# UPI small college football rankings

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. 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.

## 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 |
| 1958 | Mississippi Southern [36] (403) | Miami (OH) (215) | Arizona State–Flagstaff [2] (209) | Northeastern State (OK) [1] (205) | East Texas State (172) |
| 1959 | Bowling Green [23] (407) | Mississippi Southern [5] (247) | Middle Tennessee [2] (231) | Delaware [1] (211) | East Texas State (179) |
| 1960 | Ohio [28] (343) | Bowling Green (250) | Lenoir–Rhyne [3] (236) | Muskingum [1] (100) | Florida A&M (94) |
| 1961 | Pittsburg State [14] (250) | Baldwin–Wallace [1] (179) | Mississippi Southern [4] (163) | Southeastern Louisiana (148) | Fresno State [8] (147) |
| 1962 | Southern Miss [19] (286) | Florida A&M [7] (273) | Central State (OK) [3] (233) | Lenoir–Rhyne (204) | Wittenberg [2] (126) |
| 1963 | Delaware [18] (309) | Northern Illinois [8] (285) | UMass [1] (160) | Saint John's (MN) [1] (158) | Wittenberg (153) |
| 1964 | Cal State Los Angeles [26] (318) | Wittenberg [7] (278) | UMass (217) | East Carolina (196) | Concordia (MN) [1] (152) Louisiana Tech [1] (152) |
| 1965 | North Dakota State [21] (301) | Cal State Los Angeles [2] (224) | Middle Tennessee State [3] (209) | East Carolina [1] (187) | Weber State [3] (117) |
| 1966 | San Diego State [30] (336) | Montana State [3] (272) | Tennessee State [1] (242) | Northwestern State (166) | North Dakota (161) |
| 1967 | San Diego State [17] (317) | North Dakota State [14] (299) | Texas–Arlington [2] (205) | Fairmont State [1] (194) | West Chester State [1] (132) |
| 1968 | San Diego State [21] (312) | North Dakota State [9] (300) | Chattanooga (236) | New Mexico Highlands (209) | Texas A&I (184) |
| 1969 | North Dakota State [24] (319) | Montana [8] (295) | Colorado State–Greeley [1] (197) | Akron (186) | Arkansas State (173) |
| 1970 | Arkansas State [21] (318) | Tampa [8] (279) | Montana [3] (272) | North Dakota State (201) | Tennessee State [1] (173) |
| 1971 | Delaware [20] (306) | McNeese State [5] (267) | Eastern Michigan [3] (238) | Tennessee State [1] (185) | C.W. Post (130) |
| 1972 | Delaware [21] (334) | Louisiana Tech [12] (310) | Cal Poly [1] (239) | South Dakota [1] (193) | Tennessee State (184) |
| 1973 | Tennessee State [27] (314) | Western Kentucky [3] (275) | Louisiana Tech [1] (224) | Abilene Christian (224) | Wittenberg (169) |
| 1974 | Louisiana Tech [27] (322) | UNLV [5] (254) | Boise State [1] (188) | Delaware (168) | Texas A&I (132) |