1963 NCAA University Division football season
American college football season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 1963 NCAA University Division football season was played by American football teams representing 120 colleges and universities recognized the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as major programs. The remaining 299 colleges and universities that were NCAA members and fielded football teams competed in the 1963 NCAA College Division football season.[2]
1963 NCAA University Division football season | ||||
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Preseason AP No. 1 | USC[1] | |||
Regular season | September 20 – December 7, 1963 | |||
Number of bowls | 8 | |||
Bowl games | December 21, 1963 – January 1, 1964 | |||
Champion(s) | Texas (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) | |||
Heisman | Roger Staubach (quarterback, Navy) | |||
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During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the major college football teams in the University Division, later known as Division I-A. The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The AP poll in 1963 consisted of the votes of 56 sportswriters, each of whom would give their opinion of the ten best teams. Under a point system of 10 points for first place, 9 for second, etc., the "overall" ranking was determined. Although the rankings were based on the collective opinion of the representative sportswriters, the teams that remained "unbeaten and untied" were generally ranked higher than those that had not. A defeat, even against a strong opponent, tended to cause a team to drop in the rankings, and a team with two or more defeats was unlikely to remain in the Top 10. The top teams played on New Year's Day in the four major postseason bowl games: the Rose (near Los Angeles at Pasadena), Sugar (New Orleans), Orange (Miami) and Cotton (Dallas).
As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press (AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by United Press International (UPI). Both services issued their final polls at the close of the regular season, but before teams competed in bowl games. The Associated Press presented the "AP Trophy" to the winner. At the end of the 1963 season, the No. 1 and No. 2 teams (Texas and Navy) met in the Cotton Bowl on January 1, with Texas winning 28 to 6.
In the preseason poll for 1963, the defending national champion USC Trojans were first with 484 points, followed by the Mississippi Rebels with 389 points.