| 1974 NCAA Division II football season | |
|---|---|
| Regular season | September – November 1974 |
| Playoffs | November – December 1974 |
| National Championship | Hughes Stadium Sacramento, CA |
| Champion | Central Michigan |
The1974 NCAA Division II football season, part ofcollege football in the United States organized by theNational Collegiate Athletic Association at theDivision II level, began in September and concluded with theDivision II Championship on December 14 atHughes Stadium inSacramento, California.
Central Michigan defeatedDelaware 54–15 in theCamellia Bowl to win their only Division II national title.[1][2] CMU moved up toDivision I in1975.
| Conference | Champion(s) |
|---|---|
| Big Sky Conference | Boise State |
| Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Norfolk State |
| Far Western Football Conference | UC Davis |
| Gulf South Conference | Jacksonville State |
| Indiana Collegiate Conference | Butler |
| Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Northwest Missouri State |
| North Central Conference | North Dakota State,North Dakota, andSouth Dakota |
| Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division II) | Tuskegee |
| Yankee Conference | Maine andMassachusetts |
| 1974 NCAA DivisionII Football Championship | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Finals Site | |
| Champion |
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| Runner-up |
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| Semifinalists | |
| Winning coach |
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The1974NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the secondsingle-elimination tournament to determine the national champion ofNCAA Division II college football.
The four quarterfinal games were played on campus and all four host teams advanced. The semifinals were thePioneer Bowl inWichita Falls, Texas, and theGrantland Rice Bowl inBaton Rouge, Louisiana. The championship game was theCamellia Bowl, held atHughes Stadium inSacramento, California for the second consecutive year. TheCentral Michigan Chippewas defeated theDelaware Fightin' Blue Hens 54–14 to win their first national title.[1][3] After opening with a home loss to Division IKent State, CMU won twelve straight to finish as D-II champions.[1]
| First round Campus sites November 30 | Semifinals Pioneer Bowl Grantland Rice Bowl December 7 | Championship Camellia Bowl Hughes Stadium Sacramento, CA December 14 | ||||||||||||
| Central Michigan * | 20 | |||||||||||||
| Boise State | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Central Michigan | 35 | |||||||||||||
| Louisiana Tech | 14 | |||||||||||||
| Louisiana Tech * | 10 | |||||||||||||
| Western Carolina | 7 | |||||||||||||
| Central Michigan | 54 | |||||||||||||
| Delaware | 14 | |||||||||||||
| UNLV * | 35 | |||||||||||||
| Alcorn State | 22 | |||||||||||||
| UNLV | 11 | |||||||||||||
| Delaware | 49 | |||||||||||||
| Delaware * | 35 | |||||||||||||
| Youngstown State | 14 | |||||||||||||
*Denotes host institution
In 1974,United Press International (UPI) and theAssociated Press (AP) ranked teams in their College Division or "small college" polls – which had started in 1958 and 1960, respectively – for the final time. UPI published their final poll at the end of the regular season, while the AP waited until postseason games had been completed. UPI's number one selection was theLouisiana Tech Bulldogs, who during the regular season were 10–0 while outscoring opponents 294–103. The Bulldogs later lost in the playoffs to theCentral Michigan Chippewas, winners of the tournament. AP's number one selection was the Chippewas, who were 9–1 during the regular season and finished with an overall record of 12–1 while outscoring opponents 450–127.
United Press International (coaches) final poll
| Associated Press (writers) final poll
^D2 Record includes NCAA Division II playoff games |