1976 NCAA Division III football season

The 1976 NCAA Division III football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division III level, began in August 1976, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship in December 1976 at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. The Saint John's Johnnies won their first Division III championship, defeating the Towson State Tigers by a final score of 31−28.^[1]

RegularseasonAugust – November 1976

PlayoffsNovember – December 1976

National
championship

Garrett-Harrison Stadium
Phenix City, AL

ChampionSaint John's (MN)

Quick facts Regular season, Playoffs ...

1976 NCAA Division III football season
Regular season	August – November 1976
Playoffs	November – December 1976
National championship	Garrett-Harrison Stadium Phenix City, AL
Champion	Saint John's (MN)
← 1975 · NCAA Division III football seasons · 1977 →

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Conference and program changes

The Virginia College Conference (now the Old Dominion Athletic Conference) began football play in 1976.

Conference standings

More information Conf., Overall ...

1976 College Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Sewanee $	4	–	0	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Centre	3	–	1	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Rose–Hulman	1	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Southwestern (TN)	1	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Principia	1	–	3	–	0	2	–	6	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1976 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Carroll (WI) $^	7	–	0	–	1	8	–	1	–	1
Augustana (IL) ^	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
No. 13 Illinois Wesleyan	5	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Wheaton (IL)	5	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
North Central (IL)	4	–	3	–	1	5	–	3	–	1
Millikin	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Carthage	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Elmhurst	1	–	7	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
North Park	0	–	8	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1976 Independent College Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Alfred $	3	–	0	–	1	4	–	2	–	2
St. Lawrence ^	4	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Ithaca	2	–	1	–	1	6	–	2	–	1
Hobart	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
RPI	1	–	2	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
RIT	0	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1976 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Saint Joseph's (IN) +	4	–	1	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Evansville +	4	–	1	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Indiana Central	3	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Butler	2	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Valparaiso	2	–	3	–	0	2	–	7	–	1
DePauw	0	–	5	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions

1976 Iowa Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
William Penn $	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Buena Vista ^	5	–	1	–	1	8	–	2	–	1
Central (IA)	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Luther	4	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Wartburg	3	–	3	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
Simpson (IA)	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Dubuque	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	9	–	0
Upper Iowa	0	–	7	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

1976 Metropolitan Intercollegiate Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
C. W. Post $	3	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Merchant Marine	4	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Hofstra	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	4	–	0
Seton Hall	1	–	2	–	1	3	–	5	–	2
Fordham	1	–	2	–	1	5	–	3	–	1
Wagner	1	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	1

$ – Conference champion

1976 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Albion $	5	–	0	–	0	9	–	0	–	0
Hope	4	–	1	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Alma	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Kalamazoo	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	4	–	1
Adrian	1	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Olivet	0	–	5	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1976 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Northern Division
Albright x^	6	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Lycoming	5	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Juniata	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Upsala	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Wilkes	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Susquehanna	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Delaware Valley	0	–	6	–	0	0	–	8	–	0
Southern Division
Franklin & Marshall x	8	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Widener	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Moravian	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Muhlenberg	5	–	3	–	1	5	–	3	–	1
Western Maryland	3	–	3	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
Dickinson	4	–	5	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Lebanon Valley	3	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Johns Hopkins	2	–	4	–	1	3	–	5	–	1
Swarthmore	1	–	5	–	1	1	–	7	–	1
Ursinus	0	–	9	–	0	0	–	9	–	0
Gettysburg *	1	–	1	–	0	3	–	7	–	0

x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant * – Ineligible due to insufficient conference games

1976 Midwest Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
East Division
Ripon xy	4	–	0	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Lawrence	3	–	1	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Chicago	1	–	3	–	0	4	–	4	–	0
Lake Forest	1	–	3	–	0	2	–	6	–	0
Beloit	1	–	3	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
West Division
Cornell (IA) xy$	4	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Knox x	4	–	1	–	0	7	–	1	–	1
Monmouth (IL) x	4	–	1	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Coe	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Carleton	1	–	4	–	0	2	–	6	–	0
Grinnell	0	–	5	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Championship: Cornell (IA) 24, Ripon 22
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

1976 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Saint John's (MN) $^	7	–	0	–	0	10	–	0	–	1
St. Olaf	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
St. Thomas (MN)	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Concordia–Moorhead	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Gustavus Adolphus	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Hamline	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Augsburg	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	8	–	0
Macalester	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant St. Thomas (MN) received a non-conference forfeit win from St. Cloud State.

1976 New England Football Conference standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Nichols $	7	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Bridgewater State	5	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Massachusetts Maritime	5	–	3	–	0	5	–	3	–	0
Plymouth State	5	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Curry	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Framingham State	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Maine Maritime	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	4	–	0
New Haven	1	–	7	–	0	1	–	7	–	0
Boston State	1	–	7	–	0	1	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1976 New Jersey State Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Glassboro State $	4	–	1	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Montclair State	4	–	1	–	0	4	–	5	–	1
Kean	2	–	2	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
Trenton State	2	–	2	–	1	3	–	4	–	1
William Paterson	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	4	–	0
Jersey City State	0	–	5	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1976 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Blue Division
Baldwin–Wallace xy	5	–	0	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Otterbein	4	–	1	–	0	6	–	2	–	1
Marietta	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Ohio Wesleyan	2	–	3	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Mount Union	1	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Denison	0	–	5	–	0	1	–	7	–	1
Red Division
Wittenberg xy$	5	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Ohio Northern	4	–	1	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Muskingum	3	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Capital	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	3	–	1
Wooster	1	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Heidelberg	0	–	5	–	0	0	–	8	–	0
Not competing for championship
Kenyon			–			6	–	3	–	0
Oberlin			–			2	–	6	–	0
Championship: Wittenberg 16, Baldwin–Wallace 14
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

1976 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Randolph–Macon $	3	–	1	–	0	5	–	3	–	1
Hampden–Sydney	3	–	1	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Washington and Lee	2	–	2	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Emory & Henry	2	–	2	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Bridgewater	0	–	4	–	0	1	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Randolph–Macon was voted champion by conference coaches on November 23.

1976 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
East Division
East Stroudsburg xy+	6	–	0	–	0	9	–	0	–	1
West Chester	4	–	1	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Millersville	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Kutztown	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Bloomsburg	2	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Cheyney	1	–	5	–	0	1	–	7	–	0
Mansfield	0	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	1
West Division
Shippensburg xy+	5	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	1
Slippery Rock x	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Edinboro	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Clarion	3	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Indiana (PA)	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
California (PA)	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Lock Haven	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Championship: East Stroudsburg 14, Shippensburg 14
+ – Conference co-champions x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

1976 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Allegheny $	6	–	1	–	0	6	–	2	–	0
Carnegie Mellon	5	–	1	–	1	6	–	1	–	1
Washington & Jefferson	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Bethany (WV)	4	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Case Western Reserve	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Hiram	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
John Carroll	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Thiel	1	–	5	–	1	1	–	6	–	1

$ – Conference champion

1976 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 Redlands $^	5	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Occidental	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	3	–	0
La Verne	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Whittier	2	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Claremont-Mudd	2	–	3	–	0	2	–	6	–	0
Pomona-Pitzer	0	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll

1976 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings
v t e	Conf.					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 15 Wisconsin–Oshkosh +	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
No. 13 Wisconsin–Platteville +	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Wisconsin–River Falls +	6	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Wisconsin–La Crosse	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Wisconsin–Stevens Point	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Wisconsin–Eau Claire	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Wisconsin–Stout	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin–Whitewater	2	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0
Wisconsin–Superior	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	10	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

1976 NCAA Division III independents football records
v t e	Conf.			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
Colorado College		–		7	–	1	–	1
Maryville (TN)		–		7	–	2	–	0
Millsaps		–		7	–	2	–	0
Saint Peter's		–		5	–	2	–	0
Wabash		–		7	–	3	–	0
Canisius		–		6	–	3	–	0
Grove City		–		6	–	3	–	0
Norwich		–		6	–	3	–	0
Ashland		–		6	–	4	–	0
Rochester (NY)		–		4	–	4	–	1
Albany		–		4	–	5	–	0
Cortland		–		4	–	5	–	0
Brockport		–		3	–	5	–	1
Dayton		–		4	–	7	–	0
Saint Mary's		–		3	–	6	–	0
St. Norbert		–		2	–	8	–	0
San Diego		–		1	–	7	–	1
Fairleigh Dickinson–Florham		–		1	–	6	–	0
Bowie State		–		1	–	6	–	0
Georgetown		–		1	–	7	–	0
Plattsburgh		–		1	–	7	–	0

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Conference champions

More information Conference champions ...

Conference champions
College Athletic Conference – Sewanee College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Carroll (WI) Independent College Athletic Conference – Alfred Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wiliam Penn Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Albion Middle Atlantic Conference – Albright (North), Franklin & Marshall (South) Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference – Cornell College, Knox, and Monmouth Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Saint John's (MN) New England Football Conference – Nichols New Jersey State Athletic Conference – Glassboro State Northwest Conference – Linfield Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Randolph-Macon Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – East Stroudsburg Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division III) – Fort Valley State Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Redlands Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Trinity (TX) Twin Rivers Conference – Concordia–St. Paul, Loras, Maranatha Baptist, Northwestern–St. Paul, and Northwestern (WI) Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–Oshkosh, Wisconsin–Platteville, and Wisconsin–River Falls

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Postseason

The 1976 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the fourth annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama for the fourth consecutive year. Like the previous championship, eight teams competed in this edition.^[2]

Playoff bracket

Quarterfinals Campus Sites		Semifinals Campus Sites		National Championship Game Garrett-Harrison Stadium Phenix City, AL

Saint John's (MN)	46

Augustana (IL)	7
		St. John's (MN)	61

		Buena Vista	0
Buena Vista (OT)	20

Carroll (WI)	14
				St. John's (MN)	31

				Towson State	28
St. Lawrence	26

Albright	7
		St. Lawrence	36

		Towson State	38
Towson State	14

C.W. Post	10

Coaching changes

This list includes all head coaching changes announced during or after the season.

More information School, Outgoing coach ...

School	Outgoing coach	Reason	Replacement	Previous position
Alfred	Alex Yunevich	Retired^[3]	Sam Sanders^[4]	Lehigh defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator (1973–1976)
Beloit	Bob Nicholls	Resigned^[5]	Ed DeGeorge^[6]	Colorado College defensive coordinator (1967–1976)
Carroll (WI)	Steve Miller	Hired as head coach for Morningside^[7]	Robert Larsen^[8]	Hartford Union HS (WI) head coach (1963–1976)
DePauw	Tommy Mont	Resigned^[9]	Bob Bergman^[10]	Rose–Hulman head coach (1968–1976)
Dubuque	Larry Pohlman	Hired as head coach for Muncie Central HS (IN)^[11]	Don Birmingham^[12]	Iowa Lakes head coach (1974–1976)
Evansville	James A. Byers	Resigned^[13]	John Moses^[14]	Evansville defensive coordinator (1976)
Hamline	Jim Sessions	Resigned^[15]	Bob Sadek^[16]	Northern Michigan defensive backs coach (1974–1976)
Hobart	George W. Davis	Resigned^[17]	Dave Urick^[18]	Hobart defensive line coach (1971–1976)
Juniata	Walt Nadzak	Hired as head coach for Connecticut^[19]	Dean Rossi^[20]	Juniata offensive coordinator (1972–1976)
Knox	Albert Reilly	Resigned^[21]	Joe Campanelli^[22]	Cornell (IA) defensive backs coach (1975–1976)
Merchant Marine	Clive Rush	Fired^[23]	Pete Carmichael^[24]	Columbia defensive coordinator (1974–1976)
Millikin	Skip Mathieson	Hired as quarterbacks coach for Cincinnati^[25]	Merle Chapman^[26]	Millikin offensive coordinator (1973–1976)
Moravian	Rocco Calvo	Resigned	Ed Little^[27]	Moravian offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator (1968–1976)
Olivet	Bob Friedlund	Resigned^[28]	Chuck Cilibraise^[29]^[a]	Olivet High School head coach (1972–1976)
Rose–Hulman	Bob Bergman	Hired as head coach for DePauw^[32]	Joe Touchton^[33]	Rose–Hulman defensive coordinator (1971–1976)
Upper Iowa	Everett Eischeid (interim)	Permanent replacement hired/retired^[34]	Dennis Caryl^[35]	Northwestern (IA) offensive coordinator (1974–1976)
Valparaiso	Norm Amundsen	Resigned^[36]	Bill Koch^[37]	Valparaiso defensive coordinator (1975–1976)
Western Maryland	Ron Jones	Resigned^[38]	Jim Hindman^[38]	Western Maryland defensive assistant (1976)
William Penn	Craig Boller	Hired as defensive line coach for Tennessee^[39]	Jim Spry^[40]	Indian Hills head coach (1975–1976)

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1976 NCAA Division III football season

Conference and program changes

Conference standings

Conference champions

Postseason

Playoff bracket

Coaching changes

See also

References and notes

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