1992 NAIA Division I football season

The 1992 NAIA Division I football season was the 37th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA, was the 23rd season of play of the NAIA's top division for football.

1992 NAIA Division I football season
Regular season	August–November 1992
Postseason	November 21–December 12, 1992
National Championship	Ernest W. Spangler Stadium Boiling Springs, NC
Champions	Central State (OH) (2)
← 1991 NAIA Division I football season 1993 →

The season was played from August to November 1992 and culminated in the 1992 NAIA Champion Bowl playoffs and the 1992 NAIA Champion Bowl, played this year on December 12, 1992 at Ernest W. Spangler Stadium in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, on the campus of Gardner–Webb College.^[1]

The Central State (OH) defeated the Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs in the Champion Bowl, 19–16, to win their second NAIA national title.^[2] It was the Marauders' third consecutive appearance in the Champion Bowl, going 1–1 in the previous two.

Conference standings

1992 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Central Arkansas $^ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 1 No. T–7 Harding ^ 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 No. 16 Arkansas–Monticello 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Henderson State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 1 Arkansas Tech 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 1 Ouachita Baptist 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Southern Arkansas 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1992 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 14 Northern State $ 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 No. 13 Southwest State (MN) 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Minnesota Duluth 4 – 1 – 1 5 – 5 – 1 Moorhead State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Bemidji State 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Winona State 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 Minnesota Morris 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1992 Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 SW Oklahoma State +^ 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 10 East Central + 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 No. 11 Northeastern State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 2 No. 12 SE Oklahoma State 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 NW Oklahoma State 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 1 Langston 0 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll
1992 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 Shepherd $^ 7 – 0 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 No. T–7 Concord ^ 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 1 No. 15 Glenville State 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 No. 17 West Virginia State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Fairmont State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 West Liberty State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 West Virginia Wesleyan 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 West Virginia Tech 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1992 South Atlantic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Gardner–Webb $^ 7 – 0 – 0 12 – 2 – 0 No. 5 Carson–Newman ^ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 No. 9 Elon 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Catawba 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Presbyterian 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 No. 18 Lenoir–Rhyne 2 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Mars Hill 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 1 Wingate 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll	1992 NAIA Division I independents football records v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Central State (OH) ^   –   12 – 1 – 0 No. 20 St. Francis (IL)   –   4 – 5 – 0 No. 19 Western New Mexico   –   4 – 5 – 0 ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

Conference champions

Conference	Champion	Record
AIC	Central Arkansas	6–0
Northern Sun	Northern State (SD)	5–1
Oklahoma	East Central Southwestern Oklahoma State	4–1
WVIAC	Shepherd	7–0

Rankings

Final NAIA Division I poll rankings:

Rank	Team (first place votes)	Record (thru Nov. 15)	Points
1	Central State (OH) (8)	9–1	216
2	Central Arkansas (2)	8–1–1	210
3	Gardner–Webb	10-1	198
4	Southwestern Oklahoma State	8–1	185
5	Carson–Newman	8–2	166
6	Shepherd	7–3	156
T–7	Concord (1)	7–2–1	144
T–7	Harding	7–3	144
9	Elon	7–3	140
10	East Central	6–3	131
11	Northeastern State	5–2–2	114
12	Southeastern Oklahoma State	6–4	89
13	Southwest State (MN)	6–3–1	79
14	Northern State	6–5	74
15	Glenville State	6–4	69
16	Arkansas–Monticello	6–4	63
17	West Virginia State	6–4	58
18	Lenoir–Rhyne	5–5	32
19	Western New Mexico	4–5	22
20	St. Francis (IL)	4–5	13

^[3]

Postseason

	Quarterfinals November 21, 1992 Campus sites					Semifinals December 5, 1992 Campus sites					1992 Champion Bowl December 12, 1992 Boiling Springs, NC
	Central Arkansas		14
	SW Oklahoma State*		2
						Central Arkansas		23
						Central State (OH)*		30
	Central State (OH)		34
	Harding*		0
											Central State (OH)		19
											Gardner–Webb*		16
	Shepherd		6
	Carson–Newman*		3
						Shepherd		7
						Gardner–Webb*		22
	Concord		21
	Gardner–Webb*		28

See also

• 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 1992 NCAA Division I-AA football season
• 1992 NCAA Division II football season
• 1992 NCAA Division III football season

References

1. (PDF). NAIA. pp. 4–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
2. "1992 Division I NAIA Football Playoffs". JonFMorse.com. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
3. "NAIA Division I Poll". Argus Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. November 17, 1992. p. 2C. Retrieved May 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .