1971 Tampa Spartans football team

1971 Tampa Spartans football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Bill Fulcher (1st season)
Home stadium	Tampa Stadium
Seasons ←  1970 1972  →

1971 NCAA College Division independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Delaware			–					10	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Tennessee State			–					9	–	1	–	0
No. 2 McNeese State			–					9	–	1	–	1
Colorado College			–					7	–	1	–	0
No. 8 Akron			–					8	–	2	–	0
Samford			–					8	–	2	–	0
No. 3 Eastern Michigan			–					7	–	1	–	2
Arkansas AM&N			–					7	–	2	–	0
Indiana (PA)			–					7	–	2	–	0
Kentucky State			–					8	–	3	–	0
Appalachian State			–					7	–	3	–	1
Northern Michigan			–					7	–	3	–	0
Hawaii			–					7	–	4	–	0
Ashland			–					6	–	4	–	0
Santa Clara			–					6	–	4	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					6	–	4	–	0
Tampa			–					6	–	5	–	0
UNLV			–					5	–	4	–	1
Bucknell			–					5	–	5	–	0
Central Michigan			–					5	–	5	–	0
Milwaukee			–					5	–	5	–	0
Nevada			–					5	–	5	–	0
St. Norbert			–					5	–	5	–	0
Wayne State (MI)			–					4	–	4	–	0
Hofstra			–					5	–	6	–	0
Cortland			–					4	–	5	–	0
Northeastern			–					4	–	5	–	0
Portland State			–					4	–	5	–	0
Chicago			–					3	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana			–					4	–	6	–	1
Eastern Illinois			–					4	–	6	–	0
Indiana State			–					4	–	6	–	0
Saint Mary's			–					3	–	5	–	0
Rose-Hulman			–					3	–	6	–	0
Boston University			–					3	–	7	–	0
Drexel			–					2	–	6	–	0
Chattanooga			–					2	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP small college poll

The 1971 Tampa Spartans football team represented the University of Tampa in the 1971 NCAA College Division football season. It was the Spartans' 35th season. The team was led by head coach Bill Fulcher, in his first year, and played their home games at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida. They finished with a record of six wins and five losses (6–5). Fulcher was hired on January 7, 1971, to serve as the replacement for Fran Curci who resigned to become the head coach at Miami. ^[1]

After an upset loss against Louisiana Tech to open the season, the Spartans won four consecutive games against Chattanooga, Youngstown State, Dayton and Drake. ^[2] Ranked No. 2 as they entered their game against Villanova, Tampa was upset by the Wildcats 24–3. ^[3] After the loss, the Spartans would lose three of their next four games. A week after their loss at Louisville, Tampa returned home and lost to Ole Miss by a single point in a game that saw the Spartans score on touchdown passes of 93 and 49 yards. ^[4] Tampa then rebounded the next week with a 43–7 win over East Carolina. ^[5] The Spartans then closed the season with a loss at Vanderbilt and a victory over Florida A&M. ^[6] On January 21, 1972, Fulcher resigned as head coach of the Spartans to take the same position at Georgia Tech. ^[7]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18		Louisiana Tech		Tampa Stadium Tampa, Fl	L 20–28	27,333	[8]
September 25		at Chattanooga	No. 13	Chamberlain Field Chattanooga, TN	W 31–14	10,000–10,205	[9] [10]
October 2		Youngstown State		Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	W 49–0	15,147
October 9		Dayton		Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	W 47–14	18,031
October 16		at Drake	No. 8	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	W 36–2	15,200
October 23	8:00 p.m.	Villanova	No. 6	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	L 3–24	27,397	[11]
October 30	7:30 p.m.	at Louisville	No. 10	Fairgrounds Stadium Louisville, KY	L 10–21	17,341
November 6		Ole Miss		Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	L 27–28	20,559–20,959	[12]
November 13		East Carolina		Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	W 43–7	17,092–17,902	[13]
November 20		at Vanderbilt		Dudley Field Nashville, TN	L 7–10	9,977–12,000	[14]
November 27		Florida A&M		Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	W 56–14	37,112
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[15]

References

1. "Tampa picks Florida aide". St. Petersburg Times . January 8, 1971. p. 1C. Retrieved October 5, 2012– via Google News Archives.
2. Cardon, Mark (September 19, 1971). "Tampa loses debut 28–20". Sarasota Herald-Tribune . p. 1C. Retrieved October 5, 2012– via Google News Archives.
3. Cardon, Mark (October 24, 1971). "Villanova upsets Spartans". Sarasota Herald-Tribune . p. 1C. Retrieved October 5, 2012– via Google News Archives.
4. Barefield, Ron (November 7, 1971). "Tampa bid fails, Rebs win 28–27". Lakeland Ledger . p. 1B. Retrieved October 5, 2012– via Google News Archives.
5. "Spartans crush Carolina eleven". Ocala Star-Banner . Associated Press. November 14, 1971. p. 2D. Retrieved October 5, 2012– via Google News Archives.
6. "Tampa saves winning season against FAMU". Lakeland Ledger . November 28, 1971. p. 2B. Retrieved October 5, 2012– via Google News Archives.
7. Duffy, Tom (January 22, 1972). "Prestige up, but Tampa coachless". St. Petersburg Times . p. 2C. Retrieved October 5, 2012– via Google News Archives.
8. Cardon, Mark (September 19, 1971). "Tampa loses debut 28–20". Sarasota Herald-Tribune . p. 1C. Retrieved March 23, 2021– via Google News Archives.
9. "Spartans repent, blast Mocs 31–14". The Tampa Tribune. September 26, 1971. Retrieved September 14, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Final 1971 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Chattanooga)". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved December 15, 2022.
11. Cardon, Mark (October 24, 1971). "Villanova upsets Spartans". Sarasota Herald-Tribune . p. 1C. Retrieved October 5, 2012– via Google News Archives.
12. "2-point try fails, Tampa falls to Ole Miss, 28–27". The Orlando Sentinel. November 7, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Spartans snap losing streak". The Tampa Tribune. November 14, 1971. Retrieved March 3, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Vandy defeats Tampa". The Miami Herald. November 21, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
15. "Final 1971 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Tampa)". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved May 6, 2025.