 The highlight of the era was the 1972 team, which won the NAIA national championship with a 21–18 victory over Carson–Newman College.The team, often considered the best in school history, was led by head coach Ernest Hawkins and defensive end Harvey Martin, who later played for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL).Wade Wilson quarterbacked the Lions in the late 1970s and early 1980s, twice being named an All-American before embarking on an 18-year NFL career with the Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings.