The NCAA Division II Football Championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination playoff with eight teams. The tournament field has subsequently been expanded three times: to 16 teams in 1988, 24 teams in 2004, and 28 teams in 2016.
The University of Albuquerque was a Catholic liberal arts university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which opened in 1920 and closed in 1986. Its former campus on Albuquerque's West Side now houses St. Pius X High School.
University Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in the western United States, located on the south campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is the home field of New Mexico Lobos football, which competes as a member of the Mountain West Conference.
Darrell E. Mudra Sr., nicknamed "Dr. Victory", was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Adams State College (1959–1962), North Dakota State University (1963–1965), the University of Arizona (1967–1968), Western Illinois University (1969–1973), Florida State University (1974–1975), Eastern Illinois University (1978–1982), and the University of Northern Iowa (1983–1987), compiling a career college football record of 200–81–4. Mudra was also the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) for one season in 1966. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2000.
The New Mexico Bowl is an NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game that has been played annually since 2006 at University Stadium, on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Owned and operated by ESPN Events, it has typically been scheduled as one of the first games of the bowl season. The bowl has tie-ins with Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference.
The Palm Bowl was a football game played seven times at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen, Texas between 1978 and 1985. The first two contests decided the NAIA Football National Championship, and the last five decided the NCAA Division II Football Championship. The bowl folded after the NCAA moved the Division II championship to Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama in 1986.
Española Valley High School (EVHS) is a Title-1 public senior high school of the Española Public Schools District, located in Española, New Mexico. Nearly 97% of the student body is made up of minority enrollment.
The Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the Mountain West Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1999–2000 season, the first year of the conference's existence. As of 2023, no player has received the award multiple times. Two winners of the conference award were consensus national players of the year: Andrew Bogut of Utah (2005) and Jimmer Fredette of BYU (2011).
The 1979 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team represented the University of Delaware as an independent during the 1979 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by 14th year head coach Tubby Raymond and played their home games at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware.
The 1979 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 1979, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship in December 1979 at University Stadium in Albuquerque, NM. During the game's two-year stretch in New Mexico, it was referred to as the Zia Bowl. The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens defeated the Youngstown State Penguins, 38–21, to win their first Division II national title.
The 1980 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 1980, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship in December 1980 at University Stadium in Albuquerque, NM. During the game's two-year stretch in New Mexico, it was referred to as the Zia Bowl.
The 1959 New Mexico A&M Aggies football team represented New Mexico State University in the Border Conference during the 1959 NCAA University Division football season. In their second year under head coach Warren B. Woodson, the Aggies compiled an 8–3 record, finished in third place in the conference, and defeated North Texas State in the 1959 Sun Bowl.
The 1964 New Mexico Lobos football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Mexico in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1964 NCAA University Division football season. In their fifth season under head coach Bill Weeks, the Lobos compiled a 9–2 record, tied for the WAC championship, were ranked No. 16 in the final UPI Coaches poll, and outscored opponents, 185 to 190.
The 1979 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State University during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
The 1980 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) during the 1980 NCAA Division II football season. Led by 13th-year head coach Joe Harper, Cal Poly compiled an overall record of 10–3 with a mark of 2–0 in conference play, winning the CCAA title for the fifth consecutive season. The Mustangs advanced to the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs, where they lost shut out Jacksonville State in the quarterfinals, beat Santa Clara in the semifinals, and upset No. 1-ranked Eastern Illinois in the title game, the Zia Bowl played in Albuquerque, New Mexico. During the regular season, two of the Mustangs three losses came at the hands of NCAA Division I-A opponents, Cal State Fullerton and Fresno State. Cal Poly also beat Boise State, the eventual NCAA Division I-AA champion. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.
Stanley A. Quintana was an American football quarterback and defensive back. He played for the New Mexico Lobos from 1963 to 1965 and the Quantico Marines in 1969 and 1970. He was a member of the Minnesota Vikings taxi squad in 1966 and the traveling squad in 1967. He was selected as the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 1964.
The 1979 Lehigh Engineers football team was an American football team that represented Lehigh University as an independent during the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Engineers finished the year ranked No. 3 in Division I-AA and qualified for the four-team national playoff. They won their semifinal but lost the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game.
NCAA Division II bowl games are American college football bowl games played annually among some of the highest-ranking NCAA Division II football teams not invited to participate in the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs. The games are officially recognized by the NCAA. They are held in December, and are most commonly scheduled on the first Saturday of the month, three weeks after the final games of the Division II football regular season.
The Gold Bowl was an American college football bowl game between teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association (CIAA), two athletic conferences traditionally consisting of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The game was played on a Saturday in early December from 1976 through 1980 at City Stadium in Richmond, Virginia. Reflecting its origins in the bicentennial year, the first edition of the game was called the Bicentennial Bowl.
