The rankings were prepared and published the United Press International (UPI).
It was the first year that the UPI compiled small-college rankings.
The Associated Press (AP) did not begin publishing small-college rankings until 1960.
Mississippi Southern compiled a perfect 9–0 record and was ranked No.
The Pittsburgh Courier, a leading African American newspaper, ranked the top 1958 teams from historically black colleges and universities in an era when college football was often racially segregated.