1977 NCAA Division III football season

1977 NCAA Division III football season
Regular seasonAugust – November 1977
PlayoffsNovember – December 1977
Garrett-Harrison Stadium
Phenix City, AL
ChampionWidener
← 1976 · NCAA Division III football seasons · 1978 →

The 1977 NCAA Division III football season -- part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division III level—began in August 1977, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship in December 1977 at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. The Widener Pioneers won their first Division III championship, defeating the Wabash Little Giants by a final score of 39−36.[1]

Conference standings

1977 College Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Southwestern (TN) $ 4 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 1
Rose–Hulman 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Centre 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Principia 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
Sewanee 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1977 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Illinois Wesleyan + 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Millikin + 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
North Central (IL) 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Carthage 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Wheaton (IL) 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Elmhurst 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Augustana (IL) 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Carroll (WI) 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
North Park 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1977 Independent College Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Ithaca $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Hobart 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
St. Lawrence 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
RPI 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Alfred 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
RIT 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 8 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1977 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Saint Joseph's (IN) + 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Butler + 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Indiana Central 2 – 1 – 1 6 – 2 – 1
Valparaiso 1 – 2 – 1 3 – 6 – 1
Evansville 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1977 Iowa Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Central (IA) $^ 7 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
Wartburg 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Buena Vista 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
William Penn 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Luther 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Dubuque 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Simpson (IA) 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Upper Iowa 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1977 Metropolitan Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Fordham $ 3 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
C. W. Post 3 – 0 – 0 5 – 3 – 1
Hofstra 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Merchant Marine 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Wagner 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Seton Hall 0 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1977 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Albion $^ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Hope 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Adrian 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Alma 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Kalamazoo 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Olivet 0 – 4 – 1 0 – 8 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1977 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northern Division
Albright x 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Upsala 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Lycoming 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Juniata 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Wilkes 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Susquehanna 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Delaware Valley 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Southern Division
Widener x^ 6 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
Franklin & Marshall 7 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Dickinson 5 – 2 – 1 6 – 2 – 1
Muhlenberg 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Swarthmore 4 – 4 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Lebanon Valley 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Western Maryland 2 – 4 – 1 2 – 6 – 1
Moravian 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Ursinus 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Johns Hopkins 0 – 8 – 1 1 – 8 – 1
Gettysburg * 1 – 1 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
  • * – Ineligible due to insufficient conference games
1977 Midwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
East Division
Ripon xy$ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Lawrence 3 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Lake Forest 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0
Chicago 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
Beloit 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
West Division
Cornell (IA) xy 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Coe 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Monmouth (IL) 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Grinnell 1 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Knox 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 1
Carleton 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0
Championship: Ripon 10, Cornell (IA) 7
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
1977 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Saint John's (MN) $^ 7 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Concordia–Moorhead 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Gustavus Adolphus 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
St. Thomas (MN) 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
Augsburg 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
St. Olaf 2 – 4 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Hamline 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Macalester 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1977 New England Football Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Massachusetts Maritime $ 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Bridgewater State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Maine Maritime 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0
Boston State 4 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Curry 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Nichols 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
New Haven 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Framingham State 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Plymouth State 1 – 6 – 1 2 – 6 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1977 New Jersey State Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Glassboro State $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Montclair State 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Trenton State 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Kean 2 – 2 – 1 3 – 6 – 1
William Paterson 1 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Jersey City State 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1977 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Minnesota Morris $^ 7 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
Bemidji State 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Moorhead State 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Minnesota Duluth 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
St. Cloud State 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Michigan Tech 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Winona State 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Southwest State (MN) 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1977 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Blue Division
Baldwin–Wallace xy$ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
Otterbein 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Marietta 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Mount Union 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Ohio Wesleyan 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 1
Denison 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 8 – 1
Red Division
Wittenberg xy 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
Muskingum 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Wooster 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Capital 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Ohio Northern 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Heidelberg 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
Not competing for championship
Kenyon   –   4 – 5 – 0
Oberlin   –   1 – 7 – 0
Championship: Baldwin–Wallace 14, Wittenberg 7
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
1977 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Hampden–Sydney $^ 4 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Randolph–Macon 2 – 1 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
Emory & Henry 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Washington and Lee 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Bridgewater 0 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
1977 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
East Division
No. 4 Millersville xy 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Kutztown 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
East Stroudsburg 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
Bloomsburg 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Cheyney 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Mansfield 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 1
West Division
No. 8 Clarion xy$ 5 – 0 – 1 9 – 0 – 1
Shippensburg 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Slippery Rock 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Lock Haven 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Indiana (PA) 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Edinboro 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 6 – 1
California (PA) 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Championship: Clarion 25, Millersville 24
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1977 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Carnegie Mellon $ 7 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Allegheny 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0
Case Western Reserve 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Washington & Jefferson 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Hiram 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Thiel 2 – 4 – 1 2 – 5 – 1
Bethany (WV) 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
John Carroll 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1977 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Redlands $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
No. T–14 Whittier 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Occidental 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
La Verne 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Claremont-Mudd 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0
Pomona-Pitzer 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Redlands forfeited two non-conference wins.
Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1977 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Wisconsin–Stevens Point $^ 7 – 0 – 1 8 – 2 – 1
Wisconsin–Whitewater 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Wisconsin–La Crosse 5 – 2 – 1 6 – 2 – 2
Wisconsin–Platteville 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Wisconsin–Oshkosh 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Wisconsin–Eau Claire 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Wisconsin–River Falls 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Wisconsin–Stout 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Wisconsin–Superior 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1977 NCAA Division III independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Wabash ^   –   11 – 2 – 0
Albany ^   –   9 – 2 – 0
Norwich   –   7 – 2 – 0
Maryville (TN)   –   6 – 2 – 0
Dayton   –   8 – 3 – 0
Canisius   –   5 – 2 – 2
Rochester (NY)   –   6 – 3 – 0
Ashland   –   6 – 4 – 0
Grove City   –   6 – 4 – 0
James Madison   –   5 – 5 – 0
Salisbury State   –   5 – 5 – 0
Brockport   –   4 – 5 – 0
Fairleigh Dickinson–Florham   –   4 – 5 – 0
Saint Mary's   –   4 – 5 – 0
Colorado College   –   3 – 6 – 0
Union (NY)   –   2 – 5 – 1
Bowie State   –   3 – 7 – 0
San Diego   –   3 – 7 – 0
Saint Peter's   –   2 – 5 – 0
Millsaps   –   2 – 6 – 0
Georgetown   –   2 – 7 – 0
Cortland   –   2 – 8 – 0
Plattsburgh   –   1 – 6 – 1
DePauw   –   1 – 9 – 0
St. Norbert   –   0 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

Conference champions

Conference champions

Postseason

The 1977 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the fifth annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama for the fifth consecutive year. Like the previous two championships, eight teams competed in this edition.[2]

Playoff bracket

Quarterfinals
Campus Sites 		Semifinals
Campus Sites 		National Championship Game
Garrett-Harrison Stadium
Phenix City, AL
         
Minnesota–Morris 13
Albion 10
Minnesota–Morris 21
Wabash 37
Wabash 20
Saint John's (MN) 9
Wabash 36
Widener 39
Widener 19
Central (IA) 0
Widener 33
Albany 15
Albany 51
Hampden–Sydney 41

See also

References

  1. ^ "All-Time Division III Football Championship Records" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. pp. 4–15. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  2. ^ "1977 NCAA Division III National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved October 31, 2014.