The 1978 NCAA Division III football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division III level, began in August 1978, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship in December 1978 at Garrett–Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. The Baldwin–Wallace Yellow Jackets won their first Division III championship, defeating the by a score of 24−10.

Conference standings

Conference champions Conference championsCollege Athletic Conference – Southwestern at Memphis and Sewanee College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin – Elmhurst and Millikin Independent College Athletic Conference – Ithaca Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Buena Vista, Central (IA), Dubuque, and Luther Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Hope Middle Atlantic Conference – Lycoming (North), Widener (South) Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference – Cornell College and Ripon Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Concordia–Moorhead and St. Olaf New England Football Conference – Boston State and Nichols New Jersey State Athletic Conference – Montclair State Northwest Conference – Linfield Old Dominion Athletic Conference – Randolph-Macon Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference – East Stroudsburg Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - Clark Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Redlands Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Tarleton State Twin Rivers Conference – Northwestern (WI) Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Wisconsin–La Crosse and Wisconsin–Whitewater

Postseason The 1978 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the sixth annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama for the sixth consecutive year. Like the previous three championships, eight teams competed in this edition.

Playoff bracket

See also 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season 1978 NCAA Division II football season 1978 NAIA Division I football season 1978 NAIA Division II football season

References