2003 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

2003 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
2003 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 17–34 at Wofford
Conference	Gateway Football Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 7
Record	9–4 (5–2 Gateway)
Head coach	David Elson (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	T. J. Weist (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Don Martindale (1st season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	L. T. Smith Stadium
	Seasons ← 2002 2004 →

2003 Gateway Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 5 Northern Iowa +^	6	–	1	10	–	3
No. 9 Southern Illinois +^	6	–	1	10	–	2
No. 6 Western Illinois ^	5	–	2	9	–	4
No. 7 Western Kentucky ^	5	–	2	9	–	4
Illinois State	3	–	4	6	–	6
Youngstown State	2	–	5	5	–	7
Southwest Missouri State	1	–	6	4	–	7
Indiana State	0	–	7	3	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2003 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season and were led by first-year head coach David Elson. Coming off winning the NCAA Division I-AA Championship the previous year, this team contended for Gateway Football Conference championship but ended up finishing tied for 3rd.^[1] They made the school's fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, beating Jacksonville State in the first round before losing to Wofford in the quarterfinals. The Hilltoppers finished the season ranked number 7 in final 1AA postseason national poll.^[2]

This team included future NFL players Anthony Oakley and Brian Claybourn. Matt Lange and Buster Ashley were named to the AP All American team and Justin Haddix was Gateway Conference Freshman of The Year. The All-Conference team included Ashley, Jeremy Chandler, Claybourn, Erik Dandy, Lange, Karl Maslowski, Casey Rooney, Antonio Veals, Daniel Withrow, Chad Kincaid, Oakley, and Charles Thompson.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 28	Union (KY)*	No. 5	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 51–3	9,325
September 6	West Virginia Tech*	No. 5	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 67–3	10,325
September 20	Eastern Kentucky*	No. 3	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY (Battle of the Bluegrass)	W 36–3	18,317
September 27	at Auburn*	No. 3	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	L 3–48	85,046
October 4	at No. 2 Western Illinois	No. 6	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	L 28–33	18,263	^[4]
October 11	Southwest Missouri State	No. 9	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 9–6	8,383	^[5]
October 18	at Illinois State	No. 9	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	W 27–24	8,945	^[6]
October 25	at Indiana State	No. 8	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	W 59–14	3,708
November 1	No. 3 Southern Illinois	No. 8	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	L 24–28	13,430	^[7]
November 8	No. 6 Northern Iowa	No. 12	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 24–3	7,518
November 15	at Youngstown State	No. 9	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH	W 37–13	12,858
November 29	No. 17 Jacksonville State*	No. 9	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	W 45–7	3,573
December 6	at No. 2 Wofford*	No. 9	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	L 17–34	7,500
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

References

^ 2019 MVC Football Records, retrieved 30 April 2020
^ "Final Division I-AA Poll". The Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. December 23, 2003. p. B2. Retrieved May 20, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ WKU Football Media Guide retrieved 31 March 2020.
^ Grant, Michael (October 5, 2003). "WKU falls in thriller, 33-28". The Courier-Journal. p. C1. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Lange's last-second FG lifts WKU to 9–6 victory". The Courier-Journal. October 12, 2003. Retrieved June 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Moore's late TD lifts WKU, 27-24". The Courier-Journal. October 19, 2003. p. C13. Retrieved November 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Rally pushes Salukis over 'Toppers". The Paducah Sun. Associated Press. November 2, 2003. p. 5B. Retrieved December 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

This college football 2000s season article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] 2019 MVC Football Records, retrieved 30 April 2020

[2] "Final Division I-AA Poll". The Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. December 23, 2003. p. B2. Retrieved May 20, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] WKU Football Media Guide retrieved 31 March 2020.

[4] Grant, Michael (October 5, 2003). "WKU falls in thriller, 33-28". The Courier-Journal. p. C1. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Lange's last-second FG lifts WKU to 9–6 victory". The Courier-Journal. October 12, 2003. Retrieved June 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] "Moore's late TD lifts WKU, 27-24". The Courier-Journal. October 19, 2003. p. C13. Retrieved November 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] "Rally pushes Salukis over 'Toppers". The Paducah Sun. Associated Press. November 2, 2003. p. 5B. Retrieved December 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

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v t e Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
Venues	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium (1968–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Eastern Kentucky: Battle of the Bluegrass Middle Tennessee: 100 Miles of Hate Murray State: Battle for the Red Belt
Culture & lore	Big Red "Stand Up and Cheer"
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1913 1914 1915 1916 1917–1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football playoff participants
Bethune-Cookman Colgate Delaware Florida Atlantic Jacksonville State Massachusetts McNeese State Montana Montana State North Carolina A&T Northern Arizona Northern Iowa Southern Illinois Western Illinois Western Kentucky Wofford
Champion – Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens