According to Peter Fonda's auto-biography, Tatum O'Neal was originally cast in Karen Allen's role. When the producers found out teenage O'Neal was too young to be working without supervision, she was let go.
Gymnastics Teams in competition at the start of movie were Drayton University (Danny's team) and Bradford University (both fictitious). The victory chant after Danny's winning high bar routine was "Who owns this town, who owns this town, the people say we own this town, we own this town, especially today, Hooray!"
Charles Pratt: You know what I see college as? One big fuck farm. I mean, isn't today's crop the worst yet? Look at this gaggle of faggots. I mean, they're not beatniks, they're not even hippies. Generation doesn't even know what to call itself."