1972 Hawaii Rainbows football team

1972 Hawaii Rainbows football
Conference	Independent
Record	8–3
Head coach	Dave Holmes (5th season)
Home stadium	Honolulu Stadium

1972 NCAA College Division independents football records

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Ashland			–					11	–	0	–	0
Bridgeport			–					11	–	0	–	0
No. 1 Delaware			–					10	–	0	–	0
No. 5 Tennessee State			–					11	–	1	–	0
Colorado College			–					8	–	1	–	0
Tampa			–					10	–	2	–	0
Trinity (TX)			–					8	–	2	–	0
Western Carolina			–					7	–	2	–	1
Hawaii			–					8	–	3	–	0
Indiana State			–					7	–	3	–	0
Northeastern			–					6	–	2	–	0
Bucknell			–					6	–	3	–	0
Cortland			–					6	–	3	–	0
San Diego			–					6	–	3	–	1
Arkansas–Pine Bluff			–					4	–	2	–	1
Eastern Michigan			–					6	–	4	–	0
Milwaukee			–					6	–	4	–	0
Samford			–					5	–	3	–	2
Lake Forest			–					4	–	3	–	1
Nevada			–					6	–	5	–	0
Central Michigan			–					5	–	5	–	1
Fordham			–					5	–	5	–	0
Rose-Hulman			–					5	–	5	–	0
Santa Clara			–					4	–	4	–	1
Akron			–					3	–	4	–	2
St. Norbert			–					4	–	5	–	0
Saint Mary's			–					3	–	4	–	0
Kentucky State			–					4	–	6	–	0
Drexel			–					3	–	6	–	0
Northeast Louisiana			–					3	–	7	–	0
Portland State			–					3	–	8	–	0
Wayne State (MI)			–					2	–	5	–	1
Boston University			–					2	–	8	–	0
Northern Michigan			–					2	–	8	–	0
Saint Peter's			–					2	–	8	–	0
Chattanooga			–					2	–	9	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					1	–	8	–	1
Eastern Illinois			–					1	–	9	–	0
Madison			–					0	–	4	–	1
UNLV			–					1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP small college poll

The 1972 Hawaii Rainbows football team represented the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa as an independent during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. In their fifth season under head coach Dave Holmes, the Rainbows compiled a 8–3 record.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	at Portland State	Civic Stadium Portland, OR	W 38–13	5,514
September 23	Cal Lutheran	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	W 38–10	17,590
October 7	Puget Sound	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	W 27–10	17,067
October 14	Cal State Fullerton	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	W 49–15	16,324
October 21	Montana	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	W 30–3	17,901
October 28	at No. 16 Tennessee	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	L 2–34	63,903
November 4	Grambling	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	L 7–46	23,003
November 11	Northern Arizona	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	W 20–13	13,100
November 18	Linfield	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	W 36–17	12,769
November 25	San Jose State	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI (rivalry)	W 28–15	14,912
December 2	Stanford	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	L 7–39	18,397
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game