1973 Xavier Musketeers football team

The 1973 Xavier Musketeers football team was an American football team that represented Xavier University as an independent during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. In its second season under head coach Tom Cecchini, the team compiled a 5–5–1 record and was outscored by a total of 376 to 191.^[1]

1973 Xavier Musketeers football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–5–1
Head coach	Tom Cecchini (2nd season)
Home stadium	Xavier Stadium
Seasons ← 1972

1973 NCAA Division I independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame			–					11	–	0	–	0
No. 5 Penn State			–					12	–	0	–	0
No. 9 Houston			–					11	–	1	–	0
Temple			–					9	–	1	–	0
No. 20 Tulane			–					9	–	3	–	0
Memphis State			–					8	–	3	–	0
Tampa			–					8	–	3	–	0
Boston College			–					7	–	4	–	0
South Carolina			–					7	–	4	–	0
Utah State			–					7	–	4	–	0
Air Force			–					6	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss			–					6	–	4	–	1
Northern Illinois			–					6	–	5	–	0
Rutgers			–					6	–	5	–	0
West Virginia			–					6	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					6	–	5	–	1
Colgate			–					5	–	5	–	0
Dayton			–					5	–	5	–	1
Xavier			–					5	–	5	–	1
Georgia Tech			–					5	–	6	–	0
Holy Cross			–					5	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					5	–	6	–	0
Cincinnati			–					4	–	7	–	0
Marshall			–					4	–	7	–	0
Navy			–					4	–	7	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					3	–	7	–	1
Villanova			–					3	–	8	–	0
Syracuse			–					2	–	9	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					2	–	9	–	0
Army			–					0	–	10	–	0
Florida State			–					0	–	11	–	0
Lamar			–					5	–	5	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					3	–	7	–	1
Texas-Arlington			–					4	–	6	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

On December 19, 1973, the Xavier University Board of Trustees voted 15 to 3 to discontinue the school's intercollegiate football program, effective immediately. The university's president, Rev. Robert W. Mulligan, attributed the decision to the "spiraling costs of intercollegiate football" which had led to a $200,000 deficit in 1973 despite the team having its most successful season in five years.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	7:30 p.m.	at Temple	Temple Stadium Philadelphia, PA	L 7–49	10,753	[3]
September 15	1:31 p.m.	at Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH (rivalry)	L 7–40	10,153	[4]
September 21	7:30 p.m.	at Tampa	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL	L 7–34	11,362	[5]
September 29	7:30 p.m.	at Marshall	Fairfield Stadium Huntington, WV	W 30–28	13,500	[6]
October 6	8:30 p.m.	at Southwestern Louisiana	Cajun Field Lafayette, LA	W 17–14	8,000	[7]
October 13		at Southern Illinois	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	L 7–73	8,500	[8]
October 20	8:30 p.m.	at Arkansas State	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	L 0–37	12,000	[9]
November 3	2:00 p.m.	Dayton	Xavier Stadium Cincinnati, OH	T 28–28	6,741	[10]
November 10	2:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Xavier Stadium Cincinnati, OH	W 40–36	4,831	[11]
November 17	2:00 p.m.	Villanova	Xavier Stadium Cincinnati, OH	W 13–6	6,564	[12]
November 23	2:00 p.m.	Toledo	Xavier Stadium Cincinnati, OH	W 35–31	6,307	[13]
All times are in Eastern time

^[14]