1977 NCAA Division II football season

The 1977 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 1977 and concluded with the [NCAA NCAA Division II|Division II Football Championship|championship game] on December 10 at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Lehigh Engineers defeated the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 33–0 in the Pioneer Bowl to win their first Division II national title.
This was the last season prior to the creation of Division I-AA, now named Division I-Football Championship Subdivision, which debuted in [1978 NCAA NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision|Division I-AA football season|1978].

Conference realignment

Conference changes

This was the final season at the Division II level for the members of five conferences: the Big Sky Conference, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Southwestern Athletic Conference, and Yankee Conference. After the end of play, each conference and its members, alongside seven independent teams, would transition to the newly established Division I-AA level of college football.

Conference summaries

Conference Champions

Big Sky Conference – Boise State
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Winston-Salem State
Far Western Football Conference – UC Davis
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Grand Valley State
Gulf South Conference – Jacksonville State
Indiana Collegiate Conference – St. Joseph's and Butler
Lone Star Conference – Abilene Christian and Texas A&I
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Missouri–Rolla and Southeast Missouri State
North Central Conference – North Dakota State
Northern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–Morris
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Clarion
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Western State (CO)
South Atlantic Conference – Elon
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Florida A&M
Yankee Conference – UMass

Postseason

The 1977 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the fifth single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of Division II college football. The championship game was held at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas for the second time.

Playoff bracket

* Denotes host institution

Northern Arizona was the Big Sky runner-up; champion Boise State had a scheduling conflict.