| 1972 Grambling Tigers football | |
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Black national champion SWAC co-champion | |
Pelican Bowl, W 56–6 vs. North Carolina Central | |
| Conference | Southwestern Athletic Conference |
| Record | 11–2 (5–1 SWAC) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Grambling Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 / T–8 Grambling + | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jackson State + | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alcorn A&M | 4 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas Southern | 3 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi Valley State | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prairie View A&M | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1972 Grambling Tigers football team represented Grambling College (now known as Grambling State University) as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. In its 30th season under head coach Eddie Robinson, Grambling compiled an 11–2 record (5–1 against conference opponents), tied for the SWAC championship, defeated North Carolina Central in the Pelican Bowl, and outscored opponents by a total of 346 to 123. The team was recognized as the 1972 black college football national champion and was ranked No. 8 by the Associated Press in the final small college rankings.
The rivalry game vs. Southern was forfeited by the Jaguars to Grambling following civil unrest, which saw two students shot to death by East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff's deputies, on the Southern campus in Baton Rouge two days prior to the scheduled game.