1959 small college football rankings

The 1959 small college football rankings are rankings of college football teams representing smaller college and university teams during the 1959 college football season, including the 1959 NCAA College Division football season and the 1959 NAIA football season. The rankings were prepared and published by United Press International (UPI). The Associated Press (AP) did not begin publishing small-college rankings until 1960.

The UPI's small-college rankings for 1959 were based on voting by the UPI's board of coaches. The undefeated 1959 Bowling Green Falcons football team outscored opponents 274 to 83 and was ranked first by wide margin with 24 first-place votes and 407 total points.

The 1959 Mississippi Southern Southerners football team (6–4), with losses to University Division Texas A&M and Auburn, were ranked second. Mississippi Southern had been named the small-college national champion in 1958. The UPI ranked 1959 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team at No. 3. The Blue Raiders also compiled an undefeated record (10–0–1) and went on to win the 1960 Tangerine Bowl. The 1959 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team (8–1), led by College Football Hall of Fame coach David M. Nelson, lost to Bowling Green and was ranked at No. 4. A third undefeated team, the 1959 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team (9–0), was ranked sixth.

Associated Negro Press rankings
The Associated Negro Press ranked the top 1959 teams from historically black colleges and universities in an era when college football was often racially segregated.

The rankings were published on December 18:
 * 1. Florida A&M (10–0)
 * 2. Tennessee A&I (9–1)
 * 3. Southern (8–2)
 * 4. Prairie View A&M (9–2)
 * 5. North Carolina A&T (6–2)
 * 6. Morris Brown (6–3)
 * 7. Texas Southern (7–3)
 * 8. Jackson State (6–4)
 * 9. Winston-Salem State (6–2)
 * 10. Virginia Union (7–0–2)
 * 11. Lincoln (MO) (6–2–1)
 * 12. Maryland State (6–1–1)
 * 13. Clark (6–1–2)
 * 14. Bethune-Cookman (5–2)
 * 15. Virginia State (7–2)
 * 16. North Carolina College (4–4–1)
 * 17. St. Augustine's (7–2)
 * 18. Norfolk State (7–1–1)
 * 19. Grambling (5–5)
 * 20. Fort Valley State (5–3–1)
 * 21. Kentucky State (3–5–1)
 * 22. Central State (4–3–1)
 * 23. Morehouse (5–2–1)
 * 24. Knoxville (4–2)
 * 25. Tuskegee (4–4–1)