1978 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 1978 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament was the 8th annual Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. Twelve NCAA Division I college men's lacrosse teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament.


1978 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
The championship game was hosted by Rutgers University, and was played in front of 13,527 fans. The game saw the Johns Hopkins University defeat Cornell University by the score of 13–8, using a three-goal performance by midfielder Bob DeSimone.


1978 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
The finals was a showdown of the Number 1 and Number 2 ranked teams, with Johns Hopkins lone loss coming on April 15th to Cornell 16-11 at Homewood Field in Baltimore.


1978 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
The finals was notable also as Cornell had come into the game on a 42-game unbeaten streak. Cornell had not lost a game since May 24, 1975, a 15-12 setback to Navy in the 1975 NCAA tournament semifinals. Cornell set the NCAA consecutive victories record of 42 games, not losing from March 20, 1976, to May 20, 1978. During this win streak, Cornell was 16 and 0 in 1976, 13 and 0 in 1977 and 13 and 1 in 1978.


1978 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
Mike O'Neill, attackman from Johns Hopkins, was later named the Division 1 National Player of the Year and was named the tournament outstanding player, finishing with one goal and three assists in the finals.


1978 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
Johns Hopkins would go on to win three straight national titles and appear in an unprecedented nine straight NCAA finals, from 1977 through 1985, finishing with five national titles against four losses during that stretch.


1978 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 1978 NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were contested June 1−3 at the 56th annual NCAA-sanctioned track meet to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate Division I outdoor track and field events in the United States.


1978 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
This year's meet was hosted by the University of Oregon at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.


1978 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
UCLA and UTEP, each with 50 points, tied atop the team standings and were declared co-national champions; it was the Bruins' sixth title and the Miners' second.


1978 NCAA Division I Soccer Tournament
The 1978 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was the 20th organized men's college soccer tournament by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, to determine the top college soccer team in the United States. The San Francisco Dons won their fourth national title, although it was later revoked by the NCAA, by defeating the Indiana Hoosiers in the championship game, 2–0. The final match was played on December 10, 1978, in Tampa, Florida, at Tampa Stadium for the first time.


1978 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships
The 1978 NCAA Men's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships were contested in March 1978 at the Belmont Plaza Pool at California State University, Long Beach in Long Beach, California at the 55th annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I men's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.


1978 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships
Tennessee topped the team standings for the first time, the Volunteers' first title in program history.


1978 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
The 1978 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships were the 33rd annual tournaments to determine the national champions of NCAA men's college tennis. Matches were played during May 1978 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia on the campus of the University of Georgia. A total of three championships were contested: men's team, singles, and doubles.


1978 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
The men's team championship was won by the Stanford, their fourth team national title. The Cardinal defeated UCLA in the final, 6–3. The men's singles title was won by John McEnroe from Stanford, and the men's doubles title went to John Austin and Bruce Nichols of UCLA.


1978 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
The 1978 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were the 48th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships to be held. The University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland hosted the tournament at the Cole Field House.


1978 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Iowa took home the team championship with 94.5 points despite having no individual champions.


1978 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Mark Churella of Michigan was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler and Scott Heaton of Cal Poly-SLO received the Gorriaran Award.


1978 NCAA Division I baseball rankings
The following poll makes up the 1978 NCAA Division I baseball rankings. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper published its first human poll of the top 20 teams in college baseball in 1957, and expanded to rank the top 30 teams in 1961.


1978 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, Collegiate Baseball
Currently, only the final poll from the 1978 season is available.


1978 NCAA Division I baseball season
The 1978 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 1978. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1978 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the thirty-second time in 1978, consisted of one team from each of eight regional competitions and was held in Omaha, Nebraska at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. Southern California claimed the championship for the eleventh time.


1978 NCAA Division I baseball season, Conference winners
This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1978 season. The NCAA sponsored regional competitions to determine the College World Series participants. Seven regionals of four teams and one of six each competed in double-elimination tournaments, with the winners advancing to Omaha. 21 teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship while 13 teams earned at-large selections.


1978 NCAA Division I baseball season, College World Series
The 1978 season marked the thirty second NCAA Baseball Tournament, which culminated with the eight team College World Series. The College World Series was held in Omaha, Nebraska. The eight teams played a double-elimination format, with Southern California claiming their eleventh championship with a 10–3 win over Arizona State in the final.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Two human polls comprised the 1978 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-A football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first season of Division I-A college football; Division I-A was created in 1978 when Division I was subdivided into Division I-A and Division I-AA for football only. With the exception of seven teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Division I teams from the 1977 season played in Division I-A during the 1978 season. The SWAC teams, along with five conferences and five other teams formerly in Division II, played in Division I-AA.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season
The Division I-A season came down to a rare No. 1 vs. No. 2 post-season meeting as No. 1 Penn State and No. 2 Alabama met in the New Year's Day Sugar Bowl. The game is most remembered for Alabama's goal line stand with four minutes left in the game. On fourth down and a foot, Alabama managed to keep Penn State out of the end zone and went on to win, 14–7. Keith Jackson, who did the play by play for ABC, called it the greatest game he'd ever seen. 76,824 people packed the Louisiana Superdome, which was tremendously loud.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season
Alabama's only loss that year was 24–14 in Birmingham to USC. Both schools claim this year as a national title year. Alabama claimed the national title because it defeated top-ranked Penn State on the field. USC claimed the title because it defeated Alabama in the regular season and also finished with only one loss. The AP Poll and most other voting outlets (including the Football Writers Association of America and the National Football Foundation) crowned Alabama as national champion, while the UPI Coaches' Poll selected USC.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, September
The pre-season ranking of the top 5 were 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Penn State, 4. Oklahoma, and 5. Notre Dame.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, September
On September 2, Alabama avenged its only loss from the prior season when they topped No. 10 Nebraska, 20–3. No. 2 Arkansas would not start its season for another two weeks. No. 3 Penn State struggled in beating Temple 10–7 and dropped to 5th, No. 4 Oklahoma was idle, as was No. 5 Notre Dame. 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Notre Dame, 5. Penn State


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, September
On September 9, No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Arkansas were not scheduled, while No. 3 Oklahoma opened its season with a 35–29 win at Stanford. No. 4 Notre Dame was stunned at Missouri, 3–0, while No. 5 Penn State beat Rutgers, 26–10. No. 6 Michigan, who had yet to begin their season, replaced Notre Dame in the top 5. 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Michigan, 5. Penn State.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, September
September 16 saw No. 1 Alabama win at No. 11 Missouri, 38–20 while No. 2 Arkansas opened its season with a 48–17 win over Vanderbilt. No. 3 Oklahoma walloped West Virginia 52–10, and No. 4 Michigan started its campaign with a 31–0 shutout of Illinois. No. 5 Penn State blanked No. 6 Ohio State 19–0 and would regain the No. 3 ranking, tying Oklahoma in the voting. 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Penn State, 3. Oklahoma, 5. Michigan.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, September
On September 23, No. 1 Alabama lost in Birmingham to No. 7 USC, 24–14. No. 2 Arkansas struggled in beating Oklahoma State 19–7, No. 3 Penn State struggled with SMU but won 26–21, No. 3 Oklahoma would vault to the top spot on the strength of their 66–7 win over Rice, and No. 5 Michigan won at No. 14 Notre Dame, 28–14. The new poll was 1. Oklahoma, 2. Arkansas, 3. USC, 4. Michigan, 5. Penn State.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, September
On September 30, new No. 1 Oklahoma beat No. 14 Missouri 45–23, No. 2 Arkansas was unimpressive in a 21–13 win over Tulsa, No. 3 USC thumped Michigan State 30–9, No. 4 Michigan beat Duke 52–0, and No. 5 Penn State crushed TCU 58–0. 1. Oklahoma, 2. USC, 3. Michigan, 4. Arkansas, 5. Penn State.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, October
On October 7, No. 1 Oklahoma solidified its ranking with a 31–10 win over No. 6 Texas. No. 2 USC was idle, No. 3 Michigan struggled in beating Arizona 21–17, No. 4 Arkansas beat TCU 42–3, and No. 5 Penn State avenged its only loss from 1977 in shutting out Kentucky, 30–0. The new poll was 1. Oklahoma, 2. USC, 3. Penn State, 4. Arkansas, 5. Michigan


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, October
October 14 was a day of surprises. No. 1 Oklahoma escaped with a 17–16 win over Kansas, No. 2 USC lost to Arizona State in Tempe 20–7, and No. 5 Michigan lost to Michigan State, 24–15. No. 3 Penn State and No. 4 Arkansas escaped the madness by being idle. Alabama rejoined the top 5 by beating Florida 23–12, and Nebraska cracked the top 5 by beating Kansas State 48–14. 1. Oklahoma, 2. Penn State, 3. Arkansas, 4. Alabama, 5. Nebraska


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, October
October 21 saw more upheaval in the rankings as No. 3 Arkansas lost to No. 8 Texas 28–21. No. 1 Oklahoma beat Iowa State 34–6, No. 2 Penn State won over Syracuse 45–14, No. 4 Alabama beat Tennessee 30–13, and No. 5 Nebraska won at Colorado 52–14. Maryland jumped into the top 5 with a 39–0 win over Wake Forest. New poll: 1. Oklahoma 2. Penn State 3. Alabama 4. Nebraska 5. Maryland


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, October
On October 28, No. 1 Oklahoma beat Kansas State 56–19, No. 2 Penn State beat West Virginia 49–21, No. 3 Alabama beat Virginia Tech 35–0, No. 4 Nebraska beat Oklahoma State 22–14, and No. 5 Maryland got ready for their upcoming showdown with Penn State by thumping Duke 27–0.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, November
On November 4, Oklahoma beat Colorado 28–7, No. 2 Penn State stymied No. 5 Maryland 27–3, No. 3 Alabama topped Mississippi State 35–14, and No. 4 Nebraska beat Kansas 63–21. USC returned to the top 5 after a 13–7 win at Stanford.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, November
November 11 saw No. 1 Oklahoma lose to No. 4 Nebraska 17–14 in the game that decided the Big Eight title. No. 2 Penn State claimed the top spot with a 19–10 win over N.C. State. No. 3 Alabama rolled along with a 31–10 win at No. 10 LSU. No. 5 USC beat No. 19 Washington 28–10. The new poll was 1. Penn State 2. Nebraska 3. Alabama 4. Oklahoma 5. USC.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, November
On November 18, No. 1 Penn State was idle while No. 2 Nebraska was knocked off at home by Missouri 35–31 and fell to 7th. No. 3 Alabama was also idle, and No. 4 Oklahoma won its final game over Oklahoma State 62–7. In the showdown to decide the Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth, No. 5 USC stopped No. 14 UCLA by a score of 17–10. Houston, who had beaten No. 6 Texas the week before to clinch the SWC title and Cotton Bowl berth, moved up to No. 5. New poll:  1. Penn State 2. Alabama 3. USC 4. Oklahoma 5. Houston


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, November
On November 24, No. 1 Penn State wrapped up its undefeated regular season with a 17–10 over No. 15 rival Pittsburgh. No. 2 Alabama had one more week off before its game with rival Auburn. No. 3 USC needed a controversial call (an apparent fumble was ruled an incomplete pass thus keeping the final drive alive) and last second field goal to beat No. 8 Notre Dame 27–25. No. 5 Houston was upset by Texas Tech 22–21. No. 6 Michigan clinched the Rose Bowl berth with a 14–3 win over rival Ohio State.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, December
On December 2, No. 2 Alabama finished its season with a win in the Iron Bowl rivalry game over Auburn, 34–16. Thus, the final regular season top 5 was: 1. Penn State 2. Alabama 3. USC 4. Oklahoma 5. Michigan. Penn State accepted the Sugar Bowl bid to set up a 1 vs. 2 matchup with Alabama.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, December
USC and Michigan would square off in a Rose Bowl battle of 1 loss teams, while the Orange Bowl surprised everyone by inviting Big 8 runner up Oklahoma (over 7th ranked ACC champ Clemson) to play Big 8 champ Nebraska in a rematch of their regular season meeting. Of note is that Clemson went to the Gator Bowl instead, where it beat Ohio State 17–15. It was near the end of that game when legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes punched Clemson linebacker Charlie Bauman after his game clinching interception, leading to Hayes' dismissal as Ohio State coach.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, Bowls, Bowl bids
Top ranked Penn State, as an independent, was not tied to any bowl game so the Nittany Lions accepted the Sugar Bowl invitation where they would meet SEC Champion Alabama, who was ranked 2nd in the AP and 3rd in the UPI. Pac-10 champion USC (ranked 3rd in the AP and 2nd in the UPI) faced No. 5 Michigan in the Rose Bowl in a battle of one loss teams.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, Bowls, Bowl bids
Nebraska had upset Oklahoma to earn the Big 8 title and automatic Orange Bowl berth; the Orange Bowl pulled a surprise by inviting the Sooners to play Nebraska in a rematch. Most observers felt Clemson would be invited and Oklahoma would play Houston in the Cotton Bowl Classic. The Cotton Bowl Classic bid went to Notre Dame and Clemson had to settle for the Gator Bowl despite a better record and higher ranking than Notre Dame.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, Bowls, Bowl results
In unusually cold and icy Dallas, Notre Dame overcame a 34–12 fourth quarter deficit to beat Houston 35–34. The Fighting Irish were led by quarterback Joe Montana in his final collegiate game. In New Orleans, Alabama used a 4th quarter goal line stand to upset Penn State 14–7. In Pasadena, USC defeated Michigan 17–10, aided by an incredible performance (including the game-winning touchdown) by Charles White . In the Orange Bowl, Oklahoma won its rematch with Nebraska 31–24. One other Bowl of note saw Clemson beat Ohio State 17–15 in the Gator Bowl; the next day, legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes was fired for punching Clemson defensive back Charlie Bauman in the throat after his game-saving interception.


1978 NCAA Division I-A football season, National champion
The season ended with the top 3 teams (Alabama, USC, and Oklahoma) with one loss. In the AP poll, Alabama (11–1–0), on the strength of their Sugar Bowl win over former No. 1 Penn State, was voted No. 1. In the UPI poll, USC (12–1–0) was voted No. 1, based in a large part on their 24–14 win at Alabama over the Crimson Tide. Oklahoma, who was No. 1 for most of the season, felt that they should be national champs as they avenged their only loss by beating Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. The Sooners had to settle for the No. 3 ranking in both polls.


1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game
The 1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Florida A&M Rattlers and the UMass Minutemen. The game was played on December 16, 1978, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The culminating game of the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Florida A&M, 35–28.


1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game
This was the first season of I-AA play, and the first championship game for the newly formed division. The game was also known as the Pioneer Bowl, a name that had been used starting in 1971 for various NCAA playoff games held in Wichita Falls.


1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1978 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a four-team bracket.


1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams, Florida A&M Rattlers
In 1978, Florida A&M was a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), a Division II conference. The university had successfully petitioned the NCAA for Division I classification (Division I-AA in football), which took effect on September 1, 1978.


1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams, Florida A&M Rattlers
Florida A&M finished their regular season with a 9–1 record; their only loss was to Tennessee State. Ranked third in the final AP Poll for I-AA, and then having defeated Grambling State in the Orange Blossom Classic played on December 2, the Rattlers were the at-large selection to the four-team playoff. They defeated Jackson State, the South selection, by a score of 15–10 to reach the final.


1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams, UMass Minutemen
UMass finished their regular season with an 8–3 record (5–0 in conference)—all of their losses were to Division I-A programs; Villanova, Harvard, and Rutgers. Tied with Western Kentucky for fourth in the final AP Poll for I-AA, the Minutemen were the East selection to the playoff. They defeated Nevada, the West selection, by a 44–21 score to reach the final.


1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Game summary
The game was played in a strong wind, estimated at 20–25 miles per hour (32–40 km/h). It was a factor, especially with Florida A&M, as Sammy Knight punted six times for only 45 total yards; he also had two punts blocked. UMass led early, going ahead 6–0 on two field goals. Florida A&M held a 14–6 lead at halftime, but trailed twice in the second half, as UMass had leads of 15–14 and 22–21. Two fourth quarter touchdowns by fullback Mike Solomon then provided Florida A&M with the winning margin. Florida A&M won without completing a pass from scrimmage, as quarterback Albert Chester went 0-for-7 with two interceptions; he did successfully pass for a two-point conversion, and ran for two touchdowns.


1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Game summary
Florida A&M placekicker Vince Coleman, who was 3-for-3 on extra points, would go on to play 13 seasons in Major League Baseball, most notably with the St. Louis Cardinals.


1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Game summary
Note: contemporary news reports listed attendance as 14,000 (estimated); NCAA records indicate 13,604.


1978 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings
The 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings are from the Associated Press. This is for the 1978 season.


1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season
The 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season was the first season of Division I-AA college football; Division I-AA was created in 1978 when Division I was subdivided into Division I-A and Division I-AA for football only. With the exception of seven teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Division I teams from the 1977 season played in Division I-A during the 1978 season. The SWAC teams, along with five conferences and five other teams formerly in Division II, played in Division I-AA.


1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season
The Division I-AA season began in August 1978 and concluded with the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game played on December 16 at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Florida A&M Rattlers won the first I-AA championship, defeating the UMass Minutemen in the Pioneer Bowl, 35–28. Florida A&M of 1978 remains the only team from an HBCU to play in the I-AA/FCS national championship game.


1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Conference champions
Big Sky Conference – Northern ArizonaMid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina StateOhio Valley Conference – Western KentuckySouthwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling StateYankee Conference – UMass


1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Postseason, NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket
The bracket consisted of three regional selections (West, East, and South) plus an at-large team. Florida A&M (FAMU) of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) was the at-large selection. While the SIAC was a Division II conference, FAMU had successfully petitioned the NCAA for Division I classification (Division I-AA in football), which took effect on September 1, 1978.


1978 NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament
The 1978 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as a culmination of the 1977-78 NCAA Division II men's basketball season. It was won by Cheyney State of Pennsylvania and Cheyney's Andrew Fields was the Most Outstanding Player.


1978 NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament, All-tournament team
† Florida Tech is now known as University of Central Florida, as opposed to the current Florida Institute of Technology.


1978 NCAA Division II Lacrosse Championship
The 1978 NCAA Division II Lacrosse Championship was the fifth annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champions of NCAA Division II and Division III men's college lacrosse in the United States.


1978 NCAA Division II Lacrosse Championship
A separate Division III men's championship would not be introduced until 1980.


1978 NCAA Division II Lacrosse Championship
This year's final was played at Boswell Field at the Hobart College in Geneva, New York.


1978 NCAA Division II Lacrosse Championship
Roanoke defeated two-time defending champion Hobart in the final, 14–13, to win their first national title. This was also Hobart's fifth consecutive appearance in the tournament's championship final.


1978 NCAA Division II Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1978 NCAA Men's Division II Ice Hockey Tournament involved 4 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college ice hockey. A total of 4 games were played, hosted by American International College.


1978 NCAA Division II Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Merrimack, coached by Thom Lawler, won the national title with a 12–2 victory in the final game over Lake Forest.


1978 NCAA Division II Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Jim Toomey, of Merrimack, was named the Most Outstanding Player and was the high scorer of the tournament with seven points (1 goal, 6 assists).


1978 NCAA Division II Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
Due to the lack of conferences and tournaments for western schools the NCAA held a regional tournament to help select teams for the national tournament. The western regional tournament is not considered as part of the NCAA championship but is included here for reference. No automatic bids were offered.


1978 NCAA Division II Soccer Championship
The 1978 NCAA Division II Soccer Championship was the sixth annual tournament held by the NCAA to determine the top men's Division II college soccer program in the United States.


1978 NCAA Division II Soccer Championship
In a rematch of the previous year's final, Seattle Pacific defeated defending champions Alabama A&M in the final, 1–0 (after two overtime periods), to win their first national title and their first after losing their previous three appearances in Division II championship matches (1974, 1975, 1977).


1978 NCAA Division II Soccer Championship
The final was played at Florida International University in Miami, Florida on December 2, 1978.


1978 NCAA Division II football rankings
The 1978 NCAA Division II football rankings are from the Associated Press. This is for the 1978 season.


1978 NCAA Division II football season
The 1978 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began in August 1978, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship in December 1978 at Lobo Stadium in Longview, Texas. The Eastern Illinois Panthers defeated the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens, 10–9, to win their first Division II national title.


1978 NCAA Division II football season, Conference summaries
Association of Mid-Continent Universities – Youngstown StateCentral Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Winston-Salem StateFar Western Football Conference – UC DavisGreat Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Grand Valley StateGulf South Conference – Jacksonville StateLone Star Conference – Angelo StateMissouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Southwest Missouri StateNorth Central Conference – South DakotaNorthern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota–MorrisPennsylvania State Athletic Conference – East StroudsburgRocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Western StateSouth Atlantic Conference – Elon and PresbyterianSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Florida A&M


1978 NCAA Division II football season, Conference summaries
While the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) was a Division II conference, Florida A&M (FAMU) had successfully petitioned the NCAA for Division I classification (Division I-AA in football), which took effect on September 1, 1978. FAMU subsequently competed in the 1978 Division I-AA postseason, winning the Division I-AA championship.


1978 NCAA Division II football season, Postseason
The 1978 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the sixth single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at Lobo Stadium in Longview, Texas for the first time.


1978 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament
The 1978 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1978 NCAA Division III baseball season to determine the third national champion of college baseball at the NCAA Division III level. The tournament concluded with four teams competing at Pioneer Park in Marietta, Ohio for the championship. Four regional tournaments were held to determine the participants in the World Series. Regional tournaments were contested in double-elimination format, with all four regions consisting of six teams, for a total of 24 teams participating in the tournament, up from 22 in 1977. The tournament champion was Glassboro State, who defeated Marietta for the championship.


1978 NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament
The 1978 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament was the fourth annual single-elimination tournament to determine the men's collegiate basketball national champion of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III, held during March 1978.


1978 NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament
The tournament field included 30 teams and the national championship rounds were contested in Rock Island, Illinois.


1978 NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament
North Park defeated Widener, 69–57, in the championship game to win their first national title.


1978 NCAA Division III football season
The 1978 NCAA Division III football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division III level, began in August 1978, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship in December 1978 at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. The Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets won their first Division III championship, defeating the Wittenberg Tigers by a final score of 24−10.


1978 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason
The 1978 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the sixth annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama for the sixth consecutive year. Like the previous three championships, eight teams competed in this edition.


1978 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships
The 1978 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships were contested March 10−11, 1978 at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan at the 14th annual NCAA-sanctioned track meet to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate indoor track and field events in the United States.


1978 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships
UTEP reclaimed the top spot in the team standings, finishing 6 points ahead of Auburn; it was the Miners' fourth overall team title and their fourth in five seasons.


1978 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Qualification
Unlike other NCAA-sponsored sports, there were not separate NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III championships for indoor track and field until 1985. As such, all athletes and programs from all three divisions were eligible to compete.


1978 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The consensus 1978 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, the USBWA, The United Press International and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.


1978 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
The 1978 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament was the ninth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college volleyball. The tournament was played at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio during May 1978.


1978 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
Pepperdine defeated UCLA in the final match,  3–2 (15–12, 11–15, 15–8, 5–15, 15–12), to win their first national title. Coached by Marv Dunphy, the Waves finished the season 21–4.


1978 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
Pepperdine's Mike Blanchard was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. An All-tournament team of seven players was also named.


1978 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament, Qualification
Until the creation of the NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship in 2012, there was only a single national championship for men's volleyball. As such, all NCAA men's volleyball programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.


1978 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The 1978 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 10th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, California during December 1978.


1978 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
Stanford defeated California in the final, 7–6 (in three overtimes), to win their second national title.


1978 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
For the second consecutive year, the leading scorer for the tournament was Scott Schulte from Bucknell (13 goals). There was no Most Outstanding Player for this tournament, but an All-Tournament Team, consisting of seven players, was named.


1978 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, Qualification
Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 8 teams were invited to contest this championship.


1978 NCAA Skiing Championships
The 1978 NCAA Skiing Championships were contested at the Cannon Mountain Ski Area in Franconia, New Hampshire, at the 25th annual NCAA-sanctioned ski tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate alpine, cross country skiing, and ski jumping in the United States.


1978 NCAA Skiing Championships
Six-time defending champions Colorado, coached by Bill Marolt, once again claimed the team national championship, finishing 31 points ahead of Wyoming in the standings. This was the ninth title for the Buffaloes.


1978 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
This year's NCAA skiing championships were contested at the Cannon Mountain Ski Area at Cannon Mountain in Franconia, New Hampshire.


1978 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
These were the fourth championships held in the state of New Hampshire (1958, 1964, 1970, and 1978) and the third at Cannon Mountain (1964, 1970, and 1978).


1978 NFL Championship Series (Australia)
The 1978 NFL Championship Series was the third edition of the NFL Night Series, an NFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the leading clubs from the SANFL, the WANFL, the VFA and State Representative Teams.


1978 NFL Championship Series (Australia)
The 1978 NFL edition continued on a similar basis to the previous season with the VFL again running their own Night Series at VFL Park. However, the first signs of a breakaway appeared with the Tasmanian Representative Side choosing to participate in both the NFL and VFL competitions – making them the first non-VFL team to play in the VFL Night Series.


1978 NFL Draft
The 1978 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 2–3, 1978, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.


1978 NFL Draft
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had the first pick in the 1978 draft, by virtue of their 2–12 record in 1977. Tampa Bay traded the pick to the Oilers, for tight end Jimmie Giles and the Oilers' first- and second-round picks in the 1978 draft, and their third- and fifth-round picks in 1979.


1978 NFL Draft
Leon White, who was drafted in the third round, went on to have an extensive professional wrestling career as Big Van Vader.


1978 NFL season
The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16 games, which it remained in place until 2021 when it was increased to 17 games. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference. The wild card teams played each other, with the winner advancing to the playoff round of eight teams.


1978 NFL season
The season ended with Super Bowl XIII when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys at the Orange Bowl in Miami.


1978 NFL season
The average salary for a player in 1978 was under $62,600, up 13.2 percent over the previous year. Fran Tarkenton was the highest-paid quarterback at $360,000 and running back O. J. Simpson was the highest paid player, at just under $733,400.


1978 NFL season, Draft
The 1978 NFL Draft was held from May 2 to 3 at New York City's Roosevelt Hotel. With the first pick, the Houston Oilers selected running back Earl Campbell of Texas, the Heisman Trophy winner.


1978 NFL season, New officials
Future referees Tom Dooley, Dale Hamer and Dick Hantak were among those entering the league. Bernie Ulman, the head linesman for Super Bowl I and referee for Super Bowl IX, retired prior to the season, which left the NFL with only 14 crews for the 1978 season. Dooley (103), Hamer (104) and Hantak (105) were among the first officials to wear triple-digit numbers, joined by Bob Boylston (101), Gene Carrabine (102), Al Jury (106), Jim Kearney (107), Bob McLaughlin (108), Sid Semon (109), and Jim Osborne (110).


1978 NFL season, Major rule changes
The league passed major rule changes to encourage offensive scoring. In 1977 – the last year of the so-called "Dead Ball Era" – teams scored an average of 17.2 points per game, the lowest total since 1942.


1978 NFL season, Regular season, New interconference scheduling
With the start of a 16-game season also marked the start of a new scheduling format that saw a division in one conference play a division in another conference, rotating every season and repeating the process every three years. A change was also made to non-divisional opponents in a team's own conference, which became based on divisional positions from the previous season. Previously, teams played rotating groups of opponents in the other conference and in other divisions of their own conference, although some opponents were cut in 1976 and 1977 to allow for games against the Seahawks and Buccaneers. This format remains in effect, though it has been slightly modified over the years, most recently with the addition of two more divisions in 2002.


1978 NFL season, Regular season, Division races
Starting in 1978, and continuing through 1989 (except 1982), ten teams qualified for the playoffs: the winners of each of the divisions, and two wild-card teams in each conference. The two wild cards would meet for the right to face whichever of the three division winners had the best overall record (or, if the winner of the wild-card playoff was from the same division as that team, the division winner with the second best overall record). The tiebreaker rules were based on head-to-head competition, followed by division records, common opponents' records, and conference play.


1978 NHL Amateur Draft
The 1978 NHL Amateur Draft was the 16th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, on June 15, 1978. It was the last draft to be called the "Amateur Draft" before the process was renamed to the NHL Entry Draft in 1979.


1978 NHL Amateur Draft, Selections by round
Below are listed the selections in the 1978 NHL amateur draft. The Washington Capitals chose to take an extra pick in the first round instead of participating in the Dispersal Draft (Tim Coulis), and were allowed to pick in Cleveland's position in the second round to complete the Bob Girard/Walt McKechnie trade. The New York Islanders had traded their fourth round selection to Cleveland, so that pick was forfeited.


1978 NHL Amateur Draft, Selections by round
Club teams are located in North America unless otherwise noted.


1978 NHL Amateur Draft, Selections by round, Round twelve
Ladislav Svozil was the first Czechoslovakian player drafted in the history of the NHL Draft. The Red Wings selected Svozil in the 12th round. Bernhardt Engelbrecht was the first German player drafted in the history of the NHL Draft. The Flames selected him in the 12th round.


1978 NHL Dispersal Draft
The 1978 NHL Dispersal Draft was held on June 15, 1978. It was the result of the merger of two National Hockey League (NHL) teams, the Cleveland Barons and the Minnesota North Stars. The NHL granted majority ownership of the North Stars to Barons owners Gordon Gund and George Gund III, after their bid to buy the Barons' home arena failed, and as the League feared the ownership group of the North Stars, another team performing poorly amid waning fan interest, would cease that team’s operations. To prevent the North Stars from folding, the NHL allowed the Gunds to merge them with the Barons; the Gunds would be majority owners of the resulting team, which stayed in Minnesota and used the North Stars' name.


1978 NHL Dispersal Draft
The merged team was allowed to protect 14 players, then the five poorest teams in the NHL were granted access to pick one player each from the unprotected players in a dispersal draft. Only two of the teams picked a player, at which point the merged team was allowed to protect a 15th player; two others declined, and the last exchanged their pick for an extra first-round pick in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft, held the following day. The remaining unprotected players remained members of the merged team; the large (two combined teams) roster of players was kept, traded or assigned to minor league affiliates to get the merged North Stars down to its opening day roster for the 1978–79 season.


1978 NHL Dispersal Draft, Background
After the 1977–78 NHL season, Barons owners Gordon Gund and George Gund III tried to buy the Richfield Coliseum, but failed. Meanwhile, fan interest in the North Stars was in decline as the team had missed the playoffs in five of the previous six seasons, and the league feared that the franchise was also on the verge of folding. On June 14, 1978, the league, in an unprecedented arrangement, granted approval for the Barons to merge with the North Stars, under the Gunds' ownership.


1978 NHL Dispersal Draft, Background, Players selected
The merged team continued to be known as the Minnesota North Stars but assumed the Barons' place in the Adams Division. General managers Lou Nanne (North Stars) and Harry Howell (Barons) worked together to pick the protected players, protecting an equal number from each team. From the North Stars they retained Per-Olov Brasar, Brad Maxwell, Bryan Maxwell, Glen Sharpley, Tim Young and goalie Pete LoPresti. From the Barons they protected Mike Fidler, Rick Hampton, Al MacAdam, Dennis Maruk, Greg Smith and goalie Gilles Meloche. After the Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues had made their selections the North Stars would be able to add another player to their protected list (Ron Zanussi), and again after the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins had made their choices (Bob Stewart).


1978 NHL Dispersal Draft, Background, Players selected
On June 15, 1978, just before the Amateur Draft, the five weakest teams were allowed to make one pick from the unprotected Minnesota and Cleveland players. The Capitals forfeited their pick but were allowed an extra first round pick in the Amateur Draft. The Blues picked Mike Crombeen (Cleveland), and the Canucks picked Randy Holt (Cleveland). Both the Penguins and Colorado Rockies declined to select a player.


1978 NHL Dispersal Draft, Aftermath
The recently retired Lou Nanne was named general manager of the merged team, and a number of the Barons players–notably goaltender Gilles Meloche and forwards Al MacAdam and Mike Fidler–bolstered the Minnesota lineup. Furthermore, Minnesota drafted Bobby Smith, who won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie that year, and Steve Payne, who recorded 42 goals in his second campaign in 1979–80.


1978 NHL Dispersal Draft, Aftermath
A stay-at-home defenceman who was selected by the California Golden Seals in the 1975 NHL Draft, Greg Smith followed the franchise when it relocated to Cleveland in 1976, and upon the merger with Minnesota, his rights were protected by the North Stars in the dispersal draft. He played for Minnesota for three seasons, and his solid defensive play helped guide them to the finals in 1981.


1978 NHL Dispersal Draft, Aftermath
Thirteen years later, in 1991, the merger was effectively undone as the Gunds assumed ownership of the expansion San Jose Sharks (occupying the same market as the Seals did prior to their move to Cleveland) and the two teams split the players on the North Stars at the time in a Dispersal Draft, followed by an Expansion Draft. The North Stars moved to Dallas as the Dallas Stars in 1993. (Incidentally, the Barons name would come full circle: the Sharks formed their own minor-league team in Cleveland, also named the Cleveland Barons, from 2001 to 2006.)


1978 NHL Dispersal Draft, Aftermath
The Barons remain the last franchise in the four major North American sports leagues to cease operations, and as a result the NHL fielded only 17 teams during the 1978–79 season. The NHL did not return to Ohio for 22 years, when the Columbus Blue Jackets  began operations in the fall of 2000.


1978 NHL Dispersal Draft, Aftermath
Dennis Maruk was the last Baron (and last Golden Seal as well) to be active in the NHL, retiring from the North Stars after the 1988–89 season with 356 goals in 888 games.


1978 NHRA Summernationals
The 1978 NHRA Summernationals (commonly known as the Summernats) were a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing event, held at  Englishtown, New Jersey, on 16 July.


1978 NHRA Summernationals
Sponsored by Winston, it was attended by top dragster drivers Don Prudhomme, Shirley Muldowney, reigning Top Fuel Dragster (TF/D) champion Dick Tharp (with the Candies and Hughes fueller), as well as funny car drivers, including Frank “Ace” Manzo (with a Monza BB/FC), Tom Prock (with the Detroit Tiger AA/FC), "TV Tommy" Ivo (the Rod Shop Dodge AA/FC), and R. C. Sherman (the Black Magic AA/FC), as well as Pro Stock champions including Grumpy Jenkins (with the Grumpy's Toy Monza). Gordie Bonin drove the Bubble Up Pontiac Trans Am funny car, while Kenny Bernstein appeared in the Chelsea King funny car. Bob Glidden took Pro Stock in his Ford Fairmont. Denny Savage claimed the TF/FC title that year, with Ed "The Ace" McCulloch runner-up.


1978 NHRA Winternationals
The 1978 NHRA Winternationals (commonly known as the Winternats) were a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing event, held at  Auto Club Raceway  in Pomona, California, on 5 February; rain halted eliminations after round one was complete. Racing resumed on 13 February, only to have an unusual snow storm interrupt again; the final was held on 14 February.


1978 NHRA Winternationals, Top Fuel Dragster, Round one
Top qualifier, and 1973 and 1975 winner, Don Garlits (in Swamp Rat XXIV, lost to #9 qualifier Richard Tharp. #3 qualifier Pat Dakin was defeated by #11 qualifier Rob Bruins. Shirley Muldowney qualified #6, and eliminated #14 qualifier Larry Sutton. #8 qualifier Terry Capp lost to low qualifier Rick Ramsey. John Kimble, who qualified #12, was defeated by #4 qualifier John Abbott. Gary Beck qualified #7 and fell to Dick LaHaie, who qualified #15. !3 qualifier Marvin Graham lost to #5 qualifier Gordon Fabeck. #2 qualifier Kelly Brown defeated #10 qualifier Jeb Allen.


1978 NHRA Winternationals, Top Fuel Dragster, Round two
Abbott lost to Ramsey, Tharp to Fabeck, Muldowney to Brown, and Bruins to LaHaie.


1978 NHRA Winternationals, Top Fuel Funny Car
The Top Fuel Funny Car field was 16 cars; Billy Meyer and Jake Crimmins attended, but failed to qualify.


1978 NHRA Winternationals, Top Fuel Funny Car, Round one
Top qualifier Tripp Shumake, in the 1978 Plymouth Arrow, was defeated by Gary Burgin's 1978 Chevrolet Monza. Reigning 3-time winner Don "The Snake" Prudhomme's 1978 Arrow qualified #3 , and eliminated #11 qualifier Ed "The Ace" McCulloch's 1978 Arrow. "TV Tommy" Ivo qualified #2 in a 1978 Arrow, defeating Dave Hough's #10-qualifying 1978 Arrow. Ron Colson, qualified #12 in the 1978 Chevrolet Monza, was defeated by #4 qualifier Gordon Bonin's 1978 Pontiac Trans Am. #14 qualifier John Collins, in a 1977 Plymouth Duster, fell to the 1977 Chevrolet Camaro of Denny Savage.


1978 NHRA Winternationals, Top Fuel Funny Car, Round one
Dave Condit, who qualified #13 in a 1978 Arrow, lost to Tom "Mongoo$e" McEwen's #5-qualifying 1977 Chevrolet Corvette. Pat Foster qualified #7 in a 1978 Trans Am, and was eliminated by #15 qualifier Gene Snow's 1977 Arrow. Low qualifier Ezra Boggs (in the 1977 Chevrolet Corvette) lost to #8 qualifier, a 1978 Chevrolet Monza driven by Tom Prock (whose son Jimmy later became an NHRA mechanic and grandson Austin is a 2019 NHRA Top Fuel driver).


1978 NHRA Winternationals, Top Fuel Funny Car, Round two
Burgin, in the Monza, lost to McEwen. Bonin was defeated by Prock. Snow was eliminated by Prudhomme. Savge lost to Ivo.


1978 NHRA Winternationals, Top Fuel Funny Car, Final round
Prudhomme took a fourth straight Funny Car win at Pomona.


1978 NHRA Winternationals, Pro Stock
The Pro Stock field was 16 cars. Don Campanello qualified #7, but failed to make the start for round one; his place was taken by #17 qualifier Gary Hansen.


1978 NHRA Winternationals, Pro Stock, Round one
Top qualifier Bob Glidden, in a 1978 Ford Pinto, eliminated #9 qualifier Lee Hunter's 1977 Ford Mustang. Jean Batteux qualified #13 in a 1977 Pinto, and was defeated by #5 qualifier Kevin Rotty's 1974 Camaro. #2 qualifier Warren Johnson's Camaro was eliminated by the AMC of #10 qualifier Wally Booth. #16 qualifier Brad Yuill's Monza lost to the Camaro of #8 qualifier Mark Yuill. Larry Lombardo, qualified #12 in a 1978 Monza, defeated Sonny Bryant, who qualified #4 in a 1977 Camaro. #3 qualifier Frank Iaconio's Monza defeated the 1976 Duster of #11 qualifier Randy Humphrey. John Hagen qualified #14 in a 1978 Arrow, and was eliminated by Gordie Rivera's Monza. Low qualifier Hansen's 1975 Chevrolet Vega was eliminated by the #15-qualified 1977 Camaro of Tom Chelbana.


1978 NHRA Winternationals, Pro Stock, Round two
Rotty lost to Glidden, Booth to Rivera, Yuill to Lombardo, and Chelbana to Iaconio.


1978 NSL Cup
The 1978 NSL Cup was the second season of the NSL Cup, which was the main national association football knockout cup competition in Australia. All 14 NSL teams from around Australia entered the competition, as well as a further 18 from various state leagues around Australia.


1978 NSL Cup, Teams
The NSL Cup was a knockout competition with 32 teams taking part all trying to reach the Final in October 1978. The competition consisted of the 14 teams from the National Soccer League plus 18 teams from their respective top division state leagues.


1978 NSL Cup Final
The 1978 NSL Cup Final was the second NSL Cup Final, the final match of the 1978 NSL Cup. It was played at Perry Park in Brisbane, Australia, on 9 October 1978, contested by Brisbane City and Adelaide City. Brisbane won the match 2–1.


1978 NSWRFL season
The 1978 NSWRFL season was the 71st season of the NSWRFL Premiership, Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, and Australia's first. Twelve clubs, including six of 1908's foundation teams and another six from around Sydney competed for the J.J. Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between the Manly-Warringah and Cronulla-Sutherland clubs that was drawn and had to be re-played. NSWRFL teams also competed for the 1978 Amco Cup.


1978 NSWRFL season, Season summary
This season video citing was introduced for incidents of foul play that are not detected on the field. Twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March till August, resulting in a top five of Western Suburbs, Cronulla-Sutherland, Manly-Warringah, Parramatta and Canterbury-Bankstown who battled it out in the finals.


1978 NSWRFL season, Season summary
Mick Cronin set a new record for most points scored by an individual in Australian club rugby league history with his tally of 282 points from 25 games in 1978. This record would stand for another twenty years. He also broke Arthur Oxford's 1920 record for consecutive goals with 26 in a row.


1978 NSWRFL season, Season summary
In a tragic accident during the match between Penrith and Newtown at Henson Park on 28 May, rookie Panther prop John Farragher broke his neck in a scrum and was left a quadriplegic.


1978 NSWRFL season, Season summary
The 1978 Rothmans Medallist was Parramatta centre Mick Cronin. Rugby League Week gave their player of the year award to Parramatta forward Geoff Gerard.


1978 NSWRFL season, Season summary
The 1978 season was also the last in the playing career of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, Ron Coote.


1978 NSWRFL season, Finals
Manly finished the regular season in the relatively strong position of equal second with Cronulla, three points behind minor premiers Wests. However after Cronulla beat Manly 17–12 in the qualifying final, every game from that point was a sudden-death fixture for the Sea Eagles.


1978 NSWRFL season, Finals
The second week of finals saw Manly come from 3–13 behind Parramatta to draw 13–13 in the semi-final requiring a mid-week replay. Again in that match Parramatta led (11–2 this time), before Manly stormed home with three late tries in ten minutes to win 17–11. In the week following the game, Parramatta unsuccessfully attempted to have the match annulled and replayed due to Manly scoring a try on what was discovered to be a seventh tackle, a mistake by referee Greg Hartley.


1978 NSWRFL season, Finals
Manly then had to back up a few days later to play a fresh Wests side in the Preliminary Final. Thus far the Magpies had only played one final to Manly's three. Wests had two tries disallowed by referee Greg Hartley. Manly coach Frank Stanton somehow coaxed a courageous effort out of his exhausted players and on field, five-eighth Alan Thompson was inspirational as they triumphed 14–7 and reached the Grand Final.


1978 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
In the grand final, Cronulla went to a 9–4 lead in the second half before Manly came back to hit the front 11–9. A Steve Rogers penalty goal squared the scores at 11–11 but he then missed a desperate late field-goal attempt and at full-time the scores remained locked. Thus, for the second consecutive season, the weary grand finalists were required to play a rematch.


1978 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Although, on this occasion, the NSWRFL were forced to hold the replay three days later on the Tuesday instead of the following weekend due to the imminent 1978 Kangaroo tour, with the Australian team due to leave for England that weekend. The drawn grand final also forced the Australian Rugby League to hold off on naming the touring Kangaroos squad until after the replay, with as many as twelve players from Manly and Cronulla in contention to be selected.


1978 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final Replay
The Tuesday rematch in front of 33,552 was Manly's sixth game in twenty-four days. It was the second Grand Final in a row to end up going into a mid-week replay with the 1977 Grand Final between St George and Parramatta also needing a re-match to decide the Premiers after the original game had been a 9–9 draw.


1978 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final Replay
In the first half Cronulla had no answer to Graham Eadie's blind-side bursts. His display completely routed the hapless Sharks and Manly went to the break holding a 15–0 lead thanks to a try by Eadie in the scoreboard corner, one he set up for centre Russel Gartner in the same corner, and another 65 metre effort by Gartner after a sweeping backline movement saw him run into open space and easily outpace the Sharks’ defence to score in front of the Sheridan Stand.


1978 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final Replay
The only point in the second half came from a field goal by Eadie.


1978 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final Replay
In the replay, as throughout their extraordinary finals campaign, Manly were inspired by the leadership of captain Max Krilich and coach Frank Stanton, their iron-man Terry Randall who had required numerous pain killing injections before every game of the finals just to be able take the field in what Frank Stanton called sheer mind over matter, their cool five eighth Alan Thompson and classy fullback and Man of the Match Graham Eadie.


1978 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final Replay
As of the 2019 NRL Grand Final, no player since Eadie has scored the combination of a try, a goal and a field-goal in a grand final.


1978 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final Replay
The refereeing of Greg "Hollywood" Hartley in the replay and throughout the 1978 Finals series attracted criticism from coaches Roy Masters, Jack Gibson and Terry Fearnley, all of whom appealed to the NSWRFL to prohibit Hartley from refereeing their clubs' matches the following season.


1978 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final Replay
Manly-Warringah 16 (Tries: Gartner 2, Eadie. Goals: Eadie 3. Field Goal: Eadie.)


1978 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final Replay
Man of the Match: Graham EadieVenue: Sydney Cricket GroundAttendance: 33,552Referee: Greg Hartley


1978 National Camogie League
The 1978 National Camogie League, the second most important elite level inter-county competition in the women's team field sport of camogie was won by Kilkenny, who defeated Limerick in the final, played at Adare.


1978 National Camogie League, Arrangements
Kilkenny, the 1977 senior champions, defeated Antrim, Down, Dublin and Wexford en route to the final while Limerick the 1977 All-Ireland junior champions, defeated Clare, Cork, Galway and Tipperary.


1978 National Camogie League, Final
Kilkenny led 1-2 to 0-3 at half–time and responded to an equalising goal by Pauline McCarthy to eventually win a keenly contested final between two well matched sides. Marion Doyle’s point at the very end reduced the margin to two points. Agnes Hourigan wrote in the Irish Press:


1978 National Camogie League, Final
This was a game that Limerick could have won had they taken their chances. They had three good scoring opportunities in the first half and muffed a 15-yards free in the closing stages. The winner’s experience was the vital difference between the two sides. Helena O'Neill, now Mrs McCormack, interrupted her honeymoon to take part in the final and played a vital role in her side’s victory, scoring all four point. The winners’ success was all the more meritorious as they had to field without two of their star players Liz Neary and Angela Downey.


1978 National Camogie League, Final
The O'Brien sisters’ brother Jim was an All-Ireland hurler while Vera Mackey also came from a hurling family.


1978 National Challenge Cup
The 1978 National Challenge Cup was the 65th edition of the USSF's annual open soccer championship. Teams from the North American Soccer League declined to participate. Maccabee Los Angeles of Los Angeles defeated the Bridgeport Vasco da Gama of Bridgeport, Connecticut in the final game. The score was 2–0.


1978 National Invitation Tournament
The 1978 National Invitation Tournament was the 1978 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition.


1978 National Invitation Tournament, Selected teams
Below is a list of the 16 teams selected for the tournament.


1978 National League Championship Series
The 1978 National League Championship Series was a best-of-five matchup for the second straight year between the West Division champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the East Division champion Philadelphia Phillies. It was the tenth NLCS in all. The Dodgers beat the Phillies three games to one once again and lost the World Series to the New York Yankees, as they had the year before.


1978 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Because of having to start an NL East-clinching game a few days earlier, Phillies ace Steve Carlton was not available for the start of the series, leaving the task to Larry Christenson, who did not fare well. After the Phillies scored a run in the second when Greg Luzinski hit a leadoff triple and scored on Mike Schmidt's sacrifice fly off of Burt Hooton, a double and error by third baseman Schmidt put runners on first and second with one out for the Dodgers in the third.


1978 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Reggie Smith's RBI single tied the game before n a three-run homer by Steve Garvey put the Dodgers up 4–1. A two-run homer by Davey Lopes in the fourth made it 6–1 Dodgers. Next inning, Garvey tripled with one out off of Christenson, who was relieved by Warren Brusstar. Ron Cey's RBI single then made it 7–1 Dodgers. In the bottom of the inning, three singles loaded the bases with one out before Garry Maddox drove in two runs with a single. One out later, Richie Hebner's RBI single made it 7–4 Dodgers.


1978 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
In the sixth, Steve Yeager's home run off of Rawly Eastwick made it 8–4 Dodgers. In the ninth, Garvey's leadoff home run off of Tug McGraw made it 9–4 Dodgers. The Phillies got that run back in the bottom of the inning on Jerry Martin's home run off of rookie Bob Welch, but with one out, Welch struck out Maddox looking to end the game, earning the win, as the Dodgers took a 1–0 series lead.


1978 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
The Dodgers won their second straight on the road in this series on the strength of a complete-game four-hit shutout by Tommy John. Davey Lopes's home run leading off the fourth off of Dick Ruthven made it 1–0 Dodgers. Dusty Baker doubled to lead off the next inning, then scored on Steve Yeager's one-out single. After stealing second, Yeager scored on Lopes's single to make it 3–0 Dodgers. Lopes capped the scoring in the seventh with an RBI triple off of Ron Reed as the Dodgers took a 2–0 series with the 4–0 win.


1978 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
With Steve Carlton finally available to pitch, the Phillies cut the series deficit to 2–1 at Dodger Stadium, pitching a complete game. In the top of the second, a two-out double and walk was followed by an RBI single by Ted Sizemore before Carlton helped himself with the bat by hitting a three-run homer off Don Sutton.


1978 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
The Dodgers got on the board in the bottom of the inning when Bill Russell followed back-to-back one-out walks with an RBI double, but a fan reached over the railing to touch the ball, resulting in a ground rule double, forcing Dusty Baker, who was at first, to return to the third base. Next inning, Reggie Smith singled with two outs and scored on Steve Garvey's double, then Ron Cey's RBI single made it 4–3 Phillies. In the sixth, though, after a two-out error and single put runners on first and second.


1978 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Carlton's two-run single made it 6–3 Phillies and knocked Sutton out of the game. Carlton then scored on a double by Jerry Martin off of Lance Rautzhan. Next inning, Tim McCarver's RBI groundout with the bases loaded made it 8–3 Phillies. Garvey's home run in the eighth made it 8–4 Phillies, who got that run back in the ninth off of Charlie Hough on Greg Luzinski's home run.


1978 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Facing elimination once again in Game 4, the Phillies loaded the bases with nobody out in the first inning but could not score. The Dodgers then struck first in the second inning on a double by Ron Cey and an RBI single by Dusty Baker, the first of four hits he would collect in this game. Greg Luzinski put the Phillies back on top with a two-run homer in the third.


1978 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Cey tied it in the fourth with a home run, then Steve Garvey gave the Dodgers the lead with a homer, his fourth of the series, in the sixth. The home run was also his fifth extra base hit of the Series and tied Bob Robertson's 1971 NLCS records for home runs and extra base hits in a League Championship Series. But, Bake McBride tied it once again for the Phillies in the seventh with a home run of his own.


1978 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
In the bottom of the tenth, Tug McGraw retired the first two Dodger batters, but then surrendered a walk to Cey. Baker then hit a soft line drive to center field. Garry Maddox (who by 1978 had won the fourth of his eight gold gloves) got a late break on the ball, appeared to recover in time, but dropped the ball. Now, Cey was on second and Baker on first. The next batter, Bill Russell, lined a base hit to center. With Cey running because there were two out, Maddox faced a do or die play to get the ball and fire home; Maddox charged, but the ball skipped past him, enabling Cey to score the winning run.


1978 National League season
The 1978 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.


1978 National League season, Summary
Newport Dragons dropped out of the league after just one season of second tier racing, however two new entrants - Milton Keynes Knights and Barrow Furness Flyers - saw the league expanded to twenty teams. Weymouth changed their nickname from Wizards to Wildcats.


1978 National League season, Summary
Canterbury Crusaders won the National League title. Although equal on points with Newcastle Diamonds they won by virtue of the fact that their race points difference was greater than their rival.


1978 National League season, Summary
Earlier in the season 18 year-old junior rider Chris Prime was representing Newcastle when he was killed in the National League match against Mildenhall on 3 April.


1978 National League season, National League Knockout Cup
The 1978 National League Knockout Cup was the 11th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Eastbourne Eagles were the winners of the competition for the second successive year.


1978 National League season, National League Knockout Cup, Final
Eastbourne were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 83–73.


1978 National Provincial Championship
The National Provincial Championship, or NPC, was the predecessor to the current Air New Zealand Cup and Heartland Championship in New Zealand rugby. 1978 was the third year of the National Provincial Championship, Wellington were the winners of Division 1.


1978 National Provincial Championship, Division 1 Standings
These were the NPC Division 1 standings for the 1978 season. A Win was worth 2 competition points, a Draw 1, a loss 0. There were no bonus points on offer.


1978 National Provincial Championship, Promotion/Relegation
As the bottom placed North Island team, Hawkes Bay were automatically relegated.


1978 National Provincial Championship, Promotion/Relegation
Division Two North winner Bay of Plenty were automatically promoted to Division One.


1978 National Provincial Championship, Promotion/Relegation
South Canterbury faced Division Two South winner Marlborough. The match was tied 10-10, which meant South Canterbury remained in Division One.


1978 National Provincial Championship, Ranfurly Shield
Manawatu began the season as holders having defeated Auckland in the 1976 season. In 1978 they defended the Shield in 4 matches, extending their tenure to 13 successful defences before being defeated by North Auckland. North Auckland chose not to accept any more challenges in 1978 and thus held the Shield for the Summer.


1978 National Soccer League
The 1978 National Soccer League was the second season of the National Soccer League, the former top-tier Australian professional soccer league, since its establishment in 1977. The premiers were West Adelaide.


1978 National Soccer League, Finals series
The top four teams in the league entered a playoff series, however the winner of the grand final match was not considered the overall winner of the NSL season, unlike other NSL grand finals.


1978 National Soccer League (Canada) season
The 1978 National Soccer League season was the fifty fifth season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in May, 1978 and concluded in late September, 1978 with the Toronto Falcons defeating Hamilton Italo-Canadians for the NSL Cup. The regular season title and NSL Championship was successfully defended by the Montreal Castors by finishing first in the First Division. The Second Division title was won by St. Catharines Roma by finishing first in the standings.


1978 National Soccer League (Canada) season
The NSL was operative in Northern Ontario, Quebec, and had a franchise in the United States in Upstate New York. The season also marked the final time the league employed the promotion and relegation system as the Second Division was dissolved the following year.


1978 National Soccer League (Canada) season, Overview
The membership in the First Division increased to 11 teams with Buffalo Blazers, Ottawa Tigers, and Toronto Falcons receiving promotion. Ottawa was defeated in the previous season's promotion and relegation match series to Toronto Croatia, but still were granted promotion to the First Division. The departing clubs were Toronto Macedonia, and the Serbian White Eagles were inactive for the season. Toronto Macedonia attempted to sell their franchise rights to Montreal Stars, but the move was declined by the league ownership.


1978 National Soccer League (Canada) season, Overview
A league meeting occurred in early September where the league ownership decided to eliminate the playoff format, and conclude the season early after the completion of the NSL Cup tournament. The league champions Montreal Castors decided to withdraw from the competition, while the Windsor Stars forfeited after protesting the league's decision to change their opponent. The Second Division consisted of 7 teams with the Toronto Ukrainians returning to the NSL after a two year absence. The Montreal Stars were absent for the season, but returned for the 1979 season. Further changes occurred at the administrative level with John Fischer succeeding Joe Piccininni as the league's president.


1978 National Society of Film Critics Awards
The 13th National Society of Film Critics Awards, given on 4 January 1979, honored the best filmmaking of 1978.


1978 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Picture
1. Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (Préparez vos mouchoirs)2. The Deer Hunter2. An Unmarried Woman4. Days of Heaven


1978 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Director
1. Terrence Malick – Days of Heaven2. Bertrand Blier – Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (Préparez vos mouchoirs)3. Michael Cimino – The Deer Hunter


1978 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actor
1. Gary Busey – The Buddy Holly Story2. Jon Voight – Coming Home3. Nick Nolte – Who'll Stop the Rain4. Michael Caine – California Suite5. Robert De Niro – The Deer Hunter


1978 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actress
1. Ingrid Bergman – Autumn Sonata (Höstsonaten)2. Jane Fonda – Coming Home, Comes a Horseman and California Suite3. Jill Clayburgh – An Unmarried Woman4. Maggie Smith – California Suite


1978 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Supporting Actor
1. Richard Farnsworth – Comes a Horseman1. Robert Morley – Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? 3. Christopher Walken – The Deer Hunter4. Barry Bostwick – Movie Movie


1978 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Supporting Actress
1. Meryl Streep – The Deer Hunter2. Maureen Stapleton – Interiors3. Maggie Smith – California Suite


1978 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Screenplay
1. Paul Mazursky – An Unmarried Woman2. Bertrand Blier – Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (Préparez vos mouchoirs)3. Larry Gelbart and Sheldon Keller – Movie Movie4. W.D. Richter – Invasion of the Body Snatchers5. Woody Allen – Interiors


1978 Nations Cup (tennis)
The 1978 Nations Cup, also known by its sponsored name Ambre Solaire Nations Cup, was a men's team tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the second edition of the Nations Cup and the event was part of the 1978 Grand Prix circuit. It took place at the Rochusclub in Düsseldorf in West Germany from 8 May through 15 May 1978. Total prize money was £100,000 and in total 36,000 people attended the event. The United States were the defending champions. Spain defeated Australia in the final, watched by a crowd of nearly 7,000, to win the title for the first time and earn the $60,000 first-prize money.


1978 Nations Cup (tennis)
The draw consisted of eight teams divided over two round-robin groups. The two best ranked teams from each group proceeded to the semifinals. Each match consisted of two singles and a doubles.


1978 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix
The 1978 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix was the fifth round of the 1978 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 12–14 May 1978 at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello.


1978 Navy Midshipmen football team
The 1978 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach George Welsh.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Roster
Adams, Joe #2 (So.) LBAndrews, George #96 (Sr.) DEBaker, Kim #41 (So.) LBBarnett, Bill #97 (Jr.) DTBergkamp, Tim #36 (So.) PKBerns, Richard #35 (Sr.) IBBloom, Jeff #50 (Jr.) CBranch, Anthony #4 (So.) WBBrown, Kenny #22 (Sr.) WBBruce, Mike #76 (So.) OTBryant, Bill #95 (Sr.) DTCarlstrom, Tom #78 (So.) OGClark, David #63 (So.) DTClark, Kelvin #73 (Sr.) OTCole, Andy #56 (So.) MGCole, Lawrence #81 (Jr.) DECooley, Lawrence #67 (Sr.) OGCotton, Barney #54 (Sr.) CDavies, Steve #82 (So.) TEDeLoach, Trey #52 (So.) CDunning, Bruce #40 (Jr.) LBEngland, Gary #70 (Jr.) LBFinn, Jeff #63 (So.) OGFischer, Tim #16 (Sr.) DBFranklin, Andra #39 (So.) FBGary, Russell #9 (So.) DBGemar, Scott #1 (So.) PKGlenn, Steve #71 (Sr.) OTGoodspeed, Mark #72 (Jr.) OTHager, Gary #87 (So.) SEHager, Tim #10 (Jr.) QBHansen, Jeff #48 (Sr.) DB


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Roster
Havekost, John #69 (Jr.) OGHedrick, Brian #43 (So.) DTHineline, Curt #59 (So.) MGHipp, I.M. #32 (Jr.) IBHolmes, Daryl #94 (So.) DEHorn, Rod #55 (Jr.) DTJohnson, Craig #30 (So.) IBJuehring, Chris #45 (So.) FBKeith, Percy #21 (So.) IBKelly, Jim #49 (So.) FBKotera, Jim #44 (So.) FBKrejci, Jeff #2 (So.) LBKunz, Lee #38 (Sr.) LBLaFever, Dan #37 (So.) LBLee, Jeff #26 (Sr.) SELee, Oudious #65 (Jr.) MGLeRoy, Mark #23 (Jr.) DBLetcher, Paul #8 (Jr.) DBLewis, Rodney #5 (So.) DBLiegl, David #28 (Jr.) DBLindquist, Ric #15 (So.) DBLindquist, Steve #68 (Sr.) OGLindstrom, Dan #98 (So.) DELockett, Frank #80 (Sr.) SEMatthies, Tom #77 (So.) OTMauer, Mark #17 (So.) QBMcCloney, Maurice #31 (Fr.) WBMcCrady, Tim #24 (So.) WBMeans, Andy #34 (So.) DBMichaelson, Steve #18 (So.) QBMiller, Junior #89 (Jr.) TEMinor, John #86 (Jr.) DE


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Roster
Nelson, Derrie #92 (So.) DEOhrt, Tom #74 (Sr.) OTPayne, Dennis #13 (Sr.) DBPensick, Dan #93 (Jr.) DTPillen, Jim #29 (Sr.) DBPhillips, Patrick #94 (So.) DEPoeschl, Randy #75 (Sr.) DTPorter, G.M. (Budge) (Sr.) CBPotadle, Paul #61 (Jr.) OGQuinn, Jeff #11 (So.) QBRabas, Greg #85 (So.) TERuud, John #46 (Jr.) LBRuzich, Mike #99 (So.) DTSaalfeld, Kelly #57 (Jr.) CSchleusener, Randy #53 (So.) CSearcey, L.G. #42 (So.) DBSelko, John #83 (Jr.) TESherry, Scott #91 (So.) DESims, Sammy #6 (So.) DBSmith, Tim #84 (Jr.) SESorley, Tom #12 (Sr.) QBSteels, Anthony #33 (So.) WBSteiner, Dan #58 (Jr.) OGStewart, Eric #19 (Jr.) DBSwanigan, Raymond #53 (So.) LBSukup, Dean #3 (Jr.) PKTheissen, Gordon #90 (Jr.) DETodd, Billy #14 (Sr.) PKVering, Tom #47 (Jr.) LBWalton, Darrell #7 (Sr.) DBWeinmaster, Kerry #51 (Jr.) MGWilliams, Brent #66 (So.) LBWoodard, Scott #88 (So.) SEWurth, Tim #25 (Jr.) IB


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Alabama
Tom Osborne brought his Nebraska Cornhuskers into Birmingham to face Bear Bryant's top-ranked Crimson Tide to start the 1978 season, and Nebraska put the first points on the board with a field goal halfway through the 1st quarter. Unfortunately for the Cornhuskers, the game belonged to Alabama for the rest of the day with no further answer from Nebraska. Alabama suffered no fumbles and rolled up twice as many ground yards as Nebraska, showing that their #1 ranking was deserved.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, California
The Golden Bears were on the scoreboard first, but the Cornhuskers came back to tie midway through the 2nd quarter with help from a tricky two-handoff pass play to set up a score. The score was still tied at 14 through the 3rd quarter, before a surge of scoring opened up in the 4th as both teams combined for 34 points. Nebraska led on the ground 302-76, while California owned the air 271-190, but it was the Cornhuskers with more points at the final whistle.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Hawaii
Nebraska rolled to a dominating 35-0 1st half lead, and eight Cornhusker players scored during the course of the game as Hawaii allowed 599 yards of offense in their futile attempts to slow the onslaught. Hawaii's only touchdown came on the heels of a Nebraska fumble, and the spread was by then far too great for the Warriors to ever pose a threat to the Cornhuskers.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Indiana
Indiana was outclassed from the kickoff, as Nebraska scored on all of their first four possessions and jumped to a 28-lead in the 1st quarter, scoring more points than Indiana would be able to muster on the entire day. Five Cornhusker runners found the end zone, as well as a Blackshirt who recovered a fumble, as Nebraska rolled up 613 yards of offense for the day.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Iowa State
Nebraska was the first on the board and never allowed Iowa State to join them afterwards, as they led 9-0 at halftime and tacked on 14 more before the final whistle, while capitalizing on two interceptions thrown by the Cyclones and holding Iowa State to just 82 yards of total offense at their own home field.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Kansas State
Kansas State made an effort to be competitive for a bit, but Nebraska kept going after obtaining a 14-7 halftime lead, and the Wildcats were trailing by 28 before they put up their final 4th-quarter touchdown, which the Cornhuskers further marginalized with 13 additional points while posting their second consecutive 600+ yard game.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Colorado
Colorado jumped out to an 11-point lead in the 1st quarter, helped in part by a 100-yard kickoff return, but there would be no further Colorado points allowed as Nebraska tallied 49 straight unanswered points to silence any Colorado hopes for an upset while recording their third consecutive game with over 600 yards of offense.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State endeavored to keep this one close, and held Nebraska to around half of the total offensive yards the Cornhuskers had accumulated in each of the last three games. Statistically, in fact, it was very close, as the Cowboys barely led in the air 110-99, while the Cornhuskers barely led on the ground 217-213, and the Cowboys also held the edge in 1st downs 17-15. At the end of the day, however, it was all about who put points on the board, and Nebraska clinched the win on a 42-yard field goal with 15 seconds left to play, going ahead by 8 and holding on for the win.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Kansas
Nebraska started slow, only leading by 7 after the 1st quarter, but then the game blew open when the Cornhuskers put up four unanswered touchdowns in the 2nd and five overall, leading 42-7 at the half. The Jayhawks gamely put up 14 more points before the day was over, but not nearly enough to catch up, let alone overcome the additional 21 posted by the Cornhuskers before the final whistle. Nebraska's 799 total yards of offense set a new Big 8 record.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma
It was an epic contest, the biggest since the original Nebraska-Oklahoma Game of the Century in 1971, as the top-ranked and undefeated Oklahoma Sooners arrived in Lincoln to defend their ranking and possibly settle the 1978 Big 8 title with Nebraska. Oklahoma put up the first score, which was matched by Nebraska by halftime, and the game was still tied at 14 at the start of the 4th quarter.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma
Nebraska put up the go-ahead field goal just minutes into the 4th, and the ensuing battle pitted the vaunted Oklahoma offense against the stalwart Blackshirts, who held until the end, finally forcing Oklahoma RB Billy Sims to fumble on the Nebraska 3 with 3:27 remaining to play and sealing the first Cornhusker victory over the Sooners since the famous 1971 contest.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Missouri
With the Cornhuskers riding high from their win over #1 Oklahoma, concerns that Missouri might be overlooked came to pass, as the Tigers downed the Cornhuskers in Lincoln 35-31. Nebraska RB Rick Berns, soon to be drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, started the day by tearing off an 82-yard run to set the tone. Nebraska was able to cling to a slim 3-point halftime lead through the 3rd quarter, but failed to answer Missouri's final touchdown with 3:42 remaining to play, which subsequently and unexpectedly sent both Oklahoma and Nebraska to the Orange Bowl to once again face each other.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma
Just six weeks prior, Oklahoma and Nebraska met for the 1978 revisit of the "Game of the Century", and yet circumstances dictated that they would meet again for a rematch, and once again the Cornhuskers were in the role of spoiler, but the Sooners were simply not going to be defeated this time around. Nebraska led the first down battle 27-17 and led Oklahoma in the air 220-47 as well as in total offense, but was hurt by two lost interceptions.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma
Although behind by 7 at the half and falling to 31-10 by the end of the 3rd, the Cornhuskers still rallied back and had a chance until IB Craig Johnson was stopped on a 4th-and-1 for no gain on the Sooners 7 with 8:07 left. Nebraska got the ball back and eventually did put it into the end zone again with :03 left on the clock to come within 7 points for the final score.


1978 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, Rankings, NFL and Pro Players
The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1978 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.


1978 Nebraska gubernatorial election
The 1978 Nebraska gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1978, and featured U.S. Representative Charles Thone, a Republican, defeating Democratic nominee, Lieutenant Governor Gerald T. Whelan. Incumbent Governor J. James Exon, a Democrat, was barred from seeking a third term.


1978 Nemzeti Bajnokság I (women's handball)
The 1978 Nemzeti Bajnokság I is the 28th season of the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, Hungary's premier Handball league.


1978 Nemzeti Bajnokság I (women's handball), Final list
* M: Matches W: Win D: Drawn L: Lost G+: Goals earned G-: Goals got P: Point


1978 Nevada Wolf Pack football team
The 1978 Nevada Wolf Pack football team represented the University of Nevada, Reno during the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Nevada competed as an independent. The Wolf Pack were led by third-year head coach Chris Ault and played their home games at Mackay Stadium.


1978 Nevada gubernatorial election
The 1978 Nevada gubernatorial election occurred on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Democratic governor Mike O'Callaghan was term limited. Republican nominee Robert List was elected Governor of Nevada, defeating Democratic nominee Robert E. Rose.


1978 New Brunswick general election
The 1978 New Brunswick general election was held on October 23, 1978, to elect 58 members to the 49th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Richard Hatfield's Progressive Conservative Party narrowly won its third term.


1978 New Brunswick general election
The result was the closest in New Brunswick history: the governing PCs won 30 seats to 28 for the opposition. The popular vote was very close: 146,719 votes were cast for Conservative candidates, and 146,596 for Liberals. In order to secure a workable majority following the election, Hatfield appointed Liberal Robert McCready as speaker of the legislature, despite strong objections from McCready's Liberal colleagues; McCready went on to seek re-election as a Conservative and served in Hatfield's cabinet.


1978 New Brunswick general election
The Parti Acadien had its best ever showing in the election, winning 12% of the vote in the ridings where it fielded candidates, and coming within 200 votes of electing Armand Plourde in Restigouche West.


1978 New Brunswick general election, Background
In the lead up to 1978, the Opposition Liberal Party seemed destined to return to power. A number of scandals had been tied to the Conservatives and Liberal leader Robert Higgins was widely popular. In early 1978, Higgins believed he had tied some of the scandals directly to Hatfield himself. In a bold move, Higgins promised to resign should Hatfield prove that he was not tied directly to the scandal, which Hatfield promptly did. Higgins was forced to abruptly resign and was replaced by Joseph Daigle as leader. The Liberals mused that Hatfield had purposely ensured false information was leaked to the Liberals to lead them into making false accusations.


1978 New Brunswick general election, Background
Higgins' resignation created Hatfield's best chance to go to the polls. He called an election shortly after Daigle became Liberal leader. Despite the lack of a direct link to Hatfield, scandal remained tied to his government and a close election result was assured.


1978 New Brunswick general election, Campaign
Hatfield's government was not entirely clean, however. The Liberals pointed to the Conservatives' budgets, which no longer maintained a surplus. The Bricklin failure was also fresh on voters' minds. While campaigning in anglophone sections of the province, Hatfield accused Daigle of being an anti-monarchist for supporting Pierre Trudeau's constitutional reforms.


1978 New Brunswick general election, Results by riding, South West
Consisting of Queens, Kings, Saint John and Charlotte county ridings.


1978 New England Patriots season
The 1978 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League and 19th overall. They finished the season with a record of eleven wins and five losses, tied for first in the AFC East, and had the tiebreaker over the Miami Dolphins; it was the Patriots' second division title, and the first since 1963, the fourth year of the AFL.


1978 New England Patriots season
New England set a then NFL record in 1978 for most rushing yards in a single season, with 3,165 yards on the ground. They had four players who rushed for more than 500 yards each: running back Sam "Bam" Cunningham, 768; running back Andy Johnson, 675; running back Horace Ivory, 693; and quarterback Steve Grogan, 539. The team also picked up an NFL-record 181 rushing first-downs.


1978 New England Patriots season, Regular season
Following a preseason hit in Oakland that paralyzed popular receiver Darryl Stingley for life, the Patriots staggered to a 1–2 start before upsetting the Oakland Raiders on the road. From there the Patriots stormed to win nine of their next 12 games, establishing an NFL record for rushing yards at 3,165. The Patriots clinched their first division title with a 26–24 win over the Buffalo Bills with one game remaining.


1978 New England Patriots season, Notable games, Preseason
Tragedy blackened a 21–7 Patriots win over the Raiders when, late in the second quarter, Darryl Stingley jumped after a Steve Grogan throw and was crushed in the jaw by Jack Tatum of the Raiders. The hit paralyzed Stingley for life.


1978 New England Patriots season, Notable games, Preseason
The tragedy was also a turning point in Chuck Fairbanks' relationship with the Sullivan family; he was already upset over the previous season when the Sullivans overruled him over new contracts with John Hannah and Leon Gray, and with Stingley he had worked out an agreement on a contract extension before the team traveled to Oakland, but the Monday after the game, Stingley's attorney telephoned Chuck Sullivan about the contract and Sullivan said, "We don't have a contract with Stingley." Fairbanks, according to Hannah, "was livid. He decided right then that he wouldn't stay with an organization that treated its folks like that."


1978 New England Patriots season, Notable games, Week 3
Hosting the Colts on Monday Night Football at a rain-soaked Schaefer Stadium the Patriots were downed 34–27 on a one-man scoring rampage by the Colts' Joe Washington, who threw a 54-yard touchdown to Roger Carr, caught a 23-yard score from Bill Troup, and after a game-tying Sam Cunningham touchdown run in the fourth returned the ensuing kick 90 yards for the game-winning touchdown.


1978 New England Patriots season, Notable games, Week 4
Returning to Oakland nearly six weeks after Darryl Stingley's near-fatal injury, the Patriots rallied from a 14–0 second-quarter gap by forcing three Ken Stabler interceptions and scoring 21 unanswered points by Russ Francis, Horace Ivory, and Sam Cunningham. The team visited Stingley in the Oakland-area hospital where he was still staying and his jovial banter with the team warmed their spirits enormously.


1978 New England Patriots season, Notable games, Week 9
In a bizarre harbinger of Spygate, the Patriots exploded for eight touchdowns – Steve Grogan threw to Harold Jackson twice (David Posey missed the PAT on Jackson's second score), Stanley Morgan, and Russ Francis, and two rushing scores apiece by Horace Ivory and James McAlister – in a 55–21 slaughter of the Jets. Jets coach Walt Michaels suspected the Patriots were deciphering his coaching staff's codes and that a rival team had tipped off the Patriots to these codes – "This will never happen to us again", Michaels stewed afterward. "I know what they did, but by the time we figured it out, it was too late."


1978 New England Patriots season, Notable games, Week 11
The Patriots' seven-game winning streak crashed to a halt as they stormed to a 23–0 lead in the second quarter but surrendered four unanswered Houston touchdowns (marred by two missed PATs by Toni Fritsch) and a 26–23 Houston win.


1978 New England Patriots season, Notable games, Week 13
The Patriots crushed the Colts 35–14, sacking Bill Troup eight times while snatching two Troup interceptions (Mike Haynes scored from Baltimore's 36-yard line with the first INT) for good measure. Harold Jackson, Andy Johnson, and Sam Cunningham rushed in touchdowns while Stanley Morgan caught a 75-yard touchdown strike from Steve Grogan.


1978 New England Patriots season, Notable games, Week 15
Playing in a snowstorm, the Patriots needed a win to clinch the AFC East. They trailed for most of this game as Roland Hooks and Terry Miller of the Bills scored on the ground and Frank Lewis caught a 21-yard touchdown from Joe Ferguson. The Patriots also suffered when linebackers Steve Zabel and Steve Nelson were injured.


1978 New England Patriots season, Notable games, Week 15
They rallied, however, behind rushing scores by Sam Cunningham, Steve Grogan, and Horace Ivory and a safety when Tim Fox ran Bills punter Rusty Jackson out of the endzone; Bills coach Chuck Knox allowed a safety because he feared punting out of his team's endzone. In the game's final eight seconds the Bills led 24–23 but David Posey kicked the winning field goal from 21 yards out, clinching a 26–24 win.


1978 New England Patriots season, Notable games, Week 16
The celebration of the AFC East title was wiped out when coach Chuck Fairbanks, who'd been negotiating a head coaching position with the University of Colorado all season, was suspended just before New England's regular-season wrapup in Miami on Monday Night Football. Coordinators Hank Bullough and Ron Erhardt took over as co-head coaches for the game. The suspension of Fairbanks and elevation of Bullough and Erhardt took the team, radioman Gil Santos, and the ABC Network's Howard Cosell by surprise. The Patriots were crushed 23–3 by the Dolphins; Steve Grogan injured his knee during the game. Despite the loss the Patriots won the division on tie-breakers over the 11–5 Dolphins and secured a playoff bye.


1978 New England Patriots season, Notable games, Divisional
To the surprise of everyone, Chuck Fairbanks was reinstated as head coach for the playoffs, but by then he had lost the respect of the locker room, and in their very first home playoff game the Patriots were massacred by the Oilers 31–14 behind three Dan Pastorini touchdown throws and an Earl Campbell rushing score. Steve Grogan, unable to push off on his injured knee, threw two interceptions and was knocked out of the game; backup Tom Owen managed one touchdown (a 24-yard strike to Russ Francis) while Harold Jackson caught a 24-yard score from Andy Johnson. Following the game Fairbanks left for good amid long-running acrimony with Billy and Chuck Sullivan; a lawsuit was settled on April 2, 1979, that gave the Patriots $200,000 and made Fairbanks liable if he took another NFL job before 1983, the period when his previous contract was supposed to end.


1978 New Hampshire Wildcats football team
The 1978 New Hampshire Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Hampshire as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In its seventh year under head coach Bill Bowes, the team compiled a 6–4–1 record (1–3–1 against conference opponents) and finished fifth out of six teams in the Yankee Conference.


1978 New Hampshire gubernatorial election
The 1978 New Hampshire gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1978.


1978 New Hampshire gubernatorial election
Incumbent Republican Governor Meldrim Thomson Jr. ran for a fourth term in office, but was defeated by State Representative Hugh Gallen.


1978 New Mexico Lobos football team
The 1978 New Mexico Lobos football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Mexico in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth season under head coach Bill Mondt, the Lobos compiled a 7–5 record (3–3 against WAC opponents) and outscored opponents by a total of 284 to 205.


1978 New Mexico Lobos football team
The team's statistical leaders included Brad Wright with 1,925 passing yards, Mike Williams with 1,015 rushing yards, Ricky Martin with 594 receiving yards, and kicker Alan Moore with 64 points scored.


1978 New Mexico State Aggies football team
The 1978 New Mexico State Aggies football team was an American football team that represented New Mexico State University in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Gil Krueger, the Aggies compiled a 6–5 record and finished as MVC champions. The team played its home games at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico.


1978 New Mexico gubernatorial election
The 1978 New Mexico gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1978, in order to elect the Governor of New Mexico. Due to term limits, incumbent Democrat Jerry Apodaca was ineligible to seek a second term as Governor.


1978 New Mexico gubernatorial election, Democratic primary
The Democratic primary was won by former Governor Bruce King.


1978 New Mexico gubernatorial election, Republican primary
The Republican primary was won by former state senator Joe Skeen.


1978 New Orleans Saints season
The 1978 New Orleans Saints season was the Saints’ twelfth season. Quarterback Archie Manning put together one of his finest seasons, earning the NFC Player of the Year award and becoming the Saints’ first Pro Bowl representative since the NFL–AFL merger as the Saints finished with a franchise-best 7–9 mark under new head coach Dick Nolan. Seven of the Saints’ losses came against teams that qualified for the playoffs (including both Super Bowl XIII teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys), whilst all nine losses came against teams who finished at or above .500.


1978 New South Wales Open
The 1978 New South Wales Open, also known by its sponsored name Marlboro New South Wales Open, was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts at the White City Stadium in Sydney, Australia. The men's event was part of the 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix circuit while the women's event was art of the 1979 Colgate Series. It was the 86th edition of the event and was held from 18 December through 24 December 1978. The singles titles were won by unseeded Tim Wilkison and second-seeded Dianne Fromholtz.


1978 New South Wales Open, Finals, Men's Singles
Tim Wilkison defeated  Kim Warwick 6–3, 6–3, 6–7, 3–6, 6–2


1978 New South Wales Open, Finals, Men's Doubles
Hank Pfister /  Sherwood Stewart defeated  Syd Ball /  Bob Carmichael 6–4, 6–4


1978 New South Wales Open, Finals, Women's Doubles
Lesley Hunt /  Sharon Walsh defeated  Ilana Kloss /  Marise Kruger 6–2, 6–1


1978 New South Wales referendum
The 1978 New South Wales referendum was held on 17 June 1978 and contained a single question:


1978 New South Wales referendum
Do you approve of the Bill entitled 'A Bill for an Act to provide for the election of members of the Legislative Council directly by the people'.