The 1970 NCAA University Division football season was ranked first in the preseason AP poll. From December 12, 1970 to January 2, 1971, Texas Bowl games were contested. Champion (s) Nebraska (AP, FWAA) Texas (Coaches, NFF) was the only consensus title; however, several other teams had strong cases. In its first season of competition, the College Football Playoff consisted of four regions that selected their own national champions. The 1970 CFP began with a New Year's Day game between #1 Texas and #4 Colorado. The Longhorns defeated the Buffaloes 33-14 at Austin's Royal Brougham Stadium before a crowd of 78,821. It was the largest audience ever to watch a college football game on New Year's Day.
In the final week of the regular season, #3 Nebraska faced off against undefeated Iowa in front of 93,000 fans at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. The game was for all the marbles - the winner would play Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. With time running out and trailing 21-7, Nebraska scored two touchdowns in the final minute to win 28-27. This is when the story really begins to take shape. He was right! The Cornhuskers went on to beat Ohio State 30-22 in the Sugar Bowl to claim their first national championship.
Eleven Bowl Matches
| Date | Bowl | |
|---|---|---|
| 1971-01-01 | Rose Bowl | Stanford (12) |
| 1971-01-01 | Sugar Bowl | Tennessee (4) |
| 1970-12-31 | Bluebonnet Bowl | Oklahoma (20) |
| 1970-12-30 | Peach Bowl | Arizona State (8) |
The 1970 NFL season was the league's 51st regular season, and the first following the AFL-NFL merger... merger between the NFL and the AFL.
| Eastern | Western |
|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | Denver Broncos |
| Miami Dolphins | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Boston Patriots | Oakland Raiders |
| New York Jets | San Diego Chargers |
Results of the AFC Championship Game in NFL History
| Date | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 3, 1971 | Baltimore Colts | 27-17 |
| Jan. 4, 1970 | Kansas City Chiefs | 17-7 |
| Dec. 29, 1968 | New York Jets | 27-23 |
| Dec. 31, 1967 | Oakland Raiders | 40-7 |
On March 25, 1970, the NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament/Teams were held. It was the first year that the tournament started on a Friday and Sunday, instead of Saturday and Monday.
There were 12 schools in the tournament. Georgetown was ineligible because it had not yet graduated from college. Therefore, it could not join a new league like other school would be able to do. The remaining 11 schools all joined a new conference before the start of the season. These conferences included the ACC, America East, Atlantic 10, Big Sky, CAA (now known as the Colonial Athletic Association), Horizon, Ivy League, MAC (now known as the Mid-American Conference), Missouri Valley, and Pac-8 (now known as the Pacific Coast).
In addition to the 12 original teams, two more teams were added in the first round: Houston and Southern California. Both programs had been members of the Pacific 8, but they left after one season to join the ABA and NBA respectively. In fact, both leagues declared bankruptcy after just one season.
The tournament ended with Michigan State defeating UCLA 75-69 in the championship game. MSU's Jud Heathcote was named the tournament's MVP.
During the 1968 NCAA University Division football season, the Texas Longhorns represented the University of Texas in Austin. Texas Longhorns-Texas Football Official Website Archived from the original on November 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. MackBrown-TexasFootball.com. On the 13th of June, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
They were coached by Darrell Royal who had been hired away from an impressive 10-year run at Southwest Texas State. His first year at Texas resulted in a 7-3 record and a tie for the Southwest Conference championship with Arkansas. The following year, 1969, Royal led the Longhorns to their first undefeated regular season (10-0) and their first conference title. In 1970, Royal took his team to its first Bowl Game in Santa Clara, California. There they defeated Washington 14-7 in what is still considered one of the greatest college football games ever played. After three more winning seasons, Royal left Texas for Georgia where he would go on to win another national championship. He was replaced by freshman Jim Carlisle who had been recruited by Royal to play quarterback for the Rangers.
In 1971, Carlisle led the Longhorns to their first #1 ranking and their first Cotton Bowl appearance. That year's squad finished with an 8-4 record but failed to capture either conference or overall championship honors.
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