The 1971 NAIA Division II football season was the 16th season of
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
sponsored by the
NAIA and the second season of play of the NAIA's lower division for football. The season was played from August to November 1971 and culminated in the 1971
NAIA Division II Football National Championship
The NAIA Division II Football National Championship was a post-season playoff system featuring the best NAIA Division II college football teams in the United States. It was played annually between 1970 and 1996 when NAIA football play was divided ...
, played on December 11, 1971 in
Thousand Oaks, California
Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown. It is named af ...
, on the campus of
California Lutheran University
California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
.
The
Cal Lutheran Kingsmen defeated the , the defending national champion, in the championship game, 30–14, to win their first NAIA national title. The game was covered by ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' sportswriter
Jim Murray. The game was also televised nationally on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
and nearly 10,000 spectators saw the game at Mt. Clef field. Cal Lutheran’s head coach
Robert Shoup was named National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics
Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award.
Some of the ...
and Lutheran Coach of the Year following the championship win. The university held a celebration in conjunction with the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
, who won Super Bowl VI, at the
Hollywood Palladium
The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an dance floor including a mezzanine and a floor level with room for up to 4,000 ...
.
Several Cal Lutheran players were drafted for NFL teams after the championship game, including
Brian Kelley by the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
and
Sam Cvijanovich
Sam Cvijanovich is a former linebacker in the Canadian Football League. Cvijanovich was a notable player for the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen during the 1971 NAIA Division II Football National Championship. He has been named “the hardest hitter I ...
.
Mike Sheppard and
Ralph Miller
Ralph H. Miller (March 9, 1919 – May 15, 2001) was an American college basketball coach, a head coach for 38 years at three universities: Wichita (now known as Wichita State), Iowa, and Oregon State. With an overall record of , his teams had ...
were other notable Kingsmen players. While
Bob Shoup
Robert F. Shoup (born February 24, 1932) is a retired American football coach and former player. He was the head coach at California Lutheran University from 1962 to 1989, compiling a career coaching record of 185–87–6. Shoup led Cal Luther ...
was the team's head coach,
Don Green was the assistant coach.
Background and championship game
![Kingsmen_memorial_field_2010_california_lutheran_university](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Kingsmen_memorial_field_2010_california_lutheran_university.jpg)
The championship season concluded in the first week of December in 1971. CLC barely made it into the four-team national playoffs as the fourth-seeded team. After whipping Montana Tech 34-6 in the semifinals, the Kingsmen played host in the title game to Westminster, the defending NAIA champion which had ranked No. 1 all season. Montana Tech had the best running attack and the highest scorer in the U.S. Besides being the defending champs, they were undefeated in 24 games. Westminster seemed as a sure winner and CLC was the underdog. The Montana Tech team was led by running back Don Heater, who had gained 1,797 yards and scored 25 touchdowns in ten games.
For Cal Lutheran, however, a winning streak had begun in 1965 and lasted for several years, bringing in an 8-1 record in 1965 ("Year of the Champions"), 8-2 in 1966 ("Year of the Victors"), and 7-2 in 1967 ("Year of the Conquerors"). In 1968, the college appeared for the first time in the national rankings, coming in ninth. Robbie Robinson's seventeen field goals in 1969 ("Year of the Warriors") set an NAIA record and the team moved up to seventh place. Cal Lutheran headed to the championship with an 8-1 record in 1970.
The strongest personalities on the Kingsmen team have been described as Jim Baeuer,
Sam Cvijanovich
Sam Cvijanovich is a former linebacker in the Canadian Football League. Cvijanovich was a notable player for the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen during the 1971 NAIA Division II Football National Championship. He has been named “the hardest hitter I ...
,
Brian Kelley, and
Ralph Miller
Ralph H. Miller (March 9, 1919 – May 15, 2001) was an American college basketball coach, a head coach for 38 years at three universities: Wichita (now known as Wichita State), Iowa, and Oregon State. With an overall record of , his teams had ...
. Cvijanovich was described as the hardest hitter coach Shoup ever met, while Ralph Miller (nicknamed “Magic Mountain”) was the team’s largest player at 6’4” and 260 lbs. Brian Kelly, who later enjoyed an eleven-year NFL career, was known as “the Ralph Miller of the defense.” After a field goal by Richard Kelley furthered Cal Lutheran’s lead 24-14, Brian Kelley completed the scoring by returning an interception 33 yards for a touchdown. The Cal Lutheran team had received 23 points in the forth corner and became the national champions.
Aftermath
Kelley has been recognized for having helped the team win the NAIA Championship and was named the most valuable player of the game. In 1972, Kelley was selected to the NAIA All-America First Team, NAIA District 3 Defensive First Team and the All-Lutheran College Defensive First Team. He was also a wrestler and an NAIA District III Heavyweight Champion. He was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
in May 2010. He has also been inducted into Cal Lutheran Hall of Fame. In the game,
Mike Sheppard was named the defensive player of the game. Middle linebacker
Sam Cvijanovich
Sam Cvijanovich is a former linebacker in the Canadian Football League. Cvijanovich was a notable player for the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen during the 1971 NAIA Division II Football National Championship. He has been named “the hardest hitter I ...
was named 1971 NAIA District III Player of the Year.
![Hollywood_Palladium_2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Hollywood_Palladium_2012.jpg)
A banquet of the champions was held in February 1972 at the
Hollywood Palladium
The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an dance floor including a mezzanine and a floor level with room for up to 4,000 ...
in order to honor the Kingsmen football team and the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
, an NFL team based at Cal Lutheran who won their first
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
in January 1972. The NFL team had been located at CLC for nine summers prior to its Super Bowl win. There was a strong bond between the NFL team and the university, which was known as “the summer home of the Dallas Cowboys.” The Cal Lutheran coach,
Bob Shoup
Robert F. Shoup (born February 24, 1932) is a retired American football coach and former player. He was the head coach at California Lutheran University from 1962 to 1989, compiling a career coaching record of 185–87–6. Shoup led Cal Luther ...
, attended a sort of “informal summer school” for 26 years with
Tom Landry
Thomas Wade Landry (September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football player and coach. He was the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL), a position he held for 29 seasons. Dur ...
as his teacher. Shoup spent much time around the NFL players, observed them play and picked up tricks. He has been described as the “de facto host” for the Dallas Cowboys at Cal Lutheran.
A Bob Shoup statue was erected on University Plaza at California Lutheran University on October 18, 2014, in homage to Shoup’s 1971 Kingsmen team.
Notable players
Numerous of the CLU players were later drafted for professional teams, including
Brian Kelley by the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
and
Sam Cvijanovich
Sam Cvijanovich is a former linebacker in the Canadian Football League. Cvijanovich was a notable player for the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen during the 1971 NAIA Division II Football National Championship. He has been named “the hardest hitter I ...
. Other key players in the game were
Mike Sheppard, later receivers coach with the NFL’s
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
, and
Ralph Miller
Ralph H. Miller (March 9, 1919 – May 15, 2001) was an American college basketball coach, a head coach for 38 years at three universities: Wichita (now known as Wichita State), Iowa, and Oregon State. With an overall record of , his teams had ...
, who later joined the
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...
and played five years in the
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
,
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
and
World Football League
The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...
s. Sam Cvijanovich, who later became a player in the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
, was named NAIA Player of the Year following the championship game. While
Bob Shoup
Robert F. Shoup (born February 24, 1932) is a retired American football coach and former player. He was the head coach at California Lutheran University from 1962 to 1989, compiling a career coaching record of 185–87–6. Shoup led Cal Luther ...
was the team's head coach,
Don Green was the assistant coach. Green was also the father of Doni Green, a notable player in the championship. Another notable player was Jim Bauer, the brother of
Hank Bauer
Henry Albert Bauer (July 31, 1922 – February 9, 2007) was an American right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He played with the New York Yankees (–) and Kansas City Athletics (–); he batted and threw right-handed. He served as ...
who also played football for the Kingsmen.
Conference standings
Postseason
*† ''The game ended in a tie, but Westminster advanced based on having more total penetrations within the 20 yard line.''
See also
*
1971 NAIA Division I football season
*
1971 NCAA University Division football season
*
1971 NCAA College Division football season
References
{{NAIA football
NAIA Football National Championship