| Year: | 1961 |
| Team: | Northern State Wolves |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference |
| Short Conf: | SDIC |
| Record: | 9–1 |
| Conf Record: | 6–0 |
| Head Coach: | Clark Swisher |
| Hc Year: | 16th |
| Stadium: | Simmons Field |
| Champion: | SDIC champion |
| Bowl: | NAIA Semifinal |
| Bowl Result: | L 14–28 at Pittsburg State |
The 1961 Northern State Wolves football team was an American football team that represented Northern State Teachers College (now known as Northern State University) as a member of the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference (SDIC) during the 1961 college football season. In their 16th year under head coach Clark Swisher, the Wolves compiled a 9–0 record in the regular season (6–0 in conference games), won the SDIC championship, outscored opponents by a total of 357 to 82, and were ranked No. 6 in the final NAIA poll.[1] [2] Northern State then lost to the eventual national champion, Pittsburg State, in an NAIA semifinal playoff game. The team played home games at Simmons Field in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
Senior fullback Jim Vogt scored 22 points against Dakota Wesleyan,[3] and was one of the nation's leading rushers and scorers, but he was lost to the team after sustaining a chipped vertebrae and near fracture in his neck.[4]