included Boise State, the one school that has built up enough of a reputation they might someday prove the exception.) Dayton, Furman, Marshall and Villanova were FBS or the equivalent and dropped down, which gave their kids a chance to win a title. Marshall later moved back up again and that ended that.
I’ve decided to add in the Historically Black College National Champions as listed here:
Black college football national championship - Wikipedia
I’ll designate them as “HBC”: Historically Black College champions
Alabama State- HBC- 1991, 2011 (2)
Allegheny- NCAA D3 1990 (1)
Albion- NCAA D3 1994 (1)
Abilene Christian- NAIA D1 1973, 1977 (2)
Albany State (Ga) HBC- 2003, 2004, 2010 (3)
Alcorn State HBC- 1968, 1969, 1974, 1984, 2014 (5)
Angelo State (San Angelo College)- NAIA D1 1978 (1)
Appalachian State- FCS 2005, 2006, 2007 (3)
Arkansas Pine Bluff- HBC- 2012 (1)
Arkansas State- POLL 1970 (1)
Augustana (Illinois)- NCAA D3 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 (4)
Austin College- NAIA D2 1981 (1)
Azusa Pacific- NAIA 1998 (1)
Baldwin-Wallace- NCAA D3 1978 (1)
Bethune Cookman- HBC – 2002, 2010, 2012, 2013 (4)
Bluefield State- HBC 1927, 1928 (2)
Boise State- FCS 1980 (1)
Bowling Green- POLL 1959 (1)
California Lutheran- NAIA D2 1971 (1)
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo- NCAA D2- 1980 (1)
Cal State LA (Los Angeles State) POLL 1964 (1)
Cameron (Cameron State) NAIA D1- 1987 (1)
Carroll (of Montana) NAIA- 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010 (6)
Carson-Newman- NAIA D1 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989 (5)
Central Arkansas, (Arkansas State Teachers, State College of Arkansas) - NAIA D1 1984, 1985, 1991 (3)
Central Iowa NCAA D3- 1974 (1)
Central Michigan- NCAA D2 1974 (1)
Central Ohio- HBC- 1948, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 NAIA D1 & HBC-1990, 1992, NAIA D1- 1995 (9)
Central Oklahoma- NAIA 1962, NAIA D1 1982 (2)
Central Washington- NAIA D2 1995 (1)
Colorado State-Pueblo NCAA D2- 2014 (1)
Concordia (of Minnesota)- NAIA 1964, NAIA D2 1978, 1981 (3)
Delaware- POLL- 1963, 1971, 1972 NCAA D2 1979, FCS 2003 (5)
Delaware State- HBC- 2007 (1)
Delta State- NCAA D2 2000 (1)
Dayton- NCAA D3 1980, 1989 (2)
East Central (East Central Oklahoma) NAIA D1 1993 (1)
Eastern Illinois- NCAA II 1978 (1)
Eastern Kentucky- FCS 1979, 1982 (2)
Eastern Washington- FCS 2010 (1)
Elon- NAIA D1 1980, 1981 (2)
Fairmount State- NAIA 1967 (1)
Fayetteville State- HBC- 2002 (1)
Findlay- NAIA D2 1979, 1992, NAIA 1997 (3)
Florida A&M- HBC- 1938, 1942, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, POLL 1962, HBC- 1965, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, FCS 1978, HBC- 1982, 1983, 1984, 2012, 2013 (19)
Furman- FCS 1988 (1)
Georgetown (Kentucky)- NAIA D2 1991, NAIA 2000, 2001 (3)
Georgia Southern (Georgia Teachers)- FCS 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1999, 2000 (6)
Grambling HBC- 1955, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2016 (15)
Grand Valley State- NCAA D2 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 (4)
Grand View- NAIA 2013 (1)
Hampton- HBC-1922, 1985, 1994, 2004, 2005, 2006 (6)
Hillsdale- NAIA D1 1985 (1)
Howard- HBC- 1920, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1987, 1993, 1996 (7)
Idaho State- FCS 1981 (1)
Ithaca- NCAA D3 1979, 1988, 1991 (3)
Jackson State HBC- 1952, 1985, 1996 (3)
Jacksonville State- NCAA D2 1992 (1)
James Madison (Madison College)- FCS-2004, 2016 (2)
Kentucky State HBC- 1933, 1934, 1935 (3)
Langston HBC- 1939, 1941 (2)
Lehigh- NCAA D2 1977 (1)
Lenoir-Rhyne- NAIA 1960 (1)
Lincoln (Mo) HBC- 1952 (1)
Lincoln (Pa) HBC- 1923 (1)
Linfield- NAIA D2 1982, 1984, 1986 NCAA D3 2004 (4)
Louisiana-Monroe (Northeast Louisiana)- FCS 1987 (1)
Louisiana Tech- NCAA D2 1973 (1)
Marian- NAIA 2012 , 2015 (2)
Marshall- FCS 1992, 1996 (2)
Mary Hardin-Baylor D3- 2016 (1)
Massachusetts- FCS 1998 (1)
Minnesota-Duluth- NCAA D2 2008, 2010 (2)
Mississippi College NCAA D2 1989 (1)
Missouri Southern- NAIA D2 1972 (1)
Montana- FCS 1995, 2001 (2)
Montana State- NAIA 1956, NCAA D2 1976, FCS 1984 (3)
Morgan State HBC- 1933, 1937, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1949, 1967 ((7)
Morris Brown HBC- 1940, 1941, 1951 (3)
Mount Union- D3 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015 (12)
Norfolk State- HBC- 2011 (1)
North Alabama (Florence State)- NCAA D2 1993, 1994, 1995 (3)
North Carolina A&T HBC- 1951, 1968, 1990, 1999, 2015 (5)
North Carolina Central HBC- 1954, 2005, 2006 (3)
North Dakota- NCAA D2 2001 (1)
North Dakota State - POLL 1965, 1968, 1969, NCAA D2 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, FCS 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 (13)
Northeast Oklahoma- NAIA 1958, NAIA D1 1994 (2)
Northern Colorado (Colorado State College)- NCAA D2 1996, 1997 (2)
Northern Illinois- POLL 1963 (1)
Northern Michigan- NCAA D2 1975 (1)
Northwest Missouri- NCAA D2 1998, 1999, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016 (6)
Northwestern Iowa- NAIA D2 1973, 1983 (2)
Northwestern Oklahoma- NAIA 1999 (1)
Ohio U.- POLL 1960 (1)
Pacific Lutheran- NAIA D2 1980, 1987, 1993, NCAA D3 1999 (4)
Paul Quinn- HBC- 1924 (1)
Peru State- NAIA 1990 (1)
Pittsburgh State, (Kansas State Teachers, Kansas State College) NAIA 1957 NAIA & POLL 1961, NCAA D2 1991, 2011 (4)
Prairie View A&M HBC- 1953, 1954, 1958, 1963, 1964, 2009 (6)
Richmond- FCS 2008 (1)
St. Francis (Ind) NAIA- 2016 (1)
St. John’s (Minnesota) NAIA 1963, 1965, NCAA D3 1976, 2003 (4)
St. Joseph’s (Ind) NAIA 1956 (1)
St. Xavier (Ill) NAIA 2011 (1)
Sam Houston State NAIA 1964 (1)
San Diego State- POLL 1966, 1967, 1968 (3)
Shaw HBC- 1947 (1)
Sioux Falls- NAIA D2 1996, NAIA 2006, 2008, 2009 (4)
South Carolina State HBC- 1976, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1994, 2008, 2009 (7)
Southern Oregon- NAIA 2014 (1)
Southern Illinois- FCS 1983 (1)
Southern Mississippi, (Mississippi Southern)- POLL 1958, 1962 (2)
Southern University HBC- 1948, 1949, 1950, 1954, 1960, 1975, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2003 (11)
Southwest Oklahoma NAIA D1 1996 (1)
Talladega HBC- 1920, 1921 (2)
Tennessee State HBC- 1946, 1947, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 2012, 2013 (16)
Texas A&M-Commerce (East Texas State) NAIA D1 1993 (1)
Texas A&M-Kingsville, (Texas A&I) NAIA 1959, 1969, NAIA D1 1970, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979 (7)
Texas College HBC- 1935 (1)
Texas Lutheran- NAIA D2 1974, 1975 (2)
Texas Southern HBC- 1952, 2010 (2)
Texas State (Southwest Texas State) NCAA D2 1981, 1982 (2)
Troy (Troy State) NAIA 1968, NCAA D2 1984, 1987 (3)
Tuskegee- HBC- 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1930, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2015, 2016 (13)
Valdosta State- NCAA D2 2004, 2007, 2012 (3)
Villanova- FCS 2009 (1)
Virginia State- HBC- 1936, 1952, 2014 (3)
Virginia Union- HBC -1923, 1981 (2)
Wagner- NCAA D3 1987 (1)
Waynesburg- NAIA 1966 (1)
West Alabama (Livingstone State)- NAIA D1 1971 (1)
West Georgia- NCAA D3 1982 (1)
West Virginia State- HBC- 1936 (1)
Western Kentucky- FCS 2002 (1)
Westminster (Pennsylvania)- NAIA D2- 1970, 1976, 1977, 1988, 1989, 1994 (6)
Widener (Penn Military)- NCAA D3 1977, 1981 (2)
Wilberforce- HBC- 1931
Wiley- HBC- 1921, 1928, 1932, 1945 (4)
Winston-Salem State- HBC- 2011. 2012, 2013, 2016 (4)
Wisconsin- Lacrosse (Lacrosse State)- NAIA D2 1985, NCAA D3 1992, 1995 (3)
Wisconsin-Whitewater - NCAA D3 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 (6)
Wittenberg- POLL 1964, NCAA D3 1973, 1975 (3)
Youngstown State (Youngstown University)- FCS 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997 (4)
Here is a listing of schools that have won national championships, in rank order:
19- Florida A&M
16- Tennessee State
15- Grambling
13- North Dakota State, Tuskegee
12- Mount Union
11- Southern U.
9- Central Ohio
7- Howard, Morgan State, South Carolina State, Texas A&M-Kingsville
6- Carroll, (Montana), Georgia Southern, Hampton, Northwest Missouri, Prairie View A&M , Westminster (Pennsylvania) Wisconsin-Whitewater
5- Alcorn State, Carson-Newman, Delaware, North Carolina A&T
4- Augustana, (Illinois), Bethune Cookman, Grand Valley State, Linfield, Pacific Lutheran, Pittsburg State, St. John’s, (Minnesota), Sioux Falls, Wiley, Winston-Salem State , Youngstown State
3- Albany State (Ga), Appalachian State, Central Arkansas, Central Ohio, Concordia (Minnesota), Findlay, Georgetown (Kentucky), Ithaca, Jackson State, Kentucky State, Montana State, Morris Brown, North Alabama, North Carolina Central, San Diego State, Troy, Valdosta State, Virginia State , Wisconsin-Lacrosse, Wittenberg
2- Abilene Christian, Alabama State , Bluefield State , Central Oklahoma, Dayton, Eastern Kentucky, Elon, James Madison, Langston, Marian, Marshall, Montana, Minnesota-Duluth, Northern Colorado, Northeastern Oklahoma, Northwestern Iowa, Southern Mississippi, Talladega, Texas Lutheran, Texas Southern, Virginia Union, Widener, Texas State
1- Arkansas Pine Bluff, Arkansas State, Allegheny, Albion, Angelo State, Austin College, Azusa Pacific, Baldwin-Wallace, Boise State, Bowling Green, Cal Lutheran, Cal Poly SLO, Cal State LA, Cameron State, Central Iowa, Central Michigan, Central Washington, Colorado State- Pueblo, Delta State, Delaware State , East Central, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Washington, Fairmount State, Fayetteville State, Furman, Grand View, Hillsdale, Jacksonville State, Lehigh, Lenoir-Rhyne, Lincoln (Mo), Lincoln (Pa), Louisiana Tech, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Massachusetts, Mississippi College, Missouri Southern, Norfolk State , North Dakota, Louisiana Monroe, Northern Illinois, Northern Michigan, Northwest Oklahoma, Ohio University, Paul Quinn, Peru State, Richmond, St. Francis (Ind), St. Joseph’s (Missouri), St. Xavier (Ill.), Sam Houston State, Shaw, Southern Illinois, Southern Oregon, Southwest Oklahoma, Texas A&M- Commerce, Texas College, Villanova, Wagner, Waynesburg, Western Kentucky, West Alabama, West Georgia, West Virginia State, Wilberforce
I’ll be posting articles giving match-ups and updates for the NAIA, NCAA Division 3, Division 2 and FCS playoffs as they go along, just as I’ve done for local high school football. The first three tournaments begin this week. FCS will begin next week, with the brackets yet to be determined at this point.
