1971 Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks football team

The 1971 Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks football team represented the University of Maryland Eastern Shore as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) during the 1971 NCAA College Division football season. Led by first-year head coach Willie Smith, the Hawks compiled an overall record of 1–5–2, with a mark of 1–4–1 in conference play, and finished fifth in the MEAC.

1971 Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks football
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record	1–5–2 (1–4–1 MEAC)
Head coach	Willie Smith (1st season)

1971 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Morgan State $	5	–	0	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
North Carolina Central	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
North Carolina A&T	3	–	2	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
South Carolina State	3	–	2	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
Maryland Eastern Shore	1	–	4	–	1			1	–	5	–	2
Howard	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Delaware State	1	–	5	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18	vs. Howard	Harvard Stadium Boston, MA	W 20–7	6,000
October 2	Virginia Union*	Princess Anne, MD	T 0–0
October 9	at Morgan State	Hughes Stadium Baltimore, MD	T 13–13	7,500
October 16	at North Carolina A&T	World War Memorial Stadium Greensboro, NC	L 7–13	18,742
October 23	North Carolina Central	Princess Anne, MD	L 0–7	100
October 30	Delaware State	Princess Anne, MD	L 6–7
November 6	South Carolina State	Princess Anne, MD	L 0–27	500
November 13	at Virginia State*	Rogers Stadium Ettrick, VA	L 6–28
*Non-conference game