UPI small college football rankings explained

The UPI small college football rankings was a system used by the United Press International (UPI) from 1958 to 1974 to rank the best small college football teams in the United States.

The UPI announced in September 1958 that it had formed a Small-College Football Rating Board consisting of 47 coaches charged on a weekly basis with ranking the nation's best "small college" football teams.^[1] The initial board was made up of one coach from each of 47 states. Each coach was asked to submit a weekly ballot ranking the ten best teams out of the 519 small-college football programs. The rankings included schools that were members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and members of both or neither. The team ranked No. 1 at the end of the year was presented with a trophy by the UPI.^[1]

Top teams in final polls

The following chart lists the top five teams in the final UPI small college rankings for each year from 1958 to 1974. The figures in brackets reflect the number of first-place votes received in the final voting. The figures in parentheses reflect the total points received.

Year	No. 1	No. 2	No. 3	No. 4	No. 5	Source
1958	Mississippi Southern [36] (403)	Miami (OH) (215)	Arizona State–Flagstaff [2] (209)	Northeastern State (OK) [1] (205)	(172)	^[2]
1959	Bowling Green [23] (407)	Mississippi Southern [5] (247)	Middle Tennessee [2] (231)	Delaware [1] (211)	(179)	^[3]
1960	Ohio [28] (343)	Bowling Green (250)	Lenoir–Rhyne [3] (236)	Muskingum [1] (100)	Florida A&M (94)	^[4]
1961	Pittsburg State [14] (250)	Baldwin–Wallace [1] (179)	Mississippi Southern [4] (163)	Southeastern Louisiana (148)	Fresno State [8] (147)	^[5]
1962	Southern Miss [19] (286)	Florida A&M [7] (273)	Central State (OK) [3] (233)	(204)	Wittenberg [2] (126)	^[6]
1963	Delaware [18] (309)	Northern Illinois [8] (285)	UMass [1] (160)	Saint John's (MN) [1] (158)	Wittenberg (153)	^[7]
1964	Cal State Los Angeles [26] (318)	Wittenberg [7] (278)	UMass (217)	East Carolina (196)	[1] (152) Louisiana Tech [1] (152)	^[8]
1965	North Dakota State [21] (301)	Cal State Los Angeles [2] (224)	Middle Tennessee State [3] (209)	East Carolina [1] (187)	[3] (117)	^[9]
1966	San Diego State [30] (336)	Montana State [3] (272)	[1] (242)	(166)	North Dakota (161)	^[10]
1967	San Diego State [17] (317)	North Dakota State [14] (299)	[2] (205)	Fairmont State [1] (194)	[1] (132)	^[11]
1968	San Diego State [21] (312)	North Dakota State [9] (300)	Chattanooga (236)	New Mexico Highlands (209)	(184)	^[12]
1969	North Dakota State [24] (319)	Montana [8] (295)	Colorado State–Greeley [1] (197)	Akron (186)	Arkansas State (173)	^[13]
1970	Arkansas State [21] (318)	Tampa [8] (279)	Montana [3] (272)	North Dakota State (201)	Tennessee State [1] (173)	^[14]
1971	Delaware [20] (306)	McNeese State [5] (267)	Eastern Michigan [3] (238)	Tennessee State [1] (185)	(130)	^[15]
1972	Delaware [21] (334)	Louisiana Tech [12] (310)	Cal Poly [1] (239)	South Dakota [1] (193)	Tennessee State (184)	^[16]
1973	Tennessee State [27] (314)	Western Kentucky [3] (275)	Louisiana Tech [1] (224)	Abilene Christian (224)	Wittenberg (169)	^[17]
1974	Louisiana Tech [27] (322)	UNLV [5] (254)	Boise State [1] (188)	Delaware (168)	Texas A&I (132)	^[18]

Notes and References

1. News: 'Small College' Board Set To Evaluate Grid Teams. Evening Herald. UPI. September 18, 1958. 18. Newspapers.com.
2. News: Southerners Top Rankings. Albany Democrat-Herald. Albany, Oregon. December 4, 1958. 18. Newspapers.com. May 5, 2017.
3. News: Bowling Green Voted Small College Champs. Tyrone Daily Herald. Tyrone, Pennsylvania. November 27, 1959. 6. Newspapers.com. May 5, 2017.
4. News: La. Tech Sixth On Final Ballot. The Monroe News-Star. Monroe, Louisiana. November 25, 1960. 11-A. Newspapers.com. May 8, 2017.
5. News: HSC 16th In Final UPI Small College Grid Poll. Eureka Humboldt Standard. Eureka, California. November 22, 1961. 10. Newspapers.com. February 15, 2017.
6. News: Small College Title Goes To Southern Mississippi. Medford Mail Tribune. Medford, Oregon. November 29, 1962. D-3. Newspapers.com. January 24, 2017.
7. News: Delaware tops small colleges. Redlands Daily Facts. Redlands, California. December 4, 1963. 11. Newspapers.com. February 15, 2017.
8. News: Final Ratings In Small College Poll. Las Vegas Daily Optic. East Las Vegas, New Mexico. December 2, 1964. 4. Newspapers.com. May 8, 2017.
9. News: N. Dakota State Is Small College UPI Grid Champ. The News-Herald. Franklin, Pennsylvania. George C. Langord. December 1, 1965. 27. Newspapers.com. February 15, 2017.
10. News: San Diego State Rated No. 1 Small College; Aztecs Showered With 30 Ballots. The Weirton Daily Times. Weirton, West Virginia. Jeff Meyers. November 30, 1966. 26. Newspapers.com. May 8, 2017.
11. News: San Diego St. Is UPI Small College Champ. Daily World. Opelousas, Louisiana. Steve Smilanich. November 29, 1967. 10. Newspapers.com. May 5, 2017.
12. News: San Diego St. Again Leads College Poll. Daily World. Opelousas, Louisiana. Joe Carnicelli. November 27, 1968. 10. Newspapers.com. May 5, 2017.
13. News: Bison Reclaim College Title. St. Cloud Times. St. Cloud, Minnesota. November 27, 1969. 36. Newspapers.com. May 5, 2017.
14. News: Arkansas State Led Small Poll. The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, Texas. December 2, 1970. 8-B. Newspapers.com. May 5, 2017.
15. News: Delaware Tops Final Poll. The Terre Haute Star. Terre Haute, Indiana. November 26, 1971. 27. Newspapers.com. May 18, 2017.
16. News: College elite. The Delta Democrat-Times. Greenville, Mississippi. November 22, 1972. 12. Newspapers.com. May 18, 2017.
17. News: Small college poll. The Daily Chronicle. De Kalb, Illinois. November 28, 1973. 23. Newspapers.com. April 30, 2017.
18. News: UPI, AP Pick Louisiana Tech Small-College Football Champ. Cumberland Evening Times. Cumberland, Maryland. November 27, 1974. 55. Newspapers.com. May 24, 2017.