The 1961 small college football rankings are rankings of college football teams representing smaller college and university teams during the 1961 college football season. Separate rankings were published by the Associated Press (AP) and the United Press International (UPI). The AP rankings were selected by a board of experts, and the UPI rankings were selected by a board of small-college coaches from throughout the country.
In its final rankings, the AP selected the 1961 Pittsburg State Gorillas football team as the small-college national champion. The Gorillas finished the season with a perfect 11–0 record, shut out seven opponents, and defeated Linfield in the Camellia Bowl. For its second through fifth spots, the AP selected four other undefeated teams: Baldwin–Wallace (9–0); Fresno State (10–0); Florida A&M (10–0); and Whittier (8–0).
The UPI board of coaches also selected Pittsburg as the small-college champion with first-place votes from 14 of the participating coaches and 250 total points. The UPI rated Baldwin–Wallace second, Mississippi Southern (8–2) third, and Southeastern Louisiana (9–1) fourth.[1]
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) also conducted a poll of coaches at the end of the 1961 regular season. Pittsburg was selected as the national champion in the NAIA poll.
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| Tied with team above or below also with this symbol |
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) also conducted a poll of coaches at the end of the 1961 regular season. The NAIA coaches poll ranked the top 20 teams, as presented in the below table.[2] Four teams advanced to the postseason, with Pittsburg winning the bracket tournament.
1. Pittsburg State
2. Baldwin–Wallace
3. Linfield
4. Whittier
5. Florida A&M
6. Northern State
7. Southeastern Louisiana
8. Tampa
9. Central State (OK)
10. McNeese State
11. Panhandle A&M
12. Parsons
13. Humboldt State
14. Millikin
15. Lenoir Rhyne
16. Ottawa (KS)
17. Arkansas Tech
18. Minnesota–Duluth
19. Missouri Valley
20. West Chester
Team participated in the NAIA postseason
The Pittsburgh Courier, a leading African American newspaper, ranked the top 1961 teams from historically black colleges and universities in an era when college football was often racially segregated.
The rankings were published on December 2:[3]