1972 NAIA Division II football season

1974 Gateway Conference football standings
	$ – Conference champion;

1972 Frontier Conference football standings
	+ – Conference co-champions;

1972 NAIA Division II football season
Regular season	August–November 1972
Postseason	November 25–December 9, 1972
National Championship	Joplin, MO
Champions	Missouri Southern State

The 1972 NAIA Division II football season, as part of the 1972 college football season in the United States and the 17th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the third season of play of the NAIA's lower division for football.

The season was played from August to November 1972 and culminated in the 1972 NAIA Division II Football National Championship, played on December 9, 1972 in Joplin, Missouri on the campus of Missouri Southern State College.[1]

Missouri Southern State defeated Northwestern (IA) in the championship game, 21–14, to win their first NAIA national title. As of 2015, this was the earliest championship to feature a team that remains a NAIA member.

Conference standings

1972 Heart of America Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Ottawa $	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
Missouri Valley	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Graceland	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Central Methodist	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
William Jewell	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Tarkio	2	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
College of Emporia	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Baker	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1972 Hoosier–Buckeye Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Bluffton $	5	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Findlay	4	–	2	–	1	5	–	3	–	1
Manchester (IN)	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Wilmington (OH)	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Taylor	3	–	2	–	2	3	–	4	–	2
Defiance	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Anderson (IN)	2	–	4	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
Hanover	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Earlham	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion

1972 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
William Penn +	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
Buena Vista +	6	–	1	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Central (IA)	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Dubuque	3	–	3	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
Luther	3	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Simpson	1	–	4	–	2	2	–	5	–	2
Upper Iowa	1	–	5	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
Wartburg	1	–	6	–	0	3	–	6	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions

1972 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Friends $	6	–	1	–	1	?	–	?	–	?
Sterling	5	–	2	–	1	?	–	?	–	?
St. Mary of the Plains	5	–	3	–	0	?	–	?	–	?
Bethany (KS)	4	–	3	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
Southwestern (KS)	4	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Kansas Wesleyan	3	–	4	–	1	3	–	5	–	1
Bethel (KS)	3	–	5	–	0	?	–	?	–	?
Tabor	3	–	5	–	0	?	–	?	–	?
McPherson	1	–	7	–	0	?	–	?	–	?

$ – Conference champion

1972 Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Doane $^	5	–	0	–	0	10	–	1	–	0
Concordia (NE)	4	–	1	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Midland	3	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Nebraska Wesleyan	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Hastings	1	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Dana	0	–	5	–	0	2	–	6	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division II playoff participant

1972 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Northern State $	6	–	0	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Huron	4	–	2	–	0	?	–	?	–	?
Dakota State	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Dakota Wesleyan	3	–	3	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
South Dakota Tech	3	–	3	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
South Dakota–Springfield	2	–	4	–	0	?	–	?	–	?
Black Hills State	0	–	6	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion

Postseason

Semifinals November 25, 1972		Championship December 9, 1972 Joplin, MO


Doane	6

Missouri Southern State*	24
		Missouri Southern State*	21

		Northwestern (IA)	14
Northwestern (IA)	13

Franklin (IN)*	6

References

"NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.

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[1] "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.