1973 NCAA Division III football season

The 1973 NCAA Division III football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division III level, began in August 1973, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship in December 1973 at Garrett–Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. This was the first season for Division III (and Division II) football, which were formerly in the College Division in 1972 and prior.

1973 NCAA Division III football season
Regular season	August – November 1973
Playoffs	November – December 1973
National championship	Garrett–Harrison Stadium Phenix City, AL
Champion	Wittenberg
← 1972 · NCAA Division III football seasons · 1974 →

Wittenberg won their first Division III championship, defeating Juniata in the championship game by a score of 41−0.^[1]

Conference changes and new programs

School	1972 conference	1973 conference
Albany	New program	NCAA Division III independent
Seton Hall	New program	Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference
Salisbury State	New program	NCAA Division III independent

Conference standings

1973 College Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Southwestern (TN) $ 2 – 0 – 0 4 – 3 – 2 Sewanee 1 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Centre 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1973 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Carthage $^ 8 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 12 Millikin 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 15 Augustana (IL) 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Illinois Wesleyan 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Carroll (WI) 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Elmhurst 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 North Park 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Wheaton (IL) 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 North Central (IL) 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll	1973 Eastern Football Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Central Connecticut State $ 3 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Southern Connecticut State 2 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Montclair State 1 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Glassboro State 0 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1973 Independent College Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Hobart $ 3 – 1 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Alfred 2 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 St. Lawrence 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 RIT 0 – 2 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 RPI 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 Ithaca * 2 – 0 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion * – Did not complete for title	1973 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Butler $ 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 DePauw 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Evansville 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Indiana Central 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Valparaiso 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Saint Joseph's (IN) 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Wabash 0 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1973 Iowa Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 9 Buena Vista $ 7 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Central (IA) 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Wartburg 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Dubuque 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 William Penn 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Luther 2 – 4 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 Simpson (IA) 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 Upper Iowa 0 – 6 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1973 Mason–Dixon Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Hampden–Sydney $ 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Johns Hopkins 2 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Bridgewater 2 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Randolph–Macon 2 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Western Maryland 0 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Towson State 0 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Gallaudet 0 – 0 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1973 Metropolitan Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T C. W. Post $ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 Hofstra 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Fordham 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Merchant Marine 1 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Seton Hall 0 – 2 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Saint Peter's 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 Wagner 0 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1973 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Hope $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Olivet 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Albion 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Alma 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Kalamazoo 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Adrian 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1973 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northern Division Juniata x^ 5 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Wilkes 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Albright 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Delaware Valley 4 – 3 – 1 4 – 3 – 0 Lycoming 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Susquehanna 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Upsala 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Wagner * 2 – 1 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Southern Division Franklin & Marshall x 8 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Widener 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Muhlenberg 7 – 1 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Johns Hopkins 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Western Maryland 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Moravian 3 – 5 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Lebanon Valley 2 – 5 – 2 2 – 5 – 2 Dickinson 1 – 5 – 2 1 – 5 – 2 Ursinus 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 5 – 1 Swarthmore 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant * – Ineligible due to insufficient conference games Juniata won Northern Section on Hazlett point system	1973 Midwest Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Coe $ 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Monmouth (IL) 6 – 1 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 Knox 5 – 2 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 Ripon 5 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 St. Olaf 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Lawrence 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Carleton 3 – 4 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Cornell (IA) 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Beloit 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Grinnell 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1973 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 11 St. Thomas (MN) + 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 No. 9 Minnesota–Duluth + 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Augsburg 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Gustavus Adolphus 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Concordia–Moorhead 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Saint John's (MN) 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Hamline 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Macalester 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1973 New England Football Conference standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Nichols $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Plymouth State 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Bridgewater State 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Curry 2 – 2 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Maine Maritime 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Boston State 0 – 4 – 1 1 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1973 New Jersey State Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Montclair State $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Jersey City State 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Trenton State 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Glassboro State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Kean 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 William Paterson 0 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1973 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Blue Division Marietta xy 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Muskingum 2 – 1 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Ohio Wesleyan 2 – 1 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Otterbein 1 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Denison 0 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Red Division No. 4 Wittenberg xy$^ 5 – 0 – 0 12 – 0 – 0 Baldwin–Wallace 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Wooster 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Heidelberg 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Capital 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Mount Union 0 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Not competing for championship Kenyon   –   5 – 4 – 0 Oberlin   –   4 – 5 – 0 Championship: Wittenberg 35, Marietta 7 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant Rankings from AP small college poll
1973 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T East Division West Chester xy 4 – 0 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 East Stroudsburg 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 1 Millersville 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Cheyney 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Bloomsburg 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Kutztown 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Mansfield 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 West Division No. T–20 Slippery Rock xy$ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Clarion 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Edinboro 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Lock Haven 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 California (PA) 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Shippensburg 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Indiana (PA) * 0 – 0 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Championship: Slippery Rock 28, West Chester 14 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant * – Ineligible for conference title Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1973 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T John Carroll $ 5 – 0 – 2 7 – 1 – 2 Allegheny 5 – 1 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Thiel 4 – 2 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 Hiram 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Carnegie Mellon 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Bethany (WV) 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 1 Washington & Jefferson 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Case Western Reserve 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1973 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 Redlands $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Whittier 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 La Verne 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Claremont-Mudd 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Occidental 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Pomona-Pitzer 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division II poll
1973 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 Wisconsin–La Crosse $^ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 No. 14 Wisconsin–Platteville 6 – 1 – 1 8 – 1 – 1 Wisconsin–Whitewater 4 – 2 – 2 6 – 2 – 2 Wisconsin–Eau Claire 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Wisconsin–Oshkosh 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Wisconsin–River Falls 3 – 4 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Wisconsin–Stevens Point 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Wisconsin–Superior 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Wisconsin–Stout 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1973 NCAA Division III independents football records v t e Conf. Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Colorado College   –   9 – 1 – 0 Bridgeport ^   –   9 – 2 – 0 San Diego ^   –   9 – 2 – 1 Albany   –   7 – 2 – 0 Salisbury State   –   7 – 2 – 0 Ashland   –   7 – 3 – 0 Norwich   –   6 – 3 – 0 Rochester (NY)   –   6 – 3 – 0 Brockport   –   5 – 3 – 0 Maryville (TN)   –   5 – 4 – 0 Millsaps   –   5 – 4 – 0 Madison   –   4 – 5 – 0 St. Norbert   –   4 – 5 – 0 Lake Forest   –   3 – 4 – 1 Saint Mary's   –   3 – 4 – 1 Georgetown   –   3 – 5 – 0 Grove City   –   2 – 6 – 1 Cortland   –   1 – 7 – 1 Chicago   –   0 – 6 – 1 ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant

Conference champions

Conference	Champion(s)
College Athletic Conference	Southwestern at Memphis
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin	Carthage
Independent College Athletic Conference	Champion unknown
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Buena Vista
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Hope
Middle Atlantic Conference	North: Juniata South: Franklin & Marshall
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference	Coe
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Minnesota–Duluth St. Thomas (MN)
New England Football Conference	Nichols
New Jersey State Athletic Conference	Montclair State
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (Division III)	Fisk
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Redlands

Postseason

The 1973 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the first single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The inaugural edition had only four teams (in comparison with the 40 teams competing as of 2024). The championship game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. The Wittenberg Tigers defeated the Juniata College Eagles, 41−0, to win their first national title.^[2]

Playoff bracket

	Semifinals Campus sites					National Championship Game Garrett–Harrison Stadium Phenix City, AL
	Juniata		35
	Bridgeport		14
						Juniata		0
						Wittenberg		41
	Wittenberg		21
	San Diego		14

Coaching changes

In-season

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place during the season.

School	Outgoing coach	Reason	Replacement	Previous position
Ripon	John Storzer	Died[3]	Bill Connor[4] (interim, named full-time in December 1973)[5]	Ripon defensive coordinator (1967–1973)

End of season

This list includes all head coaching changes announced during or after the season.

School	Outgoing coach	Reason	Replacement	Previous position
Bridgeport	Ed Farrell	Hired as head coach for Davidson[6]	Ray Murphy[7]	East Stroudsburg offensive coordinator (1973)
Brockport	Gerry D'Agostino	Resigned	Dave Hutter[8]	Brockport assistant coach (1971–1973)
East Stroudsburg	Charles Reese	Leave of absence[9]	Dennis Douds (full-season interim, hired full-time on January 29, 1975)[9][10]	East Stroudsburg defensive coordinator (1968–1973)
Elmhurst	Wendell Harris	Resigned	Al Hanke[11]	Lake Forest assistant coach (1954–1973)
Hamline	Dick Mulkern	Resigned[a][12]	Jim Sessions[13]	Marietta assistant coach (1973)
Jersey City State	Jack Stephans	Resigned[14]	Bill McKeown[15]	Northeastern offensive coordinator (1972–1973)
Maryville (TN)	Boydson Baird (full-season interim)	Permanent replacement hired	Jim Jordan[16]	Carson–Newman defensive backs coach (1973)
RIT	Tom Coughlin	Hired as quarterbacks coach for Syracuse[17]	Lou Spiotti[b][18]	Rochester defensive backs coach (1972–1973)
Saint Mary's (CA)	Leo McKillip	Hired as defensive coordinator for the Edmonton Eskimos[19]	Jim McDonald[20]	Saint Mary's (CA) offensive line coach (1971–1973)
Saint Peter's	Vinnie Carlesimo	Resigned[c]	Joe Coviello[21]	North Bergen HS (NJ) (1960–1972)
San Diego	Andy Vinci	Hired as head coach by Cal Poly Pomona[22]	Dick Logan[23]	San Francisco State offensive coordinator (1970–1973)
Simpson	Al Paone	Resigned	Larry Johnson (full-season interim)[24]	Simpson head baseball coach (1970–1974)
Swarthmore	Millard Robinson (full-season interim)	Not retained[25]	Lew Elverson	Swarthmore head coach (1946–1972)
Trenton State	Pete Carmichael	Hired as defensive coordinator for Columbia[26]	Dick Curl[d][27]	Trenton State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (1973)
Wabash	Dick Bowman[28]	Hired as defensive line coach for Army	Frank Navarro[29]	Columbia head coach (1968–1973)
William Paterson	Phil Zofrea	Resigned[30]	Bob Trocolor[31]	Manchester Regional HS (NJ) freshmen coach (1963)
Wisconsin–Platteville	Gil Krueger	Hired as head coach for Northern Michigan[32]	Bob Seamans[33]	Wisconsin–Platteville defensive coordinator (1969–1973)

1. Resigned to devote more time as Hamline's athletic director.
2. Cortland defensive coordinator Dick Wheaton from 1971 to 1973 was originally hired, but resigned after three weeks.
3. Saint Peter's canceled their football season with five games remaining.
4. Villanova offensive coordinator Fred O'Connor was initially hired but was replaced by Curl due to backlash from the football players.

See also

• 1973 NCAA Division I football season
• 1973 NCAA Division II football season
• 1973 NAIA Division I football season
• 1973 NAIA Division II football season