The 1973 NAIA Division I football season was the 18th 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 fourth season of the league's two-division structure. The season was played from August to November 1973 and culminated in the 1973 NAIA Champion Bowl, played on December 8, 1973 at

Independence Stadium Independence Stadium may also refer to: * Independence Stadium (Bakau) in Gambia * Independence Stadium (Namibia) in Windhoek * Independence Stadium (South Africa) in Mthatha, a football stadium in South Africa * Independence Stadium (Tanzania) ...

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

. Abilene Christian defeated in the Champion Bowl, 42–14, to win their first NAIA national title.

Conference realignment

Conference changes

* This was the final season for the

Oklahoma Collegiate Conference The Oklahoma Collegiate Conference (OCC), also known as the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference (OCAC), was an College athletics, intercollegiate athletic conference that existed from 1929 to 1974. The conference's members were located in the st ...

. After sixty-five season of football dating back to

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

, the OCC disbanded after the end of play, with six of its members subsequently departing to form the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference for the 1974 season.

Conference standings

Postseason

References

{{NAIA football NAIA Football National Championship

Conference realignment

Conference changes

Conference standings

Postseason

See also

References