1978 NAIA Division I football season

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.

1978 NAIA Division I football season
Regular seasonAugust–November 1978
PostseasonDecember 2–16, 1978
National ChampionshipMcAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium
McAllen, TX
ChampionsAngelo State

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.[1]

Angelo State defeated Elon in the Palm Bowl, 24–14, to win their first NAIA national title.[2]

Conference standings
1979 Central States Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
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
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.
1978 Evergreen Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Oregon College $^ 5 –1 –0  8 –2 –0
Eastern Washington 4 –2 –0  6 –4 –0
Western Washington 3 –3 –0  4 –6 –0
Central Washington 3 –3 –0  3 –6 –0
Oregon Tech 2 –4 –0  4 –5 –0
Eastern Oregon 2 –4 –0  4 –6 –0
Southern Oregon 2 –4 –0  3 –6 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
1978 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
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
1978 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Angelo State $^ 7 –0 –0  14 –0 –0
Abilene Christian 5 –2 –0  7 –3 –0
Sam Houston State 4 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
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
1978 Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW 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
TeamW L T  W L T
Western State $^ 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 State 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
1978 South Atlantic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Elon +^ 6 –0 –1  9 –1 –1
Presbyterian + 6 –0 –1  8 –2 –1
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

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

References
  1. "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  2. "1978 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
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