1972 East Texas State Lions football team

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
Record	10–2 (7–1 LSC)
Head coach	Ernest Hawkins (9th season)
Offensive scheme	Option
Defensive coordinator	Bobby Fox (2nd season)
Base defense	5–2
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1971 1973 →

1972 Lone Star Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 East Texas State $^	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 12 Angelo State	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	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
$ – Conference champion ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant * – did not complete for conference title Rankings from NAIA Division I poll

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.

Heading into the 1972 season, the Lions were picked to finish fourth in the conference,^{[ citation needed ]} 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, 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	Attendance	Source
September 9	2:00 p.m.	at Abilene Christian *		Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX	L 12–14	6,325	[1] [2]
September 16	6:00 p.m.	at East Central *		Norris Field Ada, OK	W 37–14		[3]
September 23	6:00 p.m.	at Sam Houston State		Pritchett Field Huntsville, TX	W 23–0	7,000	[4]
September 30	6:00 p.m.	Howard Payne		Memorial Stadium Commerce, TX	W 35–15		[5]
October 7	2:00 p.m.	at No. 12 Texas A&I		Memorial Stadium Commerce, TX (rivalry)	W 29–17		[6]
October 21	2:00 pm	at Stephen F. Austin		Memorial Stadium Nacogdoches, TX	W 21–9		[7]
October 28	2:00 pm	No. 1 Southwest Texas State	No. 7	Memorial Stadium Commerce, TX	W 32–29		[8]
November 4	2:00 p.m.	at Sul Ross	No. 4	Jackson Field Alpine, TX	L 14–15		[9]
November 11	6:00 p.m.	No. 14 Angelo State	No. 6	Memorial Stadium Commerce, TX	W 24–14		[10]
November 18	2:00 p.m.	at Tarleton State	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Stephenville, TX (rivalry)	W 27–6		[11]
November 25	2:00 p.m.	No. 1 Central State (OK) *	No. 6	Memorial Stadium Commerce, TX (NAIA Division I Semifinal)	W 54–0		[12]
December 9	4:00 p.m.	No. 2 Carson–Newman *	No. 6	Memorial Stadium Commerce, TX (Champion Bowl)	W 21–18	4,539	[13]
*Non-conference game Rankings from NAIA Division I Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[14]

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 ^[15]

References

1. "ACC holds off East Texas". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. September 10, 1972. Retrieved August 12, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Final 1972 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Abilene Christian)". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved May 29, 2025.
3. "East Central tumbles, 37–14". Tulsa World. September 17, 1972. Retrieved August 12, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
4. "ET's 'Blue Gang' overwhelms SH". The Herald Banner. September 24, 1972. Retrieved August 12, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
5. "East Texas' second half surge sinks HPC, 35–15". Brownwood Bulletin. October 1, 1972. Retrieved August 12, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
6. "East Texas dumps A&I". Victoria Advocate. October 8, 1972. Retrieved August 12, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
7. "ETSU tops SFA by 21–9". The Shreveport Times. October 22, 1972. Retrieved August 12, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
8. "E. Texas clips Cats". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 29, 1972. Retrieved March 22, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Loboes upset ETSU, 15–14". The Odessa American. November 5, 1972. Retrieved August 12, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
10. "East Texas beats Angelo". Del Rio News Herald. November 12, 1972. Retrieved August 12, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
11. "East Texas rolls past Tarleton". San Angelo Standard-Times. November 19, 1972. Retrieved August 12, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Texans torpedo Bronchos, 54–0". The Daily Oklahoman. November 26, 1972. Retrieved August 12, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
13. "NAIA title escapes C–N". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. December 10, 1972. Retrieved August 12, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Lion Football History" (Press release). Texas A&M University Commerce Department of Athletics. December 12, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
15. "A&M-Commerce Football Award History" (Press release). Texas A&M University Commerce Department of Athletics. December 12, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2019.