1961 NAIA football season

The 1961 NAIA football season, as part of the 1961 college football season in the United States, was the sixth season of college football sponsored by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The season was played from August to December 1961, culminating in the sixth annual NAIA Football National Championship, played this year at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California. During its three years in Sacramento, the game was called the Camellia Bowl (separate from the present day bowl game with the same name in Montgomery, Alabama).

1961 NAIA football season
Regular season	August–December 1961
Postseason	December 2–9, 1961
National Championship	Hughes Stadium Sacramento, CA
Champion	Pittsburg State (2)

Pittsburg State defeated Linfield in the championship game, 12–7, to win their second NAIA national title and first since 1957.[1]

Conference standings

1961 Badger-Gopher Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Lakeland $ 4 – 0 – 0     4 – 3 – 1 Northland 3 – 1 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Bethel (MN) 2 – 2 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Milton 1 – 3 – 0     4 – 3 – 0 Northwestern (WI) 0 – 4 – 0     1 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1961 Carolinas Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Lenoir–Rhyne $ 6 – 1 – 0     8 – 1 – 1 Appalachian State 5 – 1 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 Newberry 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 5 – 1 East Carolina 4 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 1 Elon 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Catawba 3 – 4 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Western Carolina 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Guilford 0 – 7 – 0     0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Pittsburg State $^ 5 – 0 – 0     11 – 0 – 0 Omaha 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Fort Hays State 3 – 2 – 0     4 – 4 – 1 St. Benedict's 2 – 3 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 Emporia State 1 – 4 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 Washburn 0 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant
1961 Evergreen Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Central Washington $ 6 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Whitworth * 6 – 1 – 0     ? – ? – ? Western Washington 4 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Puget Sound 3 – 3 – 1     5 – 3 – 1 Pacific Lutheran 1 – 5 – 1     2 – 6 – 1 Eastern Washington 0 – 7 – 0     0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion * – on probation; ineligible for conference title	1961 Frontier Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Arizona State–Flagstaff $ 1 – 0 – 1     3 – 5 – 1 New Mexico Western 1 – 1 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 New Mexico Highlands 0 – 1 – 1     3 – 3 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1961 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Parsons $ 8 – 0 – 0     9 – 0 – 0 Luther 6 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Central (IA) 5 – 3 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Upper Iowa 5 – 3 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Dubuque 4 – 4 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Buena Vista 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Iowa Wesleyan 3 – 5 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Wartburg 2 – 6 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 Simpson 0 – 8 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1961 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Ottawa $ 9 – 0 – 0     9 – 0 – 0 College of Emporia 8 – 1 – 0     8 – 1 – 0 Southwestern (KS) 6 – 2 – 1     6 – 2 – 1 Baker 6 – 3 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Bethany (KS) 3 – 4 – 2     3 – 4 – 2 Kansas Wesleyan 4 – 5 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Bethel (KS) 3 – 6 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 McPherson 3 – 6 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Sterling 1 – 8 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 Friends 0 – 8 – 1     0 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1961 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Minnesota–Duluth $ 7 – 0 – 0     8 – 1 – 0 Saint John's (MN) 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 St. Thomas (MN) 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Macalester 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Augsburg 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Concordia (MN) 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Gustavus Adolphus 1 – 6 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 Hamline 0 – 7 – 0     1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Missouri College Athletic Union football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Missouri Valley $ 4 – 0 – 0     9 – 0 – 1 William Jewell 3 – 1 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 Graceland 3 – 2 – 0     5 – 2 – 2 Tarkio 2 – 3 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 Central Methodist 0 – 2 – 1     1 – 6 – 1 Culver–Stockton 0 – 4 – 1     1 – 6 – 2 $ – Conference champion
1961 Montana Collegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Western Montana $ 5 – 0 – 0     7 – 1 – 1 Eastern Montana 4 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Carroll (MT) 2 – 2 – 1     4 – 3 – 1 Montana Northern 2 – 3 – 0     2 – 5 – 0 Rocky Mountain 1 – 4 – 0     ? – ? – ? Montana Mines 0 – 4 – 1     ? – ? – ? $ – Conference champion	1961 Nebraska College Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Peru State $ 5 – 0 – 1     7 – 1 – 1 Kearney State 4 – 2 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Hastings 3 – 2 – 1     4 – 4 – 1 Doane 2 – 2 – 2     5 – 2 – 2 Wayne State (NE) 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Chadron State 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Nebraska Wesleyan 0 – 6 – 0     0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 North Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Mayville State $ 6 – 0 – 0     8 – 0 – 0 Wahpeton Science 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 Dickinson State 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Jamestown 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Minot State 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Valley City State 1 – 5 – 0     1 – 7 – 0 Ellendale 0 – 6 – 0     0 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1961 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Central State (OK) + 6 – 1 – 0     9 – 1 – 0 Langston + 6 – 1 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Panhandle A&M 4 – 1 – 0     9 – 2 – 0 East Central 3 – 4 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 SE Oklahoma State 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Northeastern State 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 SW Oklahoma State 2 – 5 – 0     2 – 8 – 0 NW Oklahoma State 1 – 6 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 Oregon Collegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Southern Oregon $ 4 – 0 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Oregon College 2 – 1 – 1     4 – 3 – 1 Portland State 2 – 2 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 Oregon Tech 1 – 2 – 1     4 – 5 – 1 Eastern Oregon 0 – 4 – 0     1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1961 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Northern State $^ 6 – 0 – 0     9 – 1 – 0 Huron 5 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Southern State 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 South Dakota Tech 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 Black Hills 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 Dakota Wesleyan 2 – 4 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 General Beadle 0 – 6 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA playoff participant
1961 Tri-State Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Midland $ 5 – 1 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 Dana 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Westmar 4 – 2 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Northwestern (IA) 3 – 3 – 0     3 – 4 – 1 Concordia (NE) 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Yankton 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Sioux Falls 1 – 5 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion

Postseason

	Semifinals December 2, 1961					Championship December 9, 1961 Camellia Bowl[2]
	Whittier		7
	Linfield*		18
						Linfield		7
						Pittsburg State		12
	Northern State (SD)		14
	Pittsburg State*		28

References

1. "NAIA Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
2. "1961 NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 13, 2015.