1971 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

1971 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	4–7 (3–2 MVC)
Head coach	Claude "Hoot" Gibson (2nd season)
Home stadium	Skelly Stadium
Seasons ←  1970 1972  →

1971 Missouri Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Memphis State $	4	–	1	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Louisville	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	1
Tulsa	3	–	2	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
North Texas State	3	–	2	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Drake	2	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
West Texas State	1	–	4	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Wichita State	0	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
New Mexico State *	0	–	0	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
$ – Conference champion * – New Mexico State was ineligible for conference play, but its games against Drake, North Texas State, West Texas State, and Wichita State counted in the conference standings for its opponents. Drake's game against Tampa, Memphis State's games against Cincinnati and Southern Miss, and Tulsa's games against BYU and Virginia Tech were also designated as conference games.

The 1971 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. In their second year under head coach Claude "Hoot" Gibson, the Golden Hurricane compiled an overall record of 4–7 with a mark of 3–2 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for second in the MVC. ^[1]

The team's statistical leaders included Todd Starks with 1,687 passing yards, Mike Ridley with 311 rushing yards, and Jim Butler with 486 receiving yards. ^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18		Kansas State *	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	L 10–19	23,500	[3]
September 25		at No. 7 Arkansas *	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	W 21–20	41,742	[4]
October 2	8:00 p.m.	at West Texas State	Kimbrough Memorial Stadium Canyon, TX	W 17–13	15,000	[5]
October 9		Virginia Tech [n 1]	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 46–39	21,500	[7]
October 16		at Wake Forest *	Groves Stadium Winston–Salem, NC	L 21–51	18,700	[8]
October 23		BYU [n 1]	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	L 7–25	11,500	[9]
October 30		at No. 16 Tennessee *	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	L 3–38	62,517	[10]
November 6	1:30 p.m.	Louisville	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	L 0–17	14,000	[11]
November 13	1:35 p.m.	Air Force *	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	L 7–17	21,000	[12]
November 20		at Florida State *	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	L 10–45	20,528	[13]
November 27		at Wichita State	Cessna Stadium Wichita, KS	W 31–13	7,835	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^{[15] [16] [17]}

Roster

1971 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 74 Jean Barrett Sr TE 89 T. C. Blair So WR 3 Drew Pearson Jr QB 9 Todd Starks	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 90 Dick Blanchard Sr LB 94 Steve King Jr CB 1 Ralph McGill Sr DT 75 Arthur Moore Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Claude "Hoot" Gibson Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

After the season

1972 NFL draft

The following Golden Hurricane players were selected in the 1972 NFL draft following the season. ^{[18] [19]}

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
2	28	Ralph McGill	Defensive back	San Francisco 49ers
2	44	Jean Barrett	Tackle	San Francisco 49ers
10	259	Jim Butler	Tight end	Houston Oilers
16	401	James Shaw	Defensive back	San Diego Chargers

Notes

1. Designated conference game ^[6]

References

1. "Truthful Tulsa 2nd in MVC". The Austin American . Austin, Texas. Associated Press. November 29, 1971. p. 25. Retrieved January 19, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
2. "1971 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
3. "K-State scuttles Tulsa despite 97-yard dash". The Daily Oklahoman. September 19, 1971. Retrieved September 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Tulsa whirlwind engulfs Razorbacks' clean machine". The Commercial Appeal. September 26, 1971. Retrieved September 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Tulsa hangs on to down WTSU". The Odessa American. October 3, 1971. Retrieved March 13, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Valley Has 'New Look'". Denton Record-Chronicle . Denton, Texas. Associated Press. September 16, 1971. p. 14C. Retrieved January 19, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
7. "Tulsa tops scoring jamboree". The Daily Oklahoman. October 10, 1971. Retrieved December 14, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Wake Forest cuts down Tulsa, 51–21". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. October 17, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "BYU wins over Tulsa in first". Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph. October 24, 1971. Retrieved September 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Maxwell rouses Vol offense to 38–3 victory over Tulsa". The Paducah Sun. October 31, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Louisville chains Tulsa, 17–0". Denton Record-Chronicle. November 7, 1971. Retrieved September 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Breaks turn Air Force's way". Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph. November 14, 1971. Retrieved September 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "FSU bombs Tulsa behind Huff's passes". The Bradenton Herald. November 21, 1971. Retrieved September 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. "TU gives Shockers good bowling out". Tulsa World. November 28, 1971. Retrieved September 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
15. "1971 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
16. "Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football Record & Fact Book 2022" (PDF). University of Tulsa. p. 184. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
17. "Schedule/Results (1971 Tulsa)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved September 29, 2025.
18. "1972 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
19. "Tulsa Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.