1973 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team

1973 Abilene Christian Wildcats football
NAIA Division I national champion
LSC champion
Champion Bowl, W 42–14 vs. Elon
ConferenceLone Star Conference
Record11–1 (9–0 LSC)
Head coach
MVPClint Longley, Wilbert Montgomery
Captains
Home stadiumShotwell Stadium
Seasons
← 1972
1974 →
1973 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1/7 Abilene Christian $^ 9 0 0 11 1 0
No. 8 Howard Payne 8 1 0 8 3 0
Stephen F. Austin 6 3 0 9 3 0
East Texas State 6 3 0 7 4 0
Angelo State 5 4 0 5 4 2
Southwest Texas State 3 6 0 4 6 0
Sul Ross 3 6 0 3 7 0
Sam Houston State 2 7 0 2 8 0
Texas A&I 2 7 0 2 8 0
Tarleton State 1 8 0 1 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA Division I playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Division I poll and AP small college poll

The 1973 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented Abilene Christian College (ACC) during the 1973 NAIA Division I football season. In their sixth season under head coach Wally Bullington, and their first season as a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC), the Wildcats compiled an 11–1 record (9–0 against conference opponents), won the LSC championship, and outscored all opponents by a total of 466 to 206. They advanced to the NAIA playoff, defeating Langston (34–6) in the semifinals and Elon (42–14) in the Champion Bowl to win the 1973 NAIA Division I football national championship.[1]

Freshman tailback Wilbert Montgomery set a new college football scoring record with 37 touchdowns and 222 points scored in 11 games, including two post-season games. Junior quarterback Clint Longley also set multiple school records, including 2,719 regular-season passing yards (3,167 including two post-season games) and 23 touchdown passes. Both received Little All-America honors.

The team played home games at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene, Texas.[2][3]

  1. ^ "December 8, 1973". Abilene Christian University. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "Stadium a win-win for ACU, Abilene". Abilene Reporter-News. September 10, 2017. p. B2 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "LSC's Showdown". Austin American-Statesman. November 12, 1973. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.