1974 Michigan Tech Huskies football team

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]

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 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. 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. "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. "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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