| Year: | 1972 |
| Team: | North Carolina Tar Heels |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Short Conf: | ACC |
| Coachrank: | 14 |
| Aprank: | 12 |
| Record: | 11–1 |
| Conf Record: | 6–0 |
| Head Coach: | Bill Dooley |
| Hc Year: | 6th |
| Off Coach: | Bobby Collins |
| Oc Year: | 6th |
| Captain: | Gene Brown, Ron Rusnak |
| Stadium: | Kenan Memorial Stadium |
| Champion: | ACC champion |
| Bowl: | Sun Bowl |
| Bowl Result: | W 32–28 vs. Texas Tech |
The 1972 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the North Carolina Tar Heels of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season.[1] The team won its second consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship, going 6–0 in conference play, and played in the 1972 Sun Bowl, defeating Texas Tech by a score of 32–28. The Tar Heels ended the year ranked 12th in the AP Poll with an 11–1 record—the lone loss coming at Ohio State in their fourth game.[2] This was the first of only four seasons where North Carolina was able to win 11 games.
See also: 1972 Ohio State Buckeyes football team.