UPI small college football rankings

The UPI small college football rankings was a system used by the United Press International (UPI) from 1958 to 1974 to rank the best small college football teams in the United States.

The UPI announced in September 1958 that it had formed a Small-College Football Rating Board consisting of 47 coaches charged on a weekly basis with ranking the nation's best "small college" football teams.[1] The initial board was made up of one coach from each of 47 states. Each coach was asked to submit a weekly ballot ranking the ten best teams out of the 519 small-college football programs. The rankings included schools that were members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and members of both or neither. The team ranked No. 1 at the end of the year was presented with a trophy by the UPI.[1]

Top teams in final polls

The following chart lists the top five teams in the final UPI small college rankings for each year from 1958 to 1974. The figures in brackets reflect the number of first-place votes received in the final voting. The figures in parentheses reflect the total points received.

Year No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 Source
1958 Mississippi Southern [36] (403) Miami (OH) (215) Arizona State–Flagstaff [2] (209) Northeastern State (OK) [1] (205) East Texas State (172) [2]
1959 Bowling Green [23] (407) Mississippi Southern [5] (247) Middle Tennessee [2] (231) Delaware [1] (211) East Texas State (179) [3]
1960 Ohio [28] (343) Bowling Green (250) Lenoir–Rhyne [3] (236) Muskingum [1] (100) Florida A&M (94) [4]
1961 Pittsburg State [14] (250) Baldwin–Wallace [1] (179) Mississippi Southern [4] (163) Southeastern Louisiana (148) Fresno State [8] (147) [5]
1962 Southern Miss [19] (286) Florida A&M [7] (273) Central State (OK) [3] (233) Lenoir–Rhyne (204) Wittenberg [2] (126) [6]
1963 Delaware [18] (309) Northern Illinois [8] (285) UMass [1] (160) Saint John's (MN) [1] (158) Wittenberg (153) [7]
1964 Cal State Los Angeles [26] (318) Wittenberg [7] (278) UMass (217) East Carolina (196) Concordia (MN) [1] (152)
Louisiana Tech [1] (152) 		[8]
1965 North Dakota State [21] (301) Cal State Los Angeles [2] (224) Middle Tennessee State [3] (209) East Carolina [1] (187) Weber State [3] (117) [9]
1966 San Diego State [30] (336) Montana State [3] (272) Tennessee State [1] (242) Northwestern State (166) North Dakota (161) [10]
1967 San Diego State [17] (317) North Dakota State [14] (299) Texas–Arlington [2] (205) Fairmont State [1] (194) West Chester State [1] (132) [11]
1968 San Diego State [21] (312) North Dakota State [9] (300) Chattanooga (236) New Mexico Highlands (209) Texas A&I (184) [12]
1969 North Dakota State [24] (319) Montana [8] (295) Colorado State–Greeley [1] (197) Akron (186) Arkansas State (173) [13]
1970 Arkansas State [21] (318) Tampa [8] (279) Montana [3] (272) North Dakota State (201) Tennessee State [1] (173) [14]
1971 Delaware [20] (306) McNeese State [5] (267) Eastern Michigan [3] (238) Tennessee State [1] (185) C.W. Post (130) [15]
1972 Delaware [21] (334) Louisiana Tech [12] (310) Cal Poly [1] (239) South Dakota [1] (193) Tennessee State (184) [16]
1973 Tennessee State [27] (314) Western Kentucky [3] (275) Louisiana Tech [1] (224) Abilene Christian (224) Wittenberg (169) [17]
1974 Louisiana Tech [27] (322) UNLV [5] (254) Boise State [1] (188) Delaware (168) Texas A&I (132) [18]

References

  1. ^ a b "'Small College' Board Set To Evaluate Grid Teams". Evening Herald. UPI. September 18, 1958. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Southerners Top Rankings". Albany Democrat-Herald. Albany, Oregon. December 4, 1958. p. 18. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  3. ^ "Bowling Green Voted Small College Champs". Tyrone Daily Herald. Tyrone, Pennsylvania. November 27, 1959. p. 6. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  4. ^ "La. Tech Sixth On Final Ballot". The Monroe News-Star. Monroe, Louisiana. November 25, 1960. p. 11-A. Retrieved May 8, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  5. ^ "HSC 16th In Final UPI Small College Grid Poll". Eureka Humboldt Standard. Eureka, California. November 22, 1961. p. 10. Retrieved February 15, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  6. ^ "Small College Title Goes To Southern Mississippi". Medford Mail Tribune. Medford, Oregon. November 29, 1962. p. D-3. Retrieved January 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  7. ^ "Delaware tops small colleges". Redlands Daily Facts. Redlands, California. December 4, 1963. p. 11. Retrieved February 15, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  8. ^ "Final Ratings In Small College Poll". Las Vegas Daily Optic. East Las Vegas, New Mexico. December 2, 1964. p. 4. Retrieved May 8, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  9. ^ George C. Langord (December 1, 1965). "N. Dakota State Is Small College UPI Grid Champ". The News-Herald. Franklin, Pennsylvania. p. 27. Retrieved February 15, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  10. ^ Jeff Meyers (November 30, 1966). "San Diego State Rated No. 1 Small College; Aztecs Showered With 30 Ballots". The Weirton Daily Times. Weirton, West Virginia. p. 26. Retrieved May 8, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  11. ^ Steve Smilanich (November 29, 1967). "San Diego St. Is UPI Small College Champ". Daily World. Opelousas, Louisiana. p. 10. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  12. ^ Joe Carnicelli (November 27, 1968). "San Diego St. Again Leads College Poll". Daily World. Opelousas, Louisiana. p. 10. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  13. ^ "Bison Reclaim College Title". St. Cloud Times. St. Cloud, Minnesota. November 27, 1969. p. 36. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  14. ^ "Arkansas State Led Small Poll". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, Texas. December 2, 1970. p. 8-B. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  15. ^ "Delaware Tops Final Poll". The Terre Haute Star. Terre Haute, Indiana. November 26, 1971. p. 27. Retrieved May 18, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  16. ^ "College elite". The Delta Democrat-Times. Greenville, Mississippi. November 22, 1972. p. 12. Retrieved May 18, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  17. ^ "Small college poll". The Daily Chronicle. De Kalb, Illinois. November 28, 1973. p. 23. Retrieved April 30, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  18. ^ "UPI, AP Pick Louisiana Tech Small-College Football Champ". Cumberland Evening Times. Cumberland, Maryland. November 27, 1974. p. 55. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon