1970 NAIA Division I football season

The 1970 NAIA Division I football season was the 15th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA. It was also the first of twenty-seven seasons that the NAIA split its football competition into two separate championships.

1970 NAIA Division I football season
Regular season	August–November 1970
Postseason	November 28–December 12, 1970
National Championship	Sirrine Stadium Greenville, SC
Champions	Texas A&I (3)

The season was played from August to November 1970 and culminated in the 1970 NAIA Champion Bowl, played on December 12, 1970 at Sirrine Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina.

Texas A&I defeated Wofford in the Champion Bowl, 48–7, to win their third NAIA national title.

Conference realignment

Membership changes

Team	1969 conference	1970 conference
Eastern Oregon	Oregon	Evergreen
Oregon College	Oregon	Evergreen
Oregon Tech	Oregon	Evergreen
Southern Oregon	Oregon	Evergreen

Conference standings

1970 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 15 Ouachita Baptist 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Arkansas Tech 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Southern Arkansas 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Harding 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Henderson State 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 State College of Arkansas 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Arkansas A&M 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1970 Carolinas Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Presbyterian $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Lenoir Rhyne 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Catawba 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Elon 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Newberry 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Guilford 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1970 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northern Morgan State x 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 16 Virginia State y$ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Delaware State 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Howard 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Saint Paul's (VA) 1 – 1 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Norfolk State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Virginia Union 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Maryland Eastern Shore 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Hampton 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 Southern No. 17 Johnson C. Smith xy 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Elizabeth City State 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 North Carolina Central 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Shaw 3 – 2 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Fayetteville State 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Livingstone 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Winston-Salem State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 North Carolina A&T 0 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Championship: Virginia State 32, Johnson C. Smith 14 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1970 Evergreen Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Central Washington $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Western Washington 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Oregon College 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Eastern Washington 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Eastern Oregon 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Whitworth 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Southern Oregon 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 Oregon Tech 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1970 Lone Star Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1/7 Texas A&I $^ 8 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0 No. NR / T–20 Sam Houston State 7 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 1 Sul Ross 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Angelo State 6 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Southwest Texas State 4 – 5 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Howard Payne 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 East Texas State 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 McMurry 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Tarleton State 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Stephen F. Austin 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll and AP small college poll	1970 Mid-South Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Jacksonville State $ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0 Tennessee–Martin 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Troy State 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 1 Delta State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 1 Florence State 1 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Livingston 0 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1970 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Concordia–Moorhead $ 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 1 No. 14 Gustavus Adolphus 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Saint John's (MN) 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Minnesota–Duluth 4 – 2 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 Hamline 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Macalester 2 – 4 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Augsburg 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 St. Thomas (MN) 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1970 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Michigan Tech 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Minnesota Morris 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 St. Cloud State 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Moorhead State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Winona State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Bemidji State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Southwest State (MN) 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 – Conference co-champions	1970 Northwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 8 Linfield $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Pacific Lutheran 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Lewis & Clark 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Willamette 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Whitman 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 College of Idaho 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Pacific (OR) 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1970 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 9 SW Oklahoma State $ 7 – 0 – 1 8 – 1 – 1 No. 10 Northeastern State 6 – 1 – 1 8 – 1 – 1 No. 11 Central State (OK) 6 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Cameron 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 1 East Central 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 NW Oklahoma State 2 – 5 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Panhandle 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Langston 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 SE Oklahoma State 0 – 7 – 1 0 – 9 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1970 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Mountain Division Western New Mexico xy 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Southern Utah x 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Adams State 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 2 Westminster (UT) 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Western State (CO) 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Fort Lewis 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Colorado Mines 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 Plains Division No. 20 Pittsburg State xy$ 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Northern Colorado x 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Nebraska–Omaha 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 1 Fort Hays State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Southern Colorado 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Emporia State 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Washburn * 0 – 0 – 0 5 – 3 – 2 Championship: Pittsburg State 52, Western New Mexico 6 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant * – Washburn was ineligible for conference title Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1970 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Black Hills State 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Northern State 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 South Dakota Tech 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Dakota State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Dakota Wesleyan 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Huron 1 – 5 – 0 ? – ? – ? Southern State (SD) 0 – 6 – 0 ? – ? – ? $ – Conference champion
1970 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7/9 Alcorn A&M $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 No. 13/16 Grambling 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Texas Southern 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Southern 2 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1 Prairie View A&M 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Jackson State 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Mississippi Valley State 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll and AP small college poll	1970 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 West Liberty State $ 7 – 0 – 1 8 – 1 – 1 No. 12 Bluefield State 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Salem 5 – 3 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 West Virginia State 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Shepherd 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Glenville State 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Concord 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Fairmont State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 West Virginia Wesleyan 0 – 5 – 1 0 – 7 – 1 West Virginia Tech 0 – 6 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion Conference standings based on power ratings Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1970 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Platteville State $^ 8 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 Eau Claire State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Whitewater State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Oshkosh State 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Superior State 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 La Crosse State 4 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Stout State 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Stevens Point State 1 – 6 – 1 1 – 8 – 1 River Falls State 0 – 8 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1970 NAIA Division I independents football records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4/6 Wofford ^   –   11 – 1 – 0 No. 18/NR Hillsdale   –   9 – 2 – 0 No. 5/NR New Mexico Highlands ^   –   9 – 2 – 0 No. 19/19 Eastern Michigan   –   7 – 2 – 1 La Verne   –   5 – 4 – 0 Appalachian State   –   6 – 5 – 0 Carson–Newman   –   4 – 6 – 0 Kentucky State   –   3 – 6 – 0 Eastern New Mexico   –   2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll and AP small college poll

Postseason

	Semifinals November 28, 1970					1970 Champion Bowl December 12, 1970 Greenville, SC
	Platteville State		0
	Texas A&I*		16
						Texas A&I		48
						Wofford		*7
	New Mexico Highlands		23
	Wofford*		28

See also

• 1970 NAIA Division II football season
• 1970 NCAA University Division football season
• 1970 NCAA College Division football season