# 1978 NAIA Division I football season

The 1978 NAIA Division I football season was the 23rd season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the ninth season of play of the NAIA's top division for football.
The season was played from August to November 1978 and culminated in the 1978 NAIA Division I Football National Championship. Known this year as the Palm Bowl, the title game was played on December 16, 1978 at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen, Texas.
Angelo State defeated Elon in the Palm Bowl, 24–14, to win their first NAIA national title.

## Conference changes

* This is the final season that the NAIA officially recognizes a football champion from two conferences, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The SWAC has since become an NCAA Division I FCS conference while the PSAC competes at the Division II level; both continue to sponsor football.

## Conference standings

1978 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings :
| 1978 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 5 Central Arkansas $^ 6 –0 –09 –2 –0 No. 16 Henderson State 4 –1 –17 –2 –1 No. 9 Ouachita Baptist 4 –2 –08 –2 –0 Harding 3 –2 –15 –4 –1 Arkansas Tech 2 –4 –05 –5 –0 Arkansas–Monticello 1 –5 –05 –6 –0 Southern Arkansas 0 –6 –02 –8 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division I playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division I poll | 1978 Central States Intercollegiate Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 10 Kearney State $ 7 –0 –08 –0 –1 Missouri Southern 4 –2 –16 –3 –1 Fort Hays State 4 –2 –16 –5 –1 Missouri Western 4 –3 –05 –5 –0 Wayne State (NE) 3 –2 –24 –4 –2 Emporia State 2 –5 –03 –7 –0 Washburn 2 –5 –04 –6 –0 No. T–18 Pittsburg State* 0 –7 –01 –9 –0 $ – Conference champion * – Pittsburg State forfeited conference wins over Kearney State, Missouri Southern, Missouri Western, Wayne State (NE), Emporia State, and Washburn. Rankings from NAIA Division I poll | 1978 Evergreen Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 8 Oregon College $^ 5 –1 –08 –2 –0 Eastern Washington 4 –2 –06 –4 –0 Oregon Tech 3 –3 –05 –4 –0 Eastern Oregon 3 –3 –05 –5 –0 Southern Oregon 3 –3 –04 –5 –0 Western Washington 3 –3 –04 –6 –0 Central Washington 0 –6 –00 –9 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Central Washington forfeited victories over Eastern Oregon, Oregon Tech, and Southern Oregon because of an inelgible player.Rankings from NAIA Division I poll |
| 1978 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 4 Grand Valley State $^ 5 –0 –09 –3 –0 Wayne State (MI) 4 –1 –05 –4 –0 Northwood 2 –3 –05 –4 –0 Saginaw Valley State 1 –3 –14 –5 –1 Ferris State 1 –3 –13 –5 –2 Hillsdale 1 –4 –05 –6 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division I playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division I poll | 1978 Lone Star Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 1 Angelo State $^ 7 –0 –014 –0 –0 No. 11 Abilene Christian 5 –2 –07 –3 –0 Sam Houston State 4 –3 –06 –5 –0 No. 20 Texas A&I 4 –3 –06 –5 –0 Southwest Texas State 3 –4 –06 –4 –0 Stephen F. Austin 3 –4 –03 –8 –0 East Texas State 2 –3 –04 –7 –0 Howard Payne 0 –7 –02 –8 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division I playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division I poll | 1978 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 1 Concordia–Moorhead * + 7 –1 –011 –1 –0 St. Olaf +^ 7 –1 –09 –2 –0 No. 15 Gustavus Adolphus 6 –2 –08 –2 –0 No. T–20 Saint John's (MN) 5 –3 –06 –3 –0 St. Thomas (MN) 4 –4 –05 –4 –0 Hamline 3 –4 –15 –4 –1 Augsburg 2 –5 –13 –6 –1 Bethel (MN) 1 –7 –02 –8 –0 Macalester 0 –8 –00 –9 –0 + – Conference co-champions^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant * – NAIA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division II poll |
| 1978 Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T East Central $ 4 –0 –04 –6 –0 NW Oklahoma State 3 –1 –06 –4 –0 Northeastern State 1 –2 –16 –3 –1 SW Oklahoma State 1 –2 –12 –6 –1 SE Oklahoma State 0 –4 –02 –7 –0 $ – Conference champion | 1978 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T East Division East Stroudsburg xy$ 5 –0 –010 –1 –0 Cheyney 4 –1 –06 –3 –0 Bloomsburg 3 –2 –06 –4 –0 Millersville 2 –3 –06 –3 –0 Kutztown 1 –4 –02 –7 –0 Mansfield 0 –5 –02 –8 –0 West Division No. 17 Clarion xy 5 –1 –08 –3 –0 Shippensburg x 5 –1 –07 –3 –0 Slippery Rock 4 –2 –06 –3 –0 Edinboro 3 –3 –03 –6 –1 Indiana (PA) 2 –4 –04 –5 –1 California (PA) 1 –4 –12 –7 –1 Lock Haven 0 –5 –11 –8 –1 Championship: East Stroudsburg 49, Clarion 4 $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-championsy – Championship game participantShippensburg was ineligible for conference title game.Rankings from NAIA Division I poll | 1978 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 3 Western State (CO) $^ 8 –0 –010 –1 –0 Southern Utah 5 –3 –07 –3 –0 Adams State 5 –3 –06 –4 –0 Western New Mexico 5 –3 –05 –4 –0 Fort Lewis 4 –4 –04 –6 –0 Mesa 4 –4 –04 –6 –0 Westminster (UT) 2 –6 –02 –7 –0 Colorado Mines 2 –6 –03 –7 –0 New Mexico Highlands 1 –7 –01 –9 –0 Southern Colorado * 0 –0 –08 –2 –0 $ – Conference champion^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant * – ineligible for conference titleRankings from NAIA Division I poll |
| 1978 South Atlantic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 2 Elon +^ 6 –0 –19 –1 –1 No. 13 Presbyterian + 6 –0 –18 –2 –1 No. T–18 Newberry 4 –3 –07 –3 –0 Lenoir–Rhyne 4 –3 –06 –5 –0 Mars Hill 2 –5 –05 –7 –0 Gardner–Webb 2 –5 –04 –5 –1 Catawba 2 –5 –04 –6 –0 Carson–Newman 1 –6 –02 –8 –0 + – Conference co-champions^ – NAIA Division I playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division I poll | 1978 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T Northern Division Shepherd xy 6 –3 –07 –4 –0 West Virginia Wesleyan 6 –3 –06 –3 –0 Fairmont State 5 –4 –05 –4 –1 Salem 4 –5 –04 –6 –0 West Liberty State 2 –7 –02 –8 –0 Southern Division No. 6 Concord xy$^ 8 –1 –010 –2 –0 West Virginia Tech 6 –3 –06 –3 –0 West Virginia State 6 –3 –06 –4 –0 Glenville State 1 –7 –02 –7 –0 Bluefield State 0 –9 –00 –10 –0 Championship: Concord 35, Shepherd 14 $ – Conference championx – Division champion/co-championsy – Championship game participant^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Conference standings based on power ratingsRankings from NAIA Division I poll | 1978 Wisconsin State University Conference football standings vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 7 Wisconsin–La Crosse +^ 7 –1 –09 –2 –0 Wisconsin–Whitewater + 7 –1 –07 –4 –0 No. 12 Wisconsin–Eau Claire 6 –2 –08 –2 –0 Wisconsin–Stout 5 –3 –07 –3 –0 Wisconsin–Oshkosh 3 –5 –04 –6 –0 Wisconsin–River Falls 3 –5 –04 –6 –0 Wisconsin–Stevens Point 2 –6 –04 –6 –0 Wisconsin–Platteville 2 –5 –03 –7 –0 Wisconsin–Superior 1 –7 –02 –9 –0 + – Conference co-champions^ – NAIA Division I playoff participantRankings from NAIA Division I poll |
| 1978 NAIA Division I independents football records vteConfOverall TeamW L TW L T No. 15 Cameron   –  7 –2 –1 No. 14 Kentucky State   –  7 –2 –1 Guilford   –  5 –4 –0 Eastern New Mexico   –  5 –6 –0 Liberty Baptist   –  4 –5 –1 Langston   –  3 –7 –0 Wofford   –  3 –8 –0 Rankings from NAIA Division I poll |

## Conference champions

| Conference | Champion | Record |
| Arkansas Intercollegiate | Central Arkansas | 6–0 |
| Central States | Kearney State | 7–0 |
| Evergreen | Oregon College | 5–1 |
| Great Lakes | Grand Valley State | 5–0 |
| Lone Star | Angelo State | 7–0 |
| NIC | Minnesota–Morris | 8–0 |
| Oklahoma | East Central State | 4–0 |
| PSAC | Clarion State Shippensburg State | 5–1 |
| RMAC | Western State | 8–0 |
| South Atlantic | Elon Presbyterian | 6–0–1 |
| SWAC | Grambling State | 5–0–1 |
| WVIAC | North: Shepherd South: Concord | 6–3 8–1 |
| Wisconsin State | Wisconsin–La Crosse Wisconsin–Whitewater | 7–1 7–1 |

## Postseason

| Quarterfinals December 2, 1978 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 2, 1978 Campus sites | Quarterfinals December 2, 1978 Campus sites | Semifinals December 9, 1978 Campus sites | Semifinals December 9, 1978 Campus sites | Semifinals December 9, 1978 Campus sites | 1978 Palm Bowl December 16, 1978 McAllen, TX | 1978 Palm Bowl December 16, 1978 McAllen, TX | 1978 Palm Bowl December 16, 1978 McAllen, TX |
| Grand Valley State | Grand Valley State | 24 | | | | | | |
| Wisconsin–La Crosse* | Wisconsin–La Crosse* | 14 | | | | | | |
| Wisconsin–La Crosse* | Wisconsin–La Crosse* | 14 | Grand Valley State | Grand Valley State | 7 | | | |
| | | | Elon* | Elon* | 13 | | | |
| Concord | Concord | 6 | Elon* | Elon* | 13 | | | |
| Elon* | Elon* | 21 | | | | | | |
| Elon* | Elon* | 21 | | | | Elon | Elon | 14 |
| | | | | | | Angelo State | Angelo State | 24 |
| Western State | Western State | 21 | | | | | | | Angelo State | Angelo State | 24 |
| Central Arkansas* | Central Arkansas* | 17 | | | | | | |
| Central Arkansas* | Central Arkansas* | 17 | Western State | Western State | 3 | | | |
| | | | Angelo State* | Angelo State* | 35 | | | |
| Oregon College | Oregon College | 0 | Angelo State* | Angelo State* | 35 | | | |
| Angelo State* | Angelo State* | 32 | | | | | | |