1976 NCAA Division II football season
1976 NCAA Division II football season
The regular season ran August through November 1976, followed by the playoffs from November 27 to December 11, 1976. The national championship game, the Pioneer Bowl, was played at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Montana State Bobcats defeated the Akron Zips 24–13 to win their first Division II national title. The team was coached by Sonny Holland. Attendance at the Pioneer Bowl was 13,200.
The eight-team playoff field produced semifinalists Northern Michigan and North Dakota State, who joined Montana State and Akron in the final four.
Final outcomes
- Champion: Montana State (1st title)
- Runner-up: Akron (1st title game)
- Semifinalists: Northern Michigan, North Dakota State
Conferences represented (examples of participating programs)
- Big Sky Conference – Montana State
- Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Norfolk State
- Far Western Football Conference – UC Davis
- Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Northwood
- Gulf South Conference – Troy State
- Indiana Collegiate Conference – Evansville and St. Joseph's
- Lone Star Conference – Texas A&I
- Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Northeast Missouri State and Southeast Missouri State
- North Central Conference – North Dakota State
- Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Morris
- Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – East Stroudsburg
- Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Western State (CO)
- South Atlantic Conference – Elon
- Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Bethune-Cookman
- Yankee Conference – New Hampshire
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 10:35 (CET).