AP small college football rankings

Last updated December 13, 2025

The AP small college football rankings was a system used by the Associated Press (AP) from 1960 to 1974 to rank the best small college football teams in the United States.

The United Press International led the way with its UPI small college football rankings starting in 1958. The AP followed with its own small-college rankings starting in October 1960. The AP rankings were issued weekly and were based on ballots cast by an AP board of experts, consisting of one person in each of eight NCAA districts.^[1] The national champions selected by AP and UPI differed on five occasions: 1962, 1963, 1964, 1968, and 1974.^[2]

Top teams in final polls

The following chart lists the top five teams in the final AP small college rankings for each year from 1960 to 1974. The figures in brackets reflect the number of first-place votes received in the final voting. The figures in parentheses reflect the total points received.

Year	No. 1	No. 2	No. 3	No. 4	No. 5	Source
1960	Ohio [4] (65)	Lenoir–Rhyne (46)	Humboldt State [1] (34)	Whitworth (32)	West Chester Teachers [1] (30)	^[3]
1961	Pittsburg State [5] (70)	Baldwin–Wallace (60)	Fresno State (45)	Florida A&M (42)	Whittier (34)	^[4]
1962	Florida A&M (67)	Wittenberg (66)	Central State (OK) (54)	Southern Miss (44)	Lenoir–Rhyne (34)	^[5]
1963	Northern Illinois [3] (63)	Delaware [3] (53)	Wittenberg (38)	UMass (37)	Saint John's (MN) (35)	^[6]
1964	Wittenberg [6] (114)	Prairie View A&M (101)	Cal State Los Angeles [2] (97)	Louisiana Tech (89)	San Diego State [1] (67)	^[7]
1965	North Dakota State [4] (84)	Middle Tennessee State [2] (68)	Sul Ross [1] (43)	Cal State Los Angeles (35)	Tennessee State (32)	^[8]
1966	San Diego State [14] (158)	Tennessee State [2] (126)	Montana State (113)	Northwestern State (72)	Parsons (70)	^[9]
1967	San Diego State [12] (157)	North Dakota State [2] (137)	New Mexico Highlands [1] (93)	Texas–Arlington [1] (76)	Eastern Kentucky (75)	^[10]
1968	North Dakota State [6] (220)	San Diego State [3] (204)	Chattanooga [1] (162)	New Mexico Highlands (147)	IUP (142)	^[11]
1969	North Dakota State	Montana	Akron	Louisiana Tech	Colorado State-Greeley	^[12]
1970	Arkansas State	Montana	North Dakota State	Tampa	Tennessee State	^[13]
1971	Delaware	McNeese State	Eastern Michigan	Louisiana Tech	Tennessee State	^[14]
1972	Delaware	Louisiana Tech	Cal Poly	Ashland	Tennessee State	^[15]
1973	Tennessee State [17] (708)	Louisiana Tech [21] (706)	Western Kentucky (459)	Wittenberg [1] (407)	Boise State (390) Abilene Christian (390)	^[16]
1974	Central Michigan [32] (658)	Louisiana Tech (477)	Texas A&I [2] (461]	Delaware (460)	Boise State (401)	^[17]

References

↑ "Ohio U. Leads Small College Grid Poll; Muskingum Gains Ranking". The Daily Reporter. Associated Press. October 6, 1960. p. 18.
↑ "Year by Year Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved 2025-12-11.
↑ "Ohio Cops 'Small' AP Grid Poll". Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. December 1, 1960. p. 6-D. Retrieved May 2, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Kansas School Nabs Small College Honor". The Lawton Constitution. Lawton, Oklahoma. November 23, 1961. p. 26. Retrieved January 25, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "AP Small College Football Poll". The Decatur Daily Review. Decatur, Illinois. November 30, 1962. p. 14. Retrieved January 24, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "N. Illinois On Top in Final Vote". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. November 29, 1963. p. 85. Retrieved May 17, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Wittenberg No. 1 in Final Small College Football Poll". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. November 25, 1964. p. 5-B. Retrieved January 24, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Bisons Are Picked As Best Team". Biddeford-Saco Journal. Biddeford, Maine. November 24, 1965. p. 6. Retrieved January 24, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Small College Football Poll". The News-Palladium. Benton Harbor, Michigan. December 1, 1966. p. 24. Retrieved January 19, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "San Diego State Finishes As Top Team 2nd Season". The Jacksonville Daily Journal. Jacksonville, Illinois. November 26, 1967. p. 29. Retrieved May 5, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "A&I 6th in AP Poll". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. December 5, 1968. p. 6-B. Retrieved May 5, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Tech Remains Fourth; E. Tenn. St. Is 20th". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. November 27, 1969. p. A-15. Retrieved May 5, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Javelinas Ranked 7th In Final AP Poll". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. December 3, 1970. p. 8-G. Retrieved May 21, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Delaware is first". The Courier-News. Bridgewater, New Jersey. November 24, 1971. p. 41. Retrieved May 18, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Delaware Takes Second Straight Rankings Title". The Jacksonville Daily Journal. Jacksonville, Illinois. November 23, 1972. p. 38. Retrieved May 18, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "'Bows No. 9 in Final AP Poll". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Honolulu, Hawaii. December 20, 1973. p. E-1. Retrieved May 18, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Chips Were No. 1!". Lansing State Journal. Lansing, Michigan. December 24, 1974. p. B-4. Retrieved May 24, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Ohio U. Leads Small College Grid Poll; Muskingum Gains Ranking". The Daily Reporter. Associated Press. October 6, 1960. p. 18.

[2] "Year by Year Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved 2025-12-11.

[3] "Ohio Cops 'Small' AP Grid Poll". Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. December 1, 1960. p. 6-D. Retrieved May 2, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[4] "Kansas School Nabs Small College Honor". The Lawton Constitution. Lawton, Oklahoma. November 23, 1961. p. 26. Retrieved January 25, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[5] "AP Small College Football Poll". The Decatur Daily Review. Decatur, Illinois. November 30, 1962. p. 14. Retrieved January 24, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[6] "N. Illinois On Top in Final Vote". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. November 29, 1963. p. 85. Retrieved May 17, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[7] "Wittenberg No. 1 in Final Small College Football Poll". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. November 25, 1964. p. 5-B. Retrieved January 24, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[8] "Bisons Are Picked As Best Team". Biddeford-Saco Journal. Biddeford, Maine. November 24, 1965. p. 6. Retrieved January 24, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[9] "Small College Football Poll". The News-Palladium. Benton Harbor, Michigan. December 1, 1966. p. 24. Retrieved January 19, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[10] "San Diego State Finishes As Top Team 2nd Season". The Jacksonville Daily Journal. Jacksonville, Illinois. November 26, 1967. p. 29. Retrieved May 5, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[11] "A&I 6th in AP Poll". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. December 5, 1968. p. 6-B. Retrieved May 5, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[12] "Tech Remains Fourth; E. Tenn. St. Is 20th". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. November 27, 1969. p. A-15. Retrieved May 5, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[13] "Javelinas Ranked 7th In Final AP Poll". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. December 3, 1970. p. 8-G. Retrieved May 21, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[14] "Delaware is first". The Courier-News. Bridgewater, New Jersey. November 24, 1971. p. 41. Retrieved May 18, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[15] "Delaware Takes Second Straight Rankings Title". The Jacksonville Daily Journal. Jacksonville, Illinois. November 23, 1972. p. 38. Retrieved May 18, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[16] "'Bows No. 9 in Final AP Poll". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Honolulu, Hawaii. December 20, 1973. p. E-1. Retrieved May 18, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[17] "Chips Were No. 1!". Lansing State Journal. Lansing, Michigan. December 24, 1974. p. B-4. Retrieved May 24, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

v t e Small college football national champions (1958–1974)
Selectors	AP (1960–1974) UPI (1958–1974)
1950s	1958: Mississippi Southern 1959: Bowling Green
1960s	1960: Ohio 1961: Pittsburg State 1962: Florida A&M (AP) / Southern Miss (UPI) 1963: Northern Illinois (AP) / Delaware (UPI) 1964: Wittenberg (AP) / Cal State Los Angeles (UPI) 1965: North Dakota State 1966: San Diego State 1967: San Diego State 1968: North Dakota State (AP) / San Diego State (UPI) 1969: North Dakota State
1970s	1970: Arkansas State (AP/UPI) 1971: Delaware (AP/UPI) 1972: Delaware (AP/UPI) 1973: Tennessee State (AP/UPI) 1974: Central Michigan / 1975: Louisiana Tech (UPI)

v t e Systems used to determine college football national championships
NCAA Division I-A/FBS	Various polling systems (1869–present) Bowl Coalition (1992–1994) Bowl Alliance (1995–1997) Bowl Championship Series (1998–2013) College Football Playoff (2014–present)
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS	NCAA Division I Football Championship (1978–present)
NCAA Division II	NCAA Division II Football Championship (1973–present)
NCAA Division III	NCAA Division III Football Championship (1973–present)
NAIA	NAIA Football National Championship (1956–present) NAIA Division II Football National Championship (1970–1996)
NJCAA	NJCAA National Football Championship (1956–present)
Additional systems	Black college football national championship (1920–present) UPI small college football rankings (1958–1974) AP small college football rankings (1960–1974) NCCAA Victory Bowl (1997–present)