1976 NCAA Division II football season

Regular season

August – November 1976

Postseason

November 27 –
December 11, 1976

National Championship

Pioneer Bowl
Memorial Stadium
Wichita Falls, TX

Champions

Montana State

Division II football season

«1975

1977»

The 1976 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 1976 and concluded with the championship game on December 11 at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Montana State Bobcats defeated the Akron Zips 24-13 in the Pioneer Bowl to win their only Division II national title.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Conference changes and new programs

School	1975 Conference	1976 Conference
Alabama State	SIAC	D-II Independent
Eastern Michigan	D-II Independent	MAC (D-I)
Illinois State	D-II Independent	D-I Independent

Conference standings

1976 Big Sky football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Montana State $^	6	–	0	–	0	12	–	1	–	0
Idaho	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Northern Arizona	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Montana	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Boise State	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	1
Weber State	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Idaho State	0	–	6	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant Montana State won Div. II championship.

1976 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
SE Missouri State +	4	–	1	–	1	7	–	3	–	1
NE Missouri State +	4	–	1	–	1	5	–	3	–	1
NW Missouri State	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
SW Missouri State	4	–	2	–	0	5	–	3	–	0
Missouri-Rolla	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	1
Central Missouri State	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Lincoln (MO)	0	–	6	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – Division II playoff participant

Conference summaries

Conference Champions
Big Sky Conference – Montana State Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Norfolk State Far Western Football Conference – UC Davis Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Northwood Gulf South Conference – Troy State Lone Star Conference – Texas A&I Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Northeast Missouri State and Southeast Missouri State North Central Conference – North Dakota State Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Morris Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – East Stroudsburg Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Western State South Atlantic Conference – Elon Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division II) – Bethune-Cookman Yankee Conference – New Hampshire

Postseason

1976 NCAA Division II National Football Championship playoffs
Teams	8
Finals Site	Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, TX
Champions	Montana State (1st title)
Runner-Up	Akron (1st championship game)
Semifinalists	Northern Michigan North Dakota State
Attendance	13,200 (Pioneer Bowl)

The 1976 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the fourth single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's Division II college football. The championship game (Pioneer Bowl) was held at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas for the first time.

Playoff bracket

First round Campus sites November 27		Semifinals Campus sites Knute Rockne Bowl Grantland Rice Bowl December 4		Championship Pioneer Bowl Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, TX December 11


Akron*	26

UNLV	6
		Akron*	29

		Northern Michigan	26
Northern Michigan	28

Delaware*	17
				Akron	13

				Montana State	24
North Dakota State	10

Eastern Kentucky*	7
		North Dakota State*	3

		Montana State	10
Montana State*	17

New Hampshire	16

* Denotes host institution

References

↑ "1976 NCAA Division II National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 13. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
↑ "Montana State wins title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. 4B.
↑ "Dennehy leads Montana State's bowl win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. D1.

NCAA Division II football

Seasons

Playoffs

Championship games

Bowl era	East: Tangerine Bowl (1964–1967), Boardwalk Bowl (1968–1972) Mideast: Grantland Rice Bowl (1964–1972) Midwest: Pecan Bowl (1964–1970), Pioneer Bowl (1971–1972) West: Camellia Bowl (1964–1967)

Playoff era	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Records & statistics

Appearances
Individual records
Team records

NCAA football seasons

Pre-regulation	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905

IAAUS/NCAA	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955

NCAA University Division/ Division I	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977

NCAA Division I-A/FBS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

NCAA Division II	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

NCAA Division III	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

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