1973 NAIA Division I football season

The 1973 NAIA Division I football season, as part of the 1973 college football season in the United States, was the 18th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA and the fourth season of the league's two-division structure.

1973 NAIA Division I football season
Regular seasonAugust–November 1973
PostseasonDecember 1–8, 1973
National ChampionshipShreveport, LA
ChampionsAbilene Christian

The season was played from August to November 1973 and culminated in the 1973 NAIA Champion Bowl, played on December 8, 1973 in Shreveport, Louisiana.[1]

Abilene Christian defeated Elon in the Champion Bowl, 42–14, to win their first NAIA national title.[2]

Conference standings
1973 Carolinas Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 10 Elon $^ 4 –0 –0  12 –1 –0
Lenoir–Rhyne 2 –1 –0  5 –5 –1
Mars Hill 2 –2 –0  5 –6 –0
Catawba 1 –3 –0  5 –5 –0
Guilford 0 –3 –0  1 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from AP Poll
1973 Evergreen Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Central Washington $ 5 –1 –0  7 –2 –0
Eastern Oregon 4 –2 –0  7 –2 –0
Oregon College 4 –2 –0  6 –3 –0
Southern Oregon 4 –2 –0  6 –3 –0
Eastern Washington 2 –4 –0  5 –4 –0
Western Washington 1 –5 –0  1 –7 –0
Oregon Tech 1 –5 –0  1 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1973 Great Plains Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Emporia State + 4 –1 –0  7 –2 –0
Northern Colorado + 4 –1 –0  7 –2 –0
Fort Hays State 2 –3 –0  5 –4 –0
Washburn 2 –3 –0  3 –6 –1
Pittsburg State 2 –3 –0  3 –7 –0
Southern Colorado 1 –4 –0  3 –7 –0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1973 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 7 Abilene Christian $^ 9 –0 –0  11 –1 –0
Howard Payne 8 –1 –0  8 –3 –0
Stephen F. Austin 6 –3 –0  9 –3 –0
East Texas State 6 –3 –0  7 –4 –0
Angelo State 5 –4 –0  5 –4 –2
Southwest Texas State 3 –6 –0  4 –6 –0
Sul Ross 3 –6 –0  3 –7 –0
Sam Houston State 2 –7 –0  2 –8 –0
Texas A&I 2 –7 –0  2 –8 –0
Tarleton State 1 –8 –0  1 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from AP Poll
1973 Nebraska College Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Kearney State $ 3 –0 –0  6 –3 –0
Chadron State 2 –1 –0  7 –3 –0
Wayne State (NE) 1 –2 –0  5 –5 –0
Peru State 0 –3 –0  4 –6 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1973 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Langston $^ 8 –0 –0  11 –1 –0
Northeastern State 6 –2 –0  7 –2 –0
SE Oklahoma State 5 –3 –0  6 –4 –0
Central State (OK) 5 –3 –0  6 –4 –1
Cameron 4 –4 –0  5 –5 –0
East Central 3 –4 –0  4 –7 –0
Panhandle 2 –6 –0  3 –7 –1
SW Oklahoma State 2 –6 –0  3 –7 –0
NW Oklahoma State 0 –7 –1  1 –8 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
1973 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Western State $ 5 –1 –0  6 –3 –0
Adams State 4 –2 –0  6 –3 –0
Southern Utah 4 –2 –0  5 –4 –0
Fort Lewis 3 –3 –0  4 –5 –0
Western New Mexico 3 –3 –0  3 –5 –0
Westminster (UT) 2 –4 –0  3 –6 –0
Colorado Mines 0 –6 –0  0 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion

Postseason
Semifinals
December 1, 1973 		1973 Champion Bowl
December 8, 1973
Shreveport, LA
      
Wisconsin–La Crosse 24
Elon* 35
Elon 14
Abilene Christian 42
Langston 6
Abilene Christian* 34

See also

References
  1. "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  2. "1973 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
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