The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recognizes six selectors as "official" for the 1973 season.
They are:[1] (1) the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) which selected its team for Kodak based on a vote of the nation's coaches;[2] (2) the Associated Press (AP) selected based on the votes of sports writers at AP newspapers;[3] (3) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) selected by the nation's football writers;[4] (4) the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) selected based on the votes of sports writers at NEA newspapers;[5] (5) the United Press International (UPI) selected based on the votes of sports writers at UPI newspapers;[6] and (6) the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WC).
Five players are recognized by the NCAA as unanimous All-America selections.
They are: (1) running back and 1973 Heisman Trophy winner John Cappelletti of Penn State; (2) offensive tackle John Hicks of Ohio State; (3) defensive end John Dutton of Nebraska; (4) middle guard Lucious Selmon of Oklahoma; and (5) linebacker Randy Gradishar of Ohio State.
The following chart identifies the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans for the year 1973 and displays which first-team designations they received.