The 1972 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

(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. The team played its home games in

Arizona Stadium Arizona Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the southwestern United States, located on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. It is the home field of the Arizona Wildcats of the Pac-12 Conference. Original ...

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

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

Schedule

After the season

Soon after losing to Arizona State, the Wildcats fired Weber and had to search for a new coach. 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. Arizona did not post any winning seasons under Weber and that the inability to beat Arizona State was a main reason for his dismissal. After a national coaching search, the Wildcats hired

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

defensive coordinator

Jim Young James Norman Young (born June 6, 1943) is a former professional American football and Canadian football player. Young played running back and wide receiver for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings for two seasons (1965–66), and the CFL's BC Lions f ...

as the new head coach for the 1973 season.

References

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Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Arizona Wildcats football seasons

Arizona Wildcats football The Arizona Wildcats football program represents the University of Arizona (UA) in the sport of American college football. Arizona competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac- ...