1972 Arizona Wildcats football
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record4–7 (4–3 WAC)
Head coach
Home stadiumArizona Stadium
1972 Western Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 13 Arizona State $ 5 –1 –010 –2 –0
BYU 5 –2 –07 –4 –0
Utah 5 –2 –06 –5 –0
Arizona 4 –3 –04 –7 –0
Wyoming 3 –4 –04 –7 –0
New Mexico 2 –4 –03 –8 –0
Colorado State 1 –4 –01 –10 –0
UTEP 1 –6 –02 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. In their fourth and final season under head coach Bob Weber, the Wildcats compiled a 4–7 record (4–3 against WAC opponents), finished in fourth place in the WAC, and were outscored by their opponents, 271 to 226.[1][2] The team played its home games in Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona.

Weber was fired after the season due to his failure to produce winning records.[3]

The team's statistical leaders included Bill Demory with 1,175 passing yards, Bob McCall with 1,148 rushing yards, and Barry Dean with 414 receiving yards.[4]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 9Colorado State
W 17–030,000[5]
September 16at Oregon*
L 7–3430,000[6][7]
September 23Washington State*
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
L 6–2830,000
October 7at No. 14 UCLA*
L 31–4227,321
October 14at New Mexico
W 27–15
October 21at Texas Tech*
L 10–3533,320
October 28UTEP
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
W 45–22
November 4at Utah
L 27–28
November 11BYU
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
W 21–726,500
November 18Wyoming
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ
L 14–22
November 25 No. 18 Arizona State
  • Arizona Stadium
  • Tucson, AZ (rivalry)
L 21–38
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

After the season

Soon after losing to Arizona State, the Wildcats fired Weber and had to search for a new coach.[8] Weber went 16–26 at Arizona and lost all four meetings against ASU. The team had been underperforming with Weber in charge and fans called for Weber to fired.[9] Arizona did not post any winning seasons under Weber and that the inability to beat Arizona State was a main reason for his dismissal.[10]

After a national coaching search, the Wildcats hired Michigan defensive coordinator Jim Young as the new head coach for the 1973 season.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "1972 Arizona Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Arizona Football 2016 Media Guide" (PDF). University of Arizona. 2016. p. 107. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Wildcats dismiss Weber as football coach after four seasons". Arizona Daily Star. November 28, 1972.
  4. ↑ "1972 Arizona Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Rams drop opener to Arizona Wildcats, 17–0". Fort Collins Coloradoan. September 10, 1972. p. 23.
  6. ↑ Cawood, Neil (September 17, 1972). "Webfoots bury Wildcats by 34-7". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  7. ↑ "Fouts leads". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 17, 1972. p. 18.
  8. ↑ "UA fires Weber after loss to ASU". The Arizona Republic. November 28, 1972.
  9. ↑ "Fans call for Weber to fired due to Wildcats' lack of winning games". Arizona Daily Wildcat. November 21, 1972.
  10. ↑ "Winless record against ASU led to Weber's firing". Arizona Daily Star. November 28, 1972.
  11. ↑ "Wildcats hire Michigan DC Young as head football coach". Arizona Daily Star. December 30, 1972.
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