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 * – Ineligible for conference play

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

^{[9] [10]}

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

Notes

1. Designated conference game ^[4]

After the season

1972 NFL draft

The following Golden Hurricane players were selected in the 1972 NFL draft following the season. ^{[11] [12]}

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

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. "Tulsa hangs on to down WTSU". The Odessa American. October 3, 1971. Retrieved March 13, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Valley Has 'New Look'". Denton Record-Chronicle . Denton, Texas. Associated Press. September 16, 1971. p. 14C. Retrieved January 19, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
5. "Tulsa tops scoring jamboree". The Daily Oklahoman. October 10, 1971. Retrieved December 14, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Wake Forest cuts down Tulsa, 51–21". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. October 17, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "BYU wins over Tulsa in first". Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph. October 24, 1971. Retrieved September 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Maxwell rouses Vol offense to 38–3 victory over Tulsa". The Paducah Sun. October 31, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
9. "1971 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
10. "Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football Record & Fact Book 2022" (PDF). University of Tulsa. p. 184. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
11. "1972 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
12. "Tulsa Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.