The 1972 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

as an independent during the

1972 NCAA University Division football season The 1972 NCAA University Division football season saw the USC Trojans, coached by John McKay, go undefeated and win the national championship as the unanimous choice of the 50 AP panelists. Eighth-ranked in the preseason, the Trojans were narrow ...

. In their fourth year under head coach

P. W. Underwood Phillip Wayne "Bear" Underwood (October 16, 1931 – February 4, 2013), known as P. W. Underwood, was an American gridiron football player and coach. He was the head coach of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles from 1969 to 1974. A native of Cordova ...

, the team compiled a 3–7–1 record. At their

homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

game on November 11 against

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, the University officially announced the athletic teams would be known as the Golden Eagles moving forward and retired the Southerners nickname.

Schedule

References

Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

Southern Miss Golden Eagles football seasons

Southern Miss Golden Eagles football The Southern Miss Golden Eagles football program represents the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. They play college football in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The Eagles are currently members of the S ...

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