AP Small College Football National Champions
From Varsity Pride
The Associated Press began selecting a small-college football national champion in 1960, two years after United Press International began doing so. This continued through the 1974 season, after which the playoffs in Division II and Division III made the exercise irrelevant. As with the UPI, in the fifteen years of the UPI selection only two teams which are not currently in Division I earned the honor: Pittsburg State (currently in Division II) in 1961, and Wittenberg (currently in Division III) in 1964.
| 1960 | Ohio |
| 1961 | Pittsburg State |
| 1962 | Florida A&M† |
| 1963 | Northern Illinois† |
| 1964 | Wittenberg† |
| 1965 | North Dakota State |
| 1966 | San Diego State |
| 1967 | San Diego State (2) |
| 1968 | North Dakota State (2)† |
| 1969 | North Dakota State (3) |
| 1970 | Arkansas State |
| 1971 | Delaware (2) |
| 1972 | Delaware (3) |
| 1973 | Tennessee State |
| 1974 | Central Michigan† |
† - United Press International did not concur, selecting a different champion.
