The 1940 East Tennessee State Teachers Buccaneers football team was an American football team that represented State Teachers College, Johnson City—now known as East Tennessee State University (ETSU)—as a member of the Smoky Mountain Conference during the 1940 college football season.
Led by ninth-year head coach Gene McMurray, the Buccaneers compiled an overall record of 4–4 with a mark of 3–3 in conference play, placing third in the Smoky Mountain Conference.
Bud Carpenter and Frank Parsely were named co-captains for the year.
The team played Carson–Newman and Emory and Henry each twice, losing both games to Carson-Newman and splitting with Emory and Henry.
461 (out of 697 college football teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score system for 1940.