1976 NCAA Division II football season

1976 NCAA Division II football season
Regular season	August – November 1976
Postseason	December 1976
National Championship	Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, TX
Champions	Montana State
Division II football season «1975 1977»

The 1976 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 1976, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship in December 1976 at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Montana State Bobcats defeated the Akron Zips, 24-13, to win their first Division II national title.

Conference changes and new programs

School	1975 Conference	1976 Conference
Alabama State	SIAC	D-II Independent
Eastern Michigan	D-II Independent	MAC (D-I)
Illinois State	D-II Independent	D-I Independent

Conference standings

1976 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T SE Missouri State + 4 – 1 – 1     7 – 3 – 1 NE Missouri State + 4 – 1 – 1     5 – 3 – 1 NW Missouri State 4 – 2 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 SW Missouri State 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Missouri-Rolla 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 1 Central Missouri State 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Lincoln (MO) 0 – 6 – 0     0 – 11 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – Division II playoff participant

Conference summaries

See also: List of NCAA Division II football seasons

Conference Champions

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Norfolk State Far Western Football Conference – UC Davis Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Northwood Gulf South Conference – Troy State 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 South Atlantic Conference – Elon Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division II) – Bethune-Cookman Yankee Conference – New Hampshire

Postseason

1976 NCAA Division II National Football Championship playoffs
Teams	8
Finals Site	Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, TX
Champions	Montana State (1st title)
Runner-Up	Akron (1st championship game)
Semifinalists	Northern Michigan North Dakota State

The 1976 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the fourth single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas for the first time.

Playoff bracket

	First round Campus sites					Semifinals Campus sites					Championship Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, TX
	Akron		26
	UNLV		6
						Akron		29
						Northern Michigan		26
	Northern Michigan		28
	Delaware		17
											Akron		13
											Montana State		24
	North Dakota State		10
	Eastern Kentucky		7
						North Dakota State		3
						Montana State		10
	Montana State		17
	New Hampshire		16

See also

• 1976 NAIA Division I football season
• 1976 NAIA Division II football season