The 1977 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began in August 1977 and concluded with the championship game on December 10 at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Lehigh Engineers defeated the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 33–0 in the Pioneer Bowl to win their first Division II national title.
This was the last season prior to the creation of Division I-AA, now named Division I-Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), which debuted in 1978.
Conference realignment Conference changes This was the final season at the Division II level for the members of five conferences: the Big Sky Conference, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Southwestern Athletic Conference, and Yankee Conference. After the end of play, each conference and its members, alongside seven independent teams, would transition to the newly established Division I-AA level of college football.
Membership changes School 1975 Conference 1976 Conference Tennessee–Chattanooga D-II Independent Southern (I-A)
Conference standings
Conference summaries
Conference ChampionsBig Sky Conference – Boise State Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Winston-Salem State Far Western Football Conference – UC Davis Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Grand Valley State Gulf South Conference – Jacksonville State Indiana Collegiate Conference – St. Joseph's and Butler Lone Star Conference – Abilene Christian and Texas A&I Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Missouri–Rolla and Southeast Missouri State North Central Conference – North Dakota State Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Morris Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Clarion Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Western State (CO) South Atlantic Conference – Elon Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division II) – Florida A&M Yankee Conference – UMass
Postseason
The 1977 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the fifth single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of Division II college football. The championship game was held at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas for the second time.
Playoff bracket
* Denotes host institution Northern Arizona was the Big Sky runner-up; champion Boise State had a scheduling conflict.
See also 1977 NCAA Division I football season 1977 NCAA Division III football season 1977 NAIA Division I football season 1977 NAIA Division II football season
References