1963 NCAA Division I-A football season

1963 NCAA University Division football season
Preseason AP #1	USC Trojans
Regular season	September 20 – December 7, 1963
Number of bowls	8
Bowl games	December 21, 1963 – January 1, 1964
Champion	Texas Longhorns (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
Heisman	Roger Staubach, Navy QB
← 1962 College football seasons 1964 →

1963 AAWU football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Washington $	4	–	1	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
USC	3	–	1	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
UCLA	2	–	2	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Washington State	1	–	1	–	0			3	–	6	–	1
California	1	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	1
Stanford	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1963 ACC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
North Carolina +	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
NC State +	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Clemson	5	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	1
Duke	5	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	1
Maryland	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
South Carolina	1	–	5	–	1			1	–	8	–	1
Wake Forest	1	–	5	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
Virginia	0	–	5	–	1			2	–	7	–	1
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1963 Big 8 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Nebraska $	7	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Oklahoma	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Missouri	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Kansas	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Iowa State	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Colorado	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Oklahoma State	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1963 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Illinois $	5	–	1	–	1			8	–	1	–	1
No. 9 Michigan State	4	–	1	–	1			6	–	2	–	1
Ohio State	4	–	1	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
Purdue	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Northwestern	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Michigan	2	–	3	–	2			3	–	4	–	2
Iowa	2	–	3	–	1			3	–	3	–	2
Minnesota	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Indiana	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1963 Ivy League football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Dartmouth +	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Princeton +	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Harvard	4	–	2	–	1			5	–	2	–	2
Yale	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Cornell	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Columbia	2	–	4	–	1			4	–	4	–	1
Brown	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
Penn	1	–	6	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1963 Mid-American Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Ohio $	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Miami (OH)	4	–	1	–	1			5	–	3	–	2
Bowling Green	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Marshall	3	–	2	–	1			5	–	4	–	1
Western Michigan	2	–	4	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Kent State	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	5	–	1
Toledo	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1963 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Wichita $	3	–	1	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Cincinnati	2	–	1	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Tulsa	2	–	2	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
North Texas State	2	–	2	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Louisville	0	–	3	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion

1963 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 7 Ole Miss $	5	–	0	–	1			7	–	1	–	2
No. 5 Auburn	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Alabama	6	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Mississippi State	4	–	1	–	2			7	–	2	–	2
LSU	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Georgia Tech	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Florida	3	–	3	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
Tennessee	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Georgia	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	1
Vanderbilt	0	–	5	–	2			1	–	7	–	2
Kentucky	0	–	5	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Tulane	0	–	6	–	1			1	–	8	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1963 Southern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
VPI $	5	–	0	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
West Virginia	3	–	1	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
VMI	3	–	1	–	2			3	–	5	–	2
Furman	3	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
William & Mary	4	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Richmond	2	–	2	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
The Citadel	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
George Washington	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Davidson	0	–	4	–	1			1	–	5	–	2
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the major college football teams in the University Division, later known as Division I-A. The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The AP poll in 1963 consisted of the votes of 56 sportswriters, each of whom would give their opinion of the ten best teams. Under a point system of 10 points for first place, 9 for second, etc., the "overall" ranking was determined. Although the rankings were based on the collective opinion of the representative sportswriters, the teams that remained "unbeaten and untied" were generally ranked higher than those that had not. A defeat, even against a strong opponent, tended to cause a team to drop in the rankings, and a team with two or more defeats was unlikely to remain in the Top 10. The top teams played on New Year's Day in the four major postseason bowl games: the Rose (near Los Angeles at Pasadena), Sugar (New Orleans), Orange (Miami) and Cotton (Dallas).

As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press (AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by United Press International (UPI). Both services issued their final polls at the close of the regular season, but before teams competed in bowl games. The Associated Press presented the "AP Trophy" to the winner. At the end of the 1963 season, the #1 and #2 teams (Texas and Navy) met in the Cotton Bowl on January 1, with Texas winning 28 to 6.

In the preseason poll for 1963, the defending national champion USC Trojans were first with 484 points, followed by the Mississippi Rebels with 389 points.

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