1972 East Texas State Lions football team
The 1972 East Texas State Lions football team represented East Texas State University in the 1972 NAIA Division I football season. They were led by head coach Ernest Hawkins, who was in his ninth season at East Texas State. The Lions played their home games at Memorial Stadium and were members of the Lone Star Conference. The Lions won the Lone Star Conference, the NAIA District IV, and the NAIA Division I National Championship.
| 1972 East Texas State Lions football | |
|---|---|
NAIA Division I champion LSC champion | |
NAIA Division I Football Championship, W 21–18 vs. Carson–Newman | |
| Conference | Lone Star Conference |
| 1972 record | 10–2 (7–1 LSC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Ernest Hawkins |
| Defensive coordinator | Bobby Fox |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 10,000) |
| 1972 Lone Star Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Texas State $^ | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Angelo State | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southwest Texas State | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Howard Payne | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas A&I | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sam Houston State | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sul Ross | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stephen F. Austin | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tarleton State | 0 | – | 8 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| McMurry * | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abilene Christian * | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Heading into the 1972 season, the Lions were picked to finish fourth in the conference, and started out the season with 14–12 loss to rival Abilene Christian, but then racked up six straight wins to climb into the national polls. Then The Lions were upset by Sul Ross State, dropping them out of the top five in the rankings. The Lions finished the season with wins over Angelo State and Tarleton State. When the final national rankings came out, the Lions were ranked fourth in the nation and invited to the NAIA Division I playoffs. In the semifinal round the Lions faced the top-ranked team in the nation, the Central State Bronchos of Oklahoma. The Lions routed Central State, 54–0 in the earning them a spot in Champion Bowl against the second-ranked Carson–Newman. The title game was determined to be played in Commerce. On a bitterly cold December day in front of a packed Memorial Stadium, Hawkins's Lions defeated Carson–Newman, 21–18, to claim the national title. Among the players on the team were future National Football League (NFL) players Will Cureton, Harvey Martin, Autry Beamon, Aundra Thompson, and Tim Collier. The Lions were named the National Team of the Year and Hawkins was named both Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 9 | 2:00 p.m. | at Abilene Christian* | L 14–12 | ||
| September 16 | 6:00 p.m. | at East Central* |
| W 37–14 | |
| September 23 | 6:00 p.m. | at Sam Houston State | W 23–0 | ||
| September 30 | 6:00 p.m. | Howard Payne | W 35–15 | ||
| October 7 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 12 Texas A&I |
| W 29–17 | |
| October 14 | 2:00 pm | at Stephen F. Austin | Nacogdoches, TX | W 21–9 | |
| October 21 | 2:00 pm | No. 6 Southwest State | No. 7 |
| W 32–29 |
| October 28 | 2:00 p.m. | at Sul Ross State | No. 4 |
| L 15–14 |
| November 4 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 14 Angelo State | No. 6 |
| W 24–14 |
| November 11 | 2:00 p.m. | at Tarleton State | No. 5 | W 27–6 | |
| November 25 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 1 Central State (OK) | No. 6 |
| W 54–0 |
| December 9 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 2 Carson–Newman | No. 6 |
| W 21–18 |
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Awards
- NAIA Coach of the Year: Ernest Hawkins
All-Americans
- Harvey Martin, First Team Defensive Line
- Kenneth Parks, First Team, Running Back
- Curtis Wester, First Team, Offensive Line
- Autry Beamon, Second Team, Defensive Back
- Denver Crawley, Honorable Mention, Offensive Tackle
- Dudley Slice, Honorable Mention, Receiver
- Ricky Earle, Honorable Mention, Safety
All-Lone Star Conference
LSC Superlatives
- Coach of the year: Ernest Hawkins
- Outstanding Lineman: Curts Wester
- Outstanding Back: Kenneth Parks
LSC First Team
- Autry Beamon, Safety
- Denver Crowley, Offensive Line
- Will Cureton, Quarterback
- Ricky Earle, Safety
- Harvey Martin, Defensive End
- Kenneth Parks, Running Back
- Dudley Slice, Receiver
- Doug Walker, Linebacker
- Curtis Wester, Offensive Line
LSC Second Team
- Calvin Harris, Tight End
- LeRoy Johnson, Linebacker
LSC Honorable Mention
- Kenneth Brown, Offensive tackle
- Nelson Robinson, Fullback
- James Talbot, Linebacker
- Jim Talley, Center
- Jackie Woods, Offensive Guard [2]
References
- "Lion Football History" (Press release). Texas A&M University Commerce Department of Athletics. December 12, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- "A&M-Commerce Football Award History" (Press release). Texas A&M University Commerce Department of Athletics. December 12, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2019.