1968 NAIA football season

The 1968 NAIA football season was the 13th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA.

1968 NAIA football season
Regular season	August–November 1968
Postseason	November 28–December 14, 1968
National Championship	Cramton Bowl Montgomery, AL
Champion	Troy State

The season was played from August to November 1968, culminating in the 1968 NAIA Championship Bowl, played this year on December 14, 1968 at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama.

Troy State defeated Texas A&I in the Championship Bowl, 43–35, to win their first NAIA national title.

Conference realignment

Conference changes

• This was the final season of play for the Central Intercollegiate Conference. After the end of play, the remaining members of the conference, four from Kansas and one from Nebraska, would subsequently join the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Conference standings

1968 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Arkansas Tech $ 5 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Henderson State 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Ouachita Baptist 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 1 State College of Arkansas 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Arkansas A&M 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Southern Arkansas 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Harding 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll	1968 Carolinas Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Lenoir Rhyne + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Presbyterian + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Elon 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Western Carolina 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Newberry 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Catawba 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Guilford 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1968 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 12 Morgan State $ 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 No. 14 North Carolina A&T 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 North Carolina College 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Elizabeth City State 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Maryland State 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 Virginia State 5 – 2 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 Hampton 4 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 2 Livingstone 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Howard 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Norfolk State 2 – 4 – 1 2 – 5 – 1 Johnson C. Smith 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Virginia Union 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Delaware State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Winston-Salem State 2 – 5 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Fayetteville State 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Shaw 1 – 7 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 Saint Paul's (VA) 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Conference standings were determined by Dickinson Rating Rankings from NAIA poll for North Carolina A&T and AP small college poll for Morgan State
1968 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Nebraska–Omaha $ 4 – 0 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Emporia State 2 – 1 – 1 5 – 2 – 2 Pittsburg State 2 – 1 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Washburn 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Fort Hays State 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1968 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Augustana (IL) $ 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Illinois Wesleyan 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 North Park 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Carroll (WI) 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Carthage 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Millikin 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 North Central (IL) 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Elmhurst 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1968 Eastern Football Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Southern Connecticut State $ 4 – 0 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Central Connecticut State 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 Bridgeport 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Trenton State 2 – 2 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 Glassboro State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Montclair State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1968 Evergreen Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Central Washington $ 6 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Eastern Washington 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Western Washington 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Whitworth 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1968 Frontier Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Eastern Montana $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Northern Montana 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Western Montana 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Montana Tech 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Carroll (MT) 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Rocky Mountain 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1968 Gateway Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Lakeland $ 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Milton 3 – 1 – 0 ? – ? – ? Eureka 2 – 2 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 Northwestern (WI) 1 – 3 – 0 ? – ? – ? St. Procopius 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1968 Gulf States Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 8/10 Southwestern Louisiana $ 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Louisiana Tech 3 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Northeast Louisiana State 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Northwestern State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Southeastern Louisiana 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 McNeese State 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll and AP small college poll	1968 Hoosier Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Manchester (IN) + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Anderson (IN) + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Hanover 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Earlham 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 1 Taylor 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 1 Indiana Central 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Franklin (IN) 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1968 Iowa Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Wartburg $ 6 – 0 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Simpson 5 – 0 – 2 6 – 1 – 2 Upper Iowa 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Central (IA) 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Dubuque 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 William Penn 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Buena Vista 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Luther 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1968 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Southwestern (KS) $ 7 – 1 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Kansas Wesleyan 7 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Friends 6 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Ottawa 5 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 College of Emporia 5 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Bethany (KS) 3 – 5 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Baker 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Bethel (KS) 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Sterling 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 McPherson 2 – 7 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1968 Lone Star Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2/6 Texas A&I $^ 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 East Texas State 5 – 1 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 McMurry 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Sam Houston State 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Southwest Texas State 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Sul Ross 2 – 4 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Howard Payne 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 7 – 1 Stephen F. Austin 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Tarleton State * 0 – 0 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Angelo State * 0 – 0 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant * – did not complete for conference title Rankings from NAIA poll and AP small college poll	1968 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 12 Alma $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 Albion 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Hope 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Olivet 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Kalamazoo 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Adrian 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll
1968 Mid-Ohio Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Defiance $ 3 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Findlay 2 – 1 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Wilmington (OH) 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 7 – 1 Bluffton 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1968 Midwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Ripon $ 7 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Monmouth (IL) 6 – 1 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 Cornell (IA) 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 St. Olaf 5 – 2 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 Coe 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Beloit 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Carleton 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Grinnell 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Lawrence 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Knox 0 – 8 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1968 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Gustavus Adolphus $ 6 – 0 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 No. 18 Hamline 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Concordia (MN) 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Saint John's (MN) 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Macalester 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Minnesota–Duluth 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 St. Thomas (MN) 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Augsburg 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll
1968 Missouri College Athletic Union football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T William Jewell $ 2 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Tarkio 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Central Methodist 2 – 1 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 Graceland 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Missouri Valley 1 – 2 – 1 3 – 4 – 3 Culver–Stockton 0 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1968 Nebraska College Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Kearney State $ 4 – 0 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Chadron State 3 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Wayne State (NE) 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Hastings 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Peru State 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1968 North Dakota College Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Jamestown $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 Minot State 4 – 1 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 Wahpeton Science 4 – 2 – 0 ? – ? – ? Valley City State 2 – 2 – 2 2 – 3 – 2 Dickinson State 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Mayville State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Ellendale 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1968 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Mankato State + 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Winona State + 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 St. Cloud State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Moorhead State 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Bemidji State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Michigan Tech 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Minnesota Morris *   –   7 – 1 – 0 + – Conference co-champions * – did not compete for championship	1968 Northwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 Willamette $^ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Linfield 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 Lewis & Clark 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Pacific Lutheran 2 – 2 – 2 3 – 4 – 2 Whitman 1 – 4 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 College of Idaho 1 – 4 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Pacific (OR) 0 – 5 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA poll	1968 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T SW Oklahoma State $ 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 East Central 5 – 1 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 Northeastern State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 SE Oklahoma State 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 1 Central State (OK) 3 – 3 – 1 6 – 4 – 1 Panhandle 2 – 4 – 1 5 – 5 – 1 NW Oklahoma State 1 – 5 – 1 1 – 7 – 2 Langston 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1968 Oregon Collegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Oregon College $ 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Southern Oregon 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Oregon Tech 2 – 2 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 Eastern Oregon 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 George Fox 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1968 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 Northern State $^ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Black Hills State 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 South Dakota Tech 3 – 2 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Dakota Wesleyan 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Huron 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 General Beadle 1 – 4 – 1 2 – 5 – 1 Southern State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant Rankings from NAIA poll	1968 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Whittier $ 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Occidental 3 – 1 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Redlands 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Claremont-Mudd 2 – 2 – 1 3 – 4 – 2 Pomona 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 1 Caltech 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Caltech forfeited to Whittier and Redlands; the forfeits were included only in conference records.
1968 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Alcorn A&M + 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Grambling + 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Texas Southern + 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Arkansas AM&N 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Southern 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Prairie View A&M 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Jackson State 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Wiley 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA poll	1968 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Westmar $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 Concordia (NE) 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Northwestern (IA) 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Dana 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Sioux Falls 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Yankton 1 – 4 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 Midland 0 – 5 – 1 0 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1968 West Penn Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 19 Waynesburg $ 2 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Westminster (PA) 1 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Geneva 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll
1968 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T West Virginia State $ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Fairmont State 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Salem 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 West Liberty State 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Glenville State 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Bluefield State 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 West Virginia Tech 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 West Virginia Wesleyan 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Concord 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 Shepherd * 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion * – Did not qualify for conference standings Conference standings based on power ratings	1968 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 13 Platteville State + 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Oshkosh State + 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Whitewater State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 La Crosse State 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Eau Claire State 3 – 3 – 2 3 – 4 – 2 River Falls State 2 – 5 – 1 3 – 6 – 1 Stout State 2 – 5 – 1 3 – 6 – 1 Stevens Point State 2 – 5 – 1 2 – 7 – 1 Superior State 0 – 7 – 1 0 – 9 – 1 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from NAIA poll	1968 NAIA independents football records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 Doane   –   10 – 0 – 0 New Mexico Highlands   –   9 – 0 – 0 No. 15 Ferris State   –   7 – 0 – 1 No. 9 Cal Lutheran   –   9 – 1 – 0 No. 10 Emory and Henry   –   9 – 1 – 0 Indiana (PA)   –   9 – 1 – 0 No. 16 Austin   –   8 – 1 – 0 No. 11 Appalachian State   –   8 – 2 – 0 Boise State   –   8 – 2 – 0 No. 20 Carson–Newman   –   8 – 2 – 0 La Verne   –   7 – 2 – 0 Hillsdale   –   6 – 3 – 0 St. Mary of the Plains   –   6 – 4 – 0 Wheaton (IL)   –   5 – 4 – 0 Oklahoma Panhandle State   –   5 – 5 – 1 Eastern New Mexico   –   4 – 5 – 1 Simon Fraser   –   4 – 5 – 0 Southern Colorado State   –   4 – 6 – 0 Southwest State (MN)   –   3 – 5 – 0 Wofford   –   4 – 7 – 0 Georgetown (KY)   –   2 – 6 – 0 Azusa Pacific   –   2 – 7 – 0 Kentucky State   –   2 – 7 – 0 Iowa Wesleyan   –   1 – 7 – 1 Rankings from NAIA poll

Postseason

	Semifinals November 28–30, 1968					NAIA Championship Bowl December 14, 1968 Montgomery, AL
	Northern State		0
	Texas A&I*		20
						Texas A&I		35
						Troy State		43
	Willamette		10
	Troy State*		63

See also

• 1968 NCAA University Division football season
• 1968 NCAA College Division football season