1974 Michigan Tech Huskies football
NIC champion
ConferenceNorthern Intercollegiate Conference
Record9–0 (6–0 NIC)
Head coach
  • Jim Kapp (2nd season)
Home stadiumSherman Field
1974 Northern Intercollegiate Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Michigan Tech $ 6 –0 –09 –0 –0
St. Cloud State 5 –1 –05 –5 –0
Winona State 3 –3 –05 –4 –0
Moorhead State 3 –3 –04 –5 –0
Southwest State (MN) 2 –4 –04 –5 –0
Minnesota Morris 2 –4 –03 –7 –0
Bemidji State 0 –6 –02 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion

The 1974 Michigan Tech Huskies football team was an American football team that represented Michigan Technological University as a member of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (NIC) during the 1974 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics NAIA season. In their second year under head coach Jim Kapp, the Huskies compiled a perfect 9–0 record, won the NIC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 269 to 90.[1][2] It was Michigan Tech's first perfect season since the 1948 team went 7–0. It was also the program's first nine-win season,[3] and its fourth NIC championship in six years.[4]

The team played its home games on Sherman Field in Houghton, Michigan.

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 7at Northwood*Midland, MIW 15–131,500[5]
September 14at Alma*Alma, MIW 21–102,500
September 21at St. Cloud StateSt. Cloud, MNW 3–03,000[6][7]
September 28Winona State
W 32–212,500[8][9]
October 5at Bemidji StateBemidji, MNW 62–63,250[10]
October 12Moorhead State
  • Sherman Field
  • Houghton, MI
W 19–03,800[11]
October 19at Minnesota MorrisMorris, MNW 24–122,300[12]
October 26Southwest State (MN)
  • Sherman Field
  • Houghton, MN
W 76–282,700[4]
November 2Ferris State*
  • Sherman Field
  • Houghton, MI
W 17–02,100[13]
  • *Non-conference game

[14]

Jim Van Wagner

Jim Van Wagner, a 195-pound sophomore tailback from Novi, Michigan, led the team with 1,452 rushing yards,[13] breaking Michigan Tech's single-season record set by Larry Ras in 1971.[2] He led all Division II players with an average of 161.4 rushing yards per game.[2][15] Sports Illustrated wrote of Van Wagner:

As a soph in 1974 he led Division II in rushing with 1,453 yards. Archie Griffin and Anthony Davis made national headlines, but that November VanWagner had perhaps the most productive month a running back ever had. He gained 231 yards in just 16 carries against Bemidji, rushed a conference record 48 times for 217 yards in a win over Minnesota-Morris that clinched the Northern Intercollegiate Conference title and then rambled through Southwest State for 286 yards and six touchdowns in 30 carries.[16]

Records and awards

In a 76–28 victory over Southwest State (MN), the Huskies set several NIC single-game records, including total offense (670 yards), rushing yards (511), touchdowns (11), and points (76). Van Wagner also established new individual single-game records against Southwest State with 286 rushing yards and six touchdowns.[4]

After the season, Jim Kapp was named "NIC Football Coach of the Year", and six Michigan Tech players received first-team honors on the 1974 All-NIC team selected by the conference coaches. The first-team players were: sophomore tailback Jim Van Wagner; senior fullback Keith Morrison; senior tight end Dave Sprik; senior offensive guard Dan Rhude; junior offensive guard Tom Van Wagner; and junior linebacker Kurt Anderson. Rhude also received the NIC's "Glen Galligan Award" as the NIC's outstanding senior student-athlete.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Michigan Tech Yearly Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Gary Larson (November 8, 1974). "Michigan Tech waiting". St. Cloud Daily Times. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Michigan Tech Yearly Totals". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "NIC Sport Review: Tech swamps Southwest to post unbeaten season". The Pioneer. Bemidji, Minnesota. November 1, 1974. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Michigan Tech clips Northwood". Battle Creek Enquirer and News. September 8, 1974. p. C2 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Michigan Tech squeaks by St. Cloud". Battle Creek Enquirer and News. September 22, 1974. p. C3 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "MTU tops St. Cloud 3-0". The Winona Daily News. September 22, 1974. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "MTU's James boys gun down WSC". The Winona Daily News. September 29, 1974. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Tech Sets Record Defeating Winona". Green Bay Press-Gazette. September 29, 1974. p. D4 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Michigan Tech rolls, 62-6". Battle Creek Enquirer and News. October 6, 1974. p. C2 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Tech Blanks Moorhead". Green Bay Press-Gazette. October 13, 1974. p. D8 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Unbeaten Michigan Tech defeats Morris 24-12". Minneapolis Tribune. October 20, 1974. p. 9C – via Newspapers.com.
  13. 1 2 "Tech End Perfect, 17-0". Detroit Free Press. November 3, 1974. p. 6E – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Final 1974 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  15. ↑ "McMillan Dominates Division II Listings". San Angelo Standard. Associated Press. November 8, 1974. p. 3B – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Mike Delnagro (October 11, 1976). "A Rambling Wreck for Another Tech: This One's in Michigan, Where Jim Van Wagner Is a Heckuva Runner". Sports Illustrated.
  17. ↑ "Whelan only Beaver on NIC All-Conference team". The Pioneer. Bemidji, Minnesota. November 20, 1974. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
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