1971 NAIA Division I football season

The 1971 NAIA Division I football season was the 16th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA and the second season of the league's two-division structure. The season was played from August to November 1971 and culminated in the 1971 NAIA Champion Bowl, played on December 11, 1971 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Livingston defeated Arkansas Tech in the Champion Bowl, 14–12, to win their first NAIA national title.

1971 NAIA Division I football season
Regular season	August–November 1971
Postseason	November 26–December 11, 1971
National Championship	Legion Field Birmingham, AL
Champions	Livingston

Conference standings

1971 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Arkansas Tech $^ 6 – 0 – 0 12 – 1 – 0 Southern Arkansas 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Ouachita Baptist 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Harding 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Arkansas–Monticello 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Henderson State 1 – 4 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 State College of Arkansas 0 – 5 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1971 Carolinas Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Elon $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Newberry 3 – 1 – 1 8 – 2 – 1 Presbyterian 3 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Catawba 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Lenoir Rhyne 1 – 3 – 1 2 – 7 – 1 Guilford 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1971 Evergreen Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Western Washington $ 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Oregon College 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Eastern Washington 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Eastern Oregon 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Central Washington 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Southern Oregon 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Oregon Tech 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1971 Gulf South Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Livingston +^ 5 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0 Troy State + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Jacksonville State 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Tennessee–Martin 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Delta State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 1 Florence State 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 Southeastern Louisiana 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 11 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1971 Lone Star Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Howard Payne + 7 – 1 – 1 10 – 1 – 1 No. 4 Southwest Texas State + 7 – 1 – 1 8 – 1 – 1 No. 13 Texas A&I 7 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Angelo State 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 East Texas State 5 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Sul Ross 3 – 6 – 0 4 – 6 – 1 Sam Houston State 3 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Tarleton State 2 – 7 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 McMurry 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Stephen F. Austin 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1971 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 Saint John's (MN) + 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Gustavus Adolphus + 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Minnesota–Duluth 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 Concordia-Moorhead 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Hamline 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 St. Thomas (MN) 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Macalester 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 7 – 1 Augsburg 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1971 Nebraska College Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Wayne State (NE) $ 3 – 0 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Kearney State 2 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Chadron State 1 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Peru State 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1971 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Moorhead State $ 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 1 Michigan Tech 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Minnesota Morris 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Bemidji State 3 – 2 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 St. Cloud State 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Winona State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 Southwest State (MN) 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1971 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 12 SW Oklahoma State $ 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Central State (OK) 5 – 2 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 Cameron 5 – 2 – 1 7 – 3 – 2 Northeastern State 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 NW Oklahoma State 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 East Central 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Panhandle 2 – 6 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Langston 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 SE Oklahoma State 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1971 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Mountain Division Western State (CO) x 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 Adams State xy 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Southern Utah 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Western New Mexico 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Colorado Mines 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Westminster (UT) 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Fort Lewis 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Plains Division Northern Colorado xy$ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 1 Pittsburg State 3 – 1 – 1 8 – 1 – 1 Nebraska–Omaha 2 – 2 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Emporia State 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 6 – 1 Fort Hays State 1 – 3 – 1 2 – 7 – 1 Southern Colorado 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Washburn * 0 – 0 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Championship: Northern Colorado 25, Adam State 15 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant * – Washburn was ineligible for conference title	1971 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 8 Northern State $^ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 1 No. 12 Dakota State 4 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 South Dakota Tech 3 – 2 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Huron 2 – 2 – 2 ? – ? – ? South Dakota–Springfield 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Black Hills State 1 – 3 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 Dakota Wesleyan 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll for Northern State and NAIA Division II poll for Dakota State	1971 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 9 Grambling $ 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Jackson State 4 – 1 – 1 9 – 1 – 1 No. 16 Alcorn A&M 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Texas Southern 3 – 2 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 Prairie View A&M 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Mississippi Valley State 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Southern 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll for Grambling and UPI small college poll for Alcorn A&M
1971 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 West Liberty State $^ 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Fairmont State 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Salem 6 – 2 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 Bluefield State 4 – 1 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Shepherd 3 – 1 – 2 7 – 1 – 2 Glenville State 4 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 0 West Virginia State 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 West Virginia Tech 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 West Virginia Wesleyan 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Concord 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Conference standings based on power ratings Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1971 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 11 Wisconsin–Platteville + 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 No. 14 Wisconsin–La Crosse + 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Wisconsin–Superior 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Wisconsin–Eau Claire 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Wisconsin–Oshkosh 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Wisconsin–Stout 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Wisconsin–River Falls 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Wisconsin–Whitewater 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Wisconsin–Stevens Point 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Wisconsin–Whitewater forfeited five games. Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1971 NAIA Division I independents football records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 Carson–Newman   –   10 – 2 – 0 Kentucky State   –   8 – 2 – 0 Wofford   –   6 – 4 – 0 Hillsdale   –   6 – 5 – 0 Eastern New Mexico   –   4 – 5 – 1 New Mexico Highlands   –   1 – 8 – 1 Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

Postseason

	Semifinals November 26–27, 1971					1971 Champion Bowl December 11, 1971 Birmingham, AL
	Northern State (SD)		0
	Arkansas Tech*		24
						Arkansas Tech		12
						Livingston*		14
	Livingston		25
	West Liberty State*		2

See also

• 1971 NAIA Division II football season
• 1971 NCAA University Division football season
• 1971 NCAA College Division football season