| Team: | BC Lions |
| Year: | 1972 |
| Record: | 5–11 |
| Division Place: | 5th, West |
| General Manager: | Jackie Parker |
| Coach: | Eagle Keys |
| Stadium: | Empire Stadium |
| Playoffs: | did not qualify |
| Uniform: | Image:CFL BCL Jersey 1972.png |
The 1972 BC Lions finished in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 5–11 record and failed to make the playoffs.
After Paul Brothers was traded to Ottawa late in the 1971 season and Tom Wilkinson was released, sophomore pivot Don Moorhead became the Lions' starting quarterback. While Moorhead threw for 2606 yards, he also threw 17 interceptions and the offence continued to struggle at only 15.9 points per game.
The lone bright spot on offence was receiver Jim Young. He led the league with 1362 yards receiving and won his second Schenley as Outstanding Canadian. Young was a CFL all-star along with rookie linebacker Ray Nettles, for whom the Lions outbid the Miami Dolphins of the NFL in the off-season.
For the first season since the 1950s, the team wore orange jerseys at home. The new jerseys had northwestern stripes on each arm.
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 401 | 300 | 20 | |
| Edmonton Eskimos | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 380 | 368 | 20 | |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 330 | 283 | 16 | |
| 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 331 | 394 | 12 | ||
| 16 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 254 | 380 | 10 |
| Game | Date | Opponent | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | ||||
| 1 | Aug 1 | at Edmonton Eskimos | L 22–34 | 0–1 | |
| 2 | Aug 8 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 19–17 | 1–1 | |
| 3 | Aug 14 | at Calgary Stampeders | L 14–19 | 1–2 | |
| 4 | Aug 17 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 7–39 | 1–3 | |
| 5 | Aug 25 | at Edmonton Eskimos | L 7–29 | 1–4 | |
| 6 | Sept 7 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 7–42 | 1–5 | |
| 7 | Sept 12 | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 13–24 | 1–6 | |
| 8 | Sept 17 | at Montreal Alouettes | L 17–22 | 1–7 | |
| 9 | Sept 20 | at Toronto Argonauts | W 23–9 | 2–7 | |
| 10 | Sept 26 | vs. Ottawa Rough Riders | L 17–20 | 2–8 | |
| 11 | Oct 3 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 26–24 | 3–8 | |
| 12 | Oct 8 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 14–24 | 3–9 | |
| 13 | Oct 14 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | W 22–16 | 4–9 | |
| 14 | Oct 21 | vs. Calgary Stampeders | L 17–19 | 4–10 | |
| 15 | Oct 28 | at Calgary Stampeders | L 3–28 | 4–11 | |
| 16 | Nov 4 | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 26–14 | 5–11 |
| Player | Passing yds | Rush yds | Receiving yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2606 | 330 | 0 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1362 | 11 | ||
| 961 | 329 | 9 | ||
| 517 | 507 | 1 | ||
| 405 | 556 | 3 | ||