1973 small college football rankings

The 1973 small college football rankings are rankings of college football teams representing smaller college and university teams during the 1973 NCAA Division II, Division III, and NAIA football seasons. Separate rankings were published by the Associated Press (AP) and the United Press International (UPI). The AP rankings were selected by a board of sports writers, and the UPI rankings were selected by a board of small-college coaches.

Instead of using the polls to crown a national champion, 1973 was the first year for the Division II and III playoffs. The final UPI poll was released before the playoffs, and the final AP poll was released after the playoffs.

The 1973 Tennessee State Tigers football team (10–0) was rated No. 1 by both the AP and UPI. Louisiana Tech (12–1) was ranked No. 2 by the AP and No. 3 by the UPI and then defeated Western Kentucky in the NCAA Division II championship game. Wittenberg (12–0) was ranked No. 4 by the AP and No. 5 by the UPI and went on to defeat in the NCAA Division III championship game/Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.

HBCU rankings
Jet magazine ranked the top 1973 teams from historically black colleges and universities based on a poll of coaches and conference commissioners.

The poll was published on December 6.


 * 1. Tennessee State (10–0)
 * 2. Langston (11–1, NAIA)
 * 3. Grambling (10–3)
 * 4. Fisk (9–0)
 * 5. Virginia Union (9–1)
 * 6. Jackson State (9–2)
 * 7. Alcorn A&M (7–2–1)
 * 8. Bethune-Cookman (8–2)
 * 9. Howard (8–2)
 * 10. Livingstone (7–2–1)
 * 11. South Carolina State (7–3–1)
 * 12. Fort Valley State (7–2–1)
 * 13. North Carolina College (7–4)
 * 14. Albany State (6–2–1)
 * 15. Johnson C. Smith (7–4)
 * 16. Morgan State (6–3)
 * 17. Central State (6–3)
 * 18. Tuskegee (7–4)
 * 19. Southern (6–4)
 * 20. Alabama A&M (5–5)