1959_NCAA_College_Division_football_rankings References

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 the United Press International (UPI). (The 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.^[1]

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.

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
(#–#)		Win–loss record
(Italics)		Number of first place votes
т		Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

The UPI coaches poll

	Week 1 Sept 24^[2]	Week 2 Oct 1^[3]	Week 3 Oct 8^[4]	Week 4 Oct 15^[5]	Week 5 Oct 22^[6]	Week 6 Oct 29^[7]	Week 7 Nov 5^[8]	Week 8 Nov 12^[9]	Week 9 Nov 19^[10]	Week 10 Nov 26^[11]
1.	Mississippi Southern (11)	Mississippi Southern (1–0) (27)	Mississippi Southern (1–1) (22)	Mississippi Southern (2–1) (32)	Mississippi Southern (3–1) (32)	Mississippi Southern (4–1) (32)	Delaware (6–0) (18)	Delaware (7–0) (23)	Bowling Green (8–0) (20)	Bowling Green (9–0) (23)	1.
2.	West Chester (7)	Miami (OH) (1–0) (4)	Miami (OH) (2–0) (9)	West Chester (3–0) (2)	Delaware (4–0) (1)	Delaware (5–0) (2)	Mississippi Southern (4–2) (13)	Mississippi Southern (5–2) (7)	Mississippi Southern (6–2) (5)	Mississippi Southern (6–3) (5)	2.
3.	Chattanooga (2) т	West Chester (2–0) (5)	East Texas State (3–0) (3)	Delaware (3–0) (2)	West Chester (4–0) (2)	Miami (OH) (4–1) (1)	West Chester (6–0) (2)	Bowling Green (7–0) (4)	Middle Tennessee (9–0) (3)	Middle Tennessee (9–0) (2)	3.
4.	East Texas State (2) т	East Texas State (2–0) (1)	West Chester (2–0) (2)	Montana State (3–1) (1)	Miami (OH) (3–1)	West Chester (5–0)	Bowling Green (6–0) (4)	Middle Tennessee (8–0) (2)	Delaware (7–1) (4)	Delaware (8–1) (1)	4.
5.	Connecticut (1)	Xavier (3–0)	Buffalo (2–0) (1)	Miami (OH) (2–1)	Middle Tennessee (5–0) (2)	Middle Tennessee (6–0) (1)	Middle Tennessee (7–0) (3)	East Texas State (7–1)	East Texas State (8–1)	East Texas State (9–1)	5.
6.	Miami (OH) (1)	Montana State (2–0) (1)	Chattanooga (2–1)	Middle Tennessee (4–0)	Ohio (4–0)	Bowling Green (5–0) (3)	East Texas State (6–1)	West Chester (6–1)	Western Illinois (9–0) (1)	Western Illinois (9–0)	6.
7.	Xavier (3)	Chattanooga (1–1)	Montana State (2–1) (1)	East Texas State (3–1) (1)	East Texas State (4–1)	East Texas State (5–1)	Miami (OH) (4–2) (1)	Memphis State (5–2) (1)	West Chester (7–1)	Memphis State (5–4)	7.
8.	Arizona State–Flagstaff (2)	Buffalo (1–0)	Middle Tennessee (3–0) (1)	Ohio (3–0) (3)	Bowling Green (4–0)	Buffalo (4–1)	Memphis State (5–2) (2)	Miami (OH) (5–2)	Memphis State (5–3)	Louisiana Tech (8–1) (2)	8.
9.	Northeastern State (1)	Northeastern State (2–1)	Delaware (2–0)	Chattanooga (2–2)	Buffalo (3–1)	Lamar Tech (7–0) (1)	Buffalo (4–1)	Western Illinois (8–0)	Ohio (7–1)	Ohio (7–2)	9.
10.	Middle Tennessee	Arizona State–Flagstaff (1–2)	Xavier (3–1)	Buffalo (2–1)	Montana State (3–2)	Ohio (4–1)	Western Illinois (7–0)	Buffalo (5–1)	Louisiana Tech (6–1)	West Chester (7–1)	10.
11.	Hillsdale	Memphis State	Ohio	Bowling Green (1)	Lamar Tech т	Western Illinois	Ohio	Hillsdale	Buffalo т	Lenoir–Rhyne (1)	11.
12.	Cal Poly	Middle Tennessee	Arizona State–Flagstaff	Lamar Tech	Bucknell т	Montana State	Lamar Tech	Ohio	Lenoir–Rhyne т	Buffalo	12.
13.	Montana State (1)	Connecticut	Northeastern State	Arizona State–Flagstaff	Hillsdale	Louisiana Tech	Hillsdale	Lenoir–Rhyne	Butler	Butler	13.
14.	Memphis State (1)	Bowling Green (1)	Lamar Tech	Memphis State т	Memphis State	Hillsdale	Lenoir–Rhyne	Louisiana Tech т	Hillsdale	Florida A&M	14.
15.	Gustavus Adolphus	Hillsdale	McMurry	Hillsdale т	Chattanooga т	Memphis State	Montana State	Montana State т	Miami (OH)	Hillsdale	15.
16.	Northern Illinois	Delaware т	Hillsdale	Northeastern State	Kent State т	Lenoir–Rhyne	Arizona State–Flagstaff	Lamar Tech	Presbyterian	Idaho State	16.
17.	Lamar Tech	Butler т	Bowling Green	Butler	Western Illinois	Presbyterian т	Butler	Butler	Northern Illinois т	San Francisco State	17.
18.	Butler	Lamar Tech	Western Illinois т	Kent State	Lenoir–Rhyne т	Arizona State–Flagstaff т	Chattanooga	Idaho State т	Tennessee State т	Presbyterian	18.
19.	Toledo	McMurry	Louisiana Tech т	Texas A&I т	Arizona State–Flagstaff т	Chattanooga	Presbyterian	William Jewell т	Idaho State	Miami (OH)	19.
20.	Pittsburg State т	Fresno State	Butler	Xavier т	Louisiana Tech	Tennessee State A&I	Louisiana Tech	Florida A&M	Montana State	McMurry т	20.
21.	Buffalo т			Louisiana Tech т						Hofstra т	21.
22.	Central Michigan т										22.
23.	UMass т										23.
	Week 1 Sept 24^[2]	Week 2 Oct 1^[3]	Week 3 Oct 8^[4]	Week 4 Oct 15^[5]	Week 5 Oct 22^[6]	Week 6 Oct 29^[7]	Week 7 Nov 5^[8]	Week 8 Nov 12^[9]	Week 9 Nov 19^[10]	Week 10 Nov 26^[11]
		Dropped: 12 Cal Poly 15 Gustavus Adolphus 16 Northern Illinois 19 Toledo 20 Pittsburg State 20 Central Michigan 20 UMass	Dropped: 11 Memphis State 13 Connecticut 20 Fresno State	Dropped: 15 McMurry 18 Western Illinois	Dropped: 16 Northeastern State 17 Butler 19 Texas A&I 20 Xavier	Dropped: 12 Bucknell 16 Kent State	Dropped: 20 Tennessee State A&I	Dropped: 16 Arizona State–Flagstaff 18 Chattanooga 19 Presbyterian	Dropped: 16 Lamar Tech 19 William Jewell 20 Florida A&M	Dropped: 17 Northern Illinois 18 Tennessee State 20 Montana State

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:^[12]

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)

References

^ "Post Perfect Record: Bowling Green Voted Small College Champs". Tyrone Daily Herald. November 27, 1959. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Mississippi Southern Tops Small Colleges". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. September 24, 1959. p. 11. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Small College Grid Ratings". Simpson's Leader-Times. Kittanning, Pennsylvania. October 1, 1959. p. 10. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Small College Poll Shows Miami 2nd". Palladium-Item. Richmond, Indiana. October 8, 1959. p. 8. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Small College Football Poll". Galesburg Register-Mail. Galesburg, Illinois. October 15, 1959. p. 14. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Delaware Ranks Second In UPI Grid Poll; Miss. Southern Holds Top Spot". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. October 22, 1959. p. 32. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Mississippi Southern Paces Small Colleges". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Corvallis, Oregon. October 29, 1959. p. 11. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Grid Powers". Lead Daily Call. Lead, South Dakota. November 5, 1959. p. 2. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Hens, Southerners Still Ranked 1-2". The Monroe Star. Monroe, Louisiana. November 12, 1959. p. 1-D. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "La. Tech Ranked 10th in UPI Poll". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. November 19, 1959. p. 5-E. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bowling Green Voted Small College Champs". Tyrone Daily Herald. Tyrone, Pennsylvania. November 27, 1959. p. 6. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Luix Virgil Overbea (December 18, 1959). "The Huddle—Top 25: Final Pigskin Ratings". San Antonio Register (p. 3).

[1] "Post Perfect Record: Bowling Green Voted Small College Champs". Tyrone Daily Herald. November 27, 1959. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "Mississippi Southern Tops Small Colleges". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. September 24, 1959. p. 11. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "Small College Grid Ratings". Simpson's Leader-Times. Kittanning, Pennsylvania. October 1, 1959. p. 10. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] "Small College Poll Shows Miami 2nd". Palladium-Item. Richmond, Indiana. October 8, 1959. p. 8. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Small College Football Poll". Galesburg Register-Mail. Galesburg, Illinois. October 15, 1959. p. 14. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] "Delaware Ranks Second In UPI Grid Poll; Miss. Southern Holds Top Spot". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. October 22, 1959. p. 32. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] "Mississippi Southern Paces Small Colleges". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Corvallis, Oregon. October 29, 1959. p. 11. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] "Grid Powers". Lead Daily Call. Lead, South Dakota. November 5, 1959. p. 2. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] "Hens, Southerners Still Ranked 1-2". The Monroe Star. Monroe, Louisiana. November 12, 1959. p. 1-D. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[10] "La. Tech Ranked 10th in UPI Poll". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. November 19, 1959. p. 5-E. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[11] "Bowling Green Voted Small College Champs". Tyrone Daily Herald. Tyrone, Pennsylvania. November 27, 1959. p. 6. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[12] Luix Virgil Overbea (December 18, 1959). "The Huddle—Top 25: Final Pigskin Ratings". San Antonio Register (p. 3).

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v t e NCAA college football rankings
Pre-divisional	1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909–1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
NCAA University Division	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
NCAA Division I	1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
NCAA Division I-A/FBS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Small college	1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974
NCAA Division II	1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
NCAA Division III	2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Polls	AP poll Coaches Poll