1972 Tampa Spartans football team

1972 Tampa Spartans football
Tangerine Bowl champion
Tangerine Bowl, W 21–18 vs. Kent State
Conference	Independent
Record	10–2
Head coach	Earle Bruce (1st season)
Home stadium	Tampa Stadium
Seasons ←  1971 1973  →

1972 NCAA College Division independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Ashland			–					11	–	0	–	0
Bridgeport			–					11	–	0	–	0
No. 1 Delaware			–					10	–	0	–	0
No. 5 Tennessee State			–					11	–	1	–	0
Colorado College			–					8	–	1	–	0
Tampa			–					10	–	2	–	0
Trinity (TX)			–					8	–	2	–	0
Western Carolina			–					7	–	2	–	1
Hawaii			–					8	–	3	–	0
Indiana State			–					7	–	3	–	0
Northeastern			–					6	–	2	–	0
Bucknell			–					6	–	3	–	0
Cortland			–					6	–	3	–	0
San Diego			–					6	–	3	–	1
Arkansas–Pine Bluff			–					4	–	2	–	1
Eastern Michigan			–					6	–	4	–	0
Milwaukee			–					6	–	4	–	0
Samford			–					5	–	3	–	2
Lake Forest			–					4	–	3	–	1
Nevada			–					6	–	5	–	0
Central Michigan			–					5	–	5	–	1
Rose-Hulman			–					5	–	5	–	0
Santa Clara			–					4	–	4	–	1
Akron			–					3	–	4	–	2
St. Norbert			–					4	–	5	–	0
Saint Mary's			–					3	–	4	–	0
Kentucky State			–					4	–	6	–	0
Drexel			–					3	–	6	–	0
Northeast Louisiana			–					3	–	7	–	0
Portland State			–					3	–	8	–	0
Wayne State (MI)			–					2	–	5	–	1
Boston University			–					2	–	8	–	0
Northern Michigan			–					2	–	8	–	0
Saint Peter's			–					2	–	8	–	0
Chattanooga			–					2	–	9	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					1	–	8	–	1
Eastern Illinois			–					1	–	9	–	0
Madison			–					0	–	4	–	1
UNLV			–					1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP small college poll

The 1972 Tampa Spartans football team represented the University of Tampa in the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. It was the Spartans' 36th season and they competed as an NCAA College Division independent. The team was led by head coach Earle Bruce, in his first and only year, and played their home games at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida. They finished with a record of ten wins and two losses (10–2) and with a victory in the Tangerine Bowl over Kent State, which featured future Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Lambert and future Missouri coach Gary Pinkel (future Alabama coach Nick Saban was injured earlier in the Golden Flashes' season and did not play in the bowl game).

Bruce was hired on February 2, 1972, to serve as the replacement for Bill Fulcher who resigned to become the head coach at Georgia Tech. Bruce departed following the season to become head coach at Iowa State after Johnny Majors was named coach at Pittsburgh. ^[1]

The Spartans' notable players included John Matuszak, who was selected first overall by the Houston Oilers in the 1973 NFL draft and later won two Super Bowls with the Oakland Raiders; Freddie Solomon, a receiver on two Super Bowl champion teams with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s; and Paul Orndorff, who went on to stardom in the World Wrestling Federation as "Mr. Wonderful".

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	8:11 p.m.	Toledo	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	W 21–0	23,806
September 16	1:30 p.m.	at Northern Michigan	Memorial Stadium Marquette, MI	W 34–21
September 22	8:04 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	W 42–0	14,407
September 30	2:33 p.m.	at Kansas State	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	L 7–31	25,000–35,000
October 7	8:00 p.m.	Louisville	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	L 14–17	19,437
October 14	8:05 p.m.	Southern Illinois	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	W 44–0	11,513–14,125	[2]
October 21	8:02 p.m.	No. 9 Drake	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	W 24–7	18,240
November 4	8:00 p.m.	Florida A&M	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	W 28–9	31,350
November 11	7:02 p.m.	Miami (FL)	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	W 7–0	22,525
November 18	8:00 p.m.	Bowling Green	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	W 29–22	15,111
November 25	8:03 p.m.	Vanderbilt	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	W 30–7	11,831	[3]
December 29		vs. Kent State	Tangerine Bowl Orlando, FL (Tangerine Bowl)	W 21–18	20,062
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[4]

References

1. "Tampa hires coach". Palm Beach Post . February 3, 1972. p. D1. Retrieved October 5, 2012– via Google News Archives.
2. "Final 1972 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Southern Illinois)". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved June 4, 2022.
3. "Tampa Spartans crush Vandy 30–7". Fort Myers News-Press. November 26, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Schedule/Results (1972 Tampa)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved May 6, 2025.