1978 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

American college football season

1978 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football

OVC champion

Conference| Ohio Valley Conference
Ranking
AP| No. T–4
Record| 8–2 (7–0 OVC)
Head coach|

* Jimmy Feix (11th season)

Home stadium| Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium

Seasons

<- 1977

1979 ->

1978 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

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| Conf. |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. T–4 Western Kentucky $  | 7  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 2  | - | 0
No. 8 Eastern Kentucky | 6  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 2  | - | 0
Tennessee Tech | 4  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Austin Peay | 4  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 4  | - | 0
Murray State | 2  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Morehead State | 2  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 2  | - | 6  | - | 1
Middle Tennessee | 1  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 1  | - | 9  | - | 1

* $ - Conference champion

Rankings from Associated Press poll

The 1978 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University in the inaugural 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season and were led by head coach Jimmy Feix. The NCAA had formed NCAA Division I-AA for football and Western Kentucky, along with the rest of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), moved up from Division II to I-AA.[1] The Hilltoppers won the OVC championship, but just missed the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.[2] The team finished the season tied for fourth in final national NCAA poll.[3]

Western Kentucky's roster included future National Football League (NFL) players Carl Brazley, Darryl Drake, Ray Farmer, Ricky Gwinn, Lamont Meacham, Eddie Preston, Phil Rich, Troy Snardon, Brad Todd, Tony Towns, and Pete Walters. Towns was selected to play in the Blue-Gray Football Classic and Coach Feix was named OVC Coach of the Year for the second time. The All-Conference Team included Brazley, John Hall, Reginald Hayden, Preston, and Towns.[4]

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Rank| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

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September 9| Chattanooga*| |

* L. T. Smith Stadium
* Bowling Green, KY

| L 15–42| 13,500| [5]
September 16| at Illinois State*| |

* Hancock Stadium
* Normal, IL

| W 28–6| 12,000| [6]
September 23| No. 10 Austin Peay| |

* L. T. Smith Stadium
* Bowling Green, KY

| W 17–13| 15,200| [7]
September 30| at East Tennessee State| |

* Memorial Center
* Johnson City, TN

| W 27–21| 5,732| [8]
October 7| No. 6 (D-II) Akron*| No. 10|

* L. T. Smith Stadium
* Bowling Green, KY

| L 21–26| 15,600| [9]
October 14| at Tennessee Tech| |

* Tucker Stadium
* Cookeville, TN

| W 26–20| 16,000| [10]
October 21| No. 7 Eastern Kentucky| |

* L. T. Smith Stadium
* Bowling Green, KY (rivalry)

| W 17–16| 19,100| [11]
October 28| at Morehead State| No. 8|

* Jayne Stadium
* Morehead, KY

| W 35–7| 9,000| [12]
November 4| Middle Tennessee| No. 7|

* L. T. Smith Stadium
* Bowling Green, KY (rivalry)

| W 54–0| 19,500| [13]
November 18| at Murray State| No. 4|

* Roy Stewart Stadium
* Murray, KY (rivalry)

| W 14–6| 9,500| [14]

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from Associated Press Poll released prior to the game

## References

[edit]

1. ^ OVC History, retrieved 30 April 2020
2. ^ 2017 OVC Football Media Guide, retrieved 30 April 2020
3. ^ "Division I-AA". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. November 21, 1978. p. 4B. Retrieved May 15, 2017 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ 2019 WKU Football Media Guide retrieved March 31, 2020.
5. ^ "Powerful Mocs scortch Western". Messenger-Inquirer. September 10, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Western Kentucky beats ISU, 28–6". The Pantagraph. September 17, 1978. Retrieved September 9, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Western Kentucky tops Austin Peay". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. September 24, 1978. Retrieved September 9, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Western clips East Tennessee". The Paducah Sun. October 1, 1978. Retrieved September 9, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Team effort spells victory for Akron". The Akron Beacon Journal. October 8, 1978. Retrieved September 9, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Heroics by Hall, Hayden help Western tip Tenn. Tech 26–20". The Courier-Journal. October 15, 1978. Retrieved September 9, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "'Toppers win on late kick". Messenger-Inquirer. October 22, 1978. Retrieved September 9, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Hall's arm dooms Eagles". The Park City Daily News. October 29, 1978. Retrieved September 9, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ "'Flip' flops, but Western, Skaggs 'Barry' Middle". The Courier-Journal. November 5, 1978. Retrieved September 9, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "OVC crown to Western". The Tennessean. November 19, 1978. Retrieved September 9, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.

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* 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
* 2025

National championship seasons in bold

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* e

Ohio Valley Conference football champions

Pre-divisional|

* Evansville & Murray State (1948)
* Evansville (1949)
* Murray State (1950)
* Murray State (1951)
* Tennessee Tech & Western Kentucky (1952)
* Tennessee Tech (1953)
* Eastern Kentucky (1954)
* Tennessee Tech (1955)

NCAA College Division|

* Middle Tennessee (1956)
* Middle Tennessee (1957)
* Middle Tennessee & Tennessee Tech (1958)
* Middle Tennessee & Tennessee Tech (1959)
* Tennessee Tech (1960)
* Tennessee Tech (1961)
* East Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, & Morehead State (1962)
* Western Kentucky (1963)
* Middle Tennessee (1964)
* Middle Tennessee (1965)
* Morehead State (1966)
* Eastern Kentucky (1967)
* Eastern Kentucky (1968)
* East Tennessee State (1969)
* Western Kentucky (1970)
* Western Kentucky (1971)
* Tennessee Tech (1972)

Division II|

* Western Kentucky (1973)
* Eastern Kentucky (1974)
* Tennessee Tech & Western Kentucky† (1975)
* Eastern Kentucky (1976)
* Austin Peay (1977)
* Western Kentucky (1978)

I-AA/FCS|

* Murray State (1979)
* Western Kentucky (1980)
* Eastern Kentucky (1981)
* Eastern Kentucky (1982)
* Eastern Kentucky (1983)
* Eastern Kentucky (1984)
* Middle Tennessee (1985)
* Eastern Kentucky & Murray State (1986)
* Eastern Kentucky & Youngstown State (1987)
* Eastern Kentucky (1988)
* Middle Tennessee (1989)
* Eastern Kentucky & Middle Tennessee (1990)
* Eastern Kentucky (1991)
* Middle Tennessee (1992)
* Eastern Kentucky (1993)
* Eastern Kentucky (1994)
* Murray State (1995)
* Murray State (1996)
* Eastern Kentucky (1997)
* Tennessee State (1998)
* Tennessee State (1999)
* Western Kentucky (2000)
* Eastern Illinois (2001)
* Eastern Illinois & Murray State (2002)
* Jacksonville State (2003)
* Jacksonville State (2004)
* Eastern Illinois (2005)
* Eastern Illinois & Tennessee–Martin (2006)
* Eastern Kentucky (2007)
* Eastern Kentucky (2008)
* Eastern Illinois (2009)
* Southeast Missouri State (2010)
* Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, & Tennessee Tech (2011)
* Eastern Illinois (2012)
* Eastern Illinois (2013)
* Jacksonville State (2014)
* Jacksonville State (2015)
* Jacksonville State (2016)
* Jacksonville State (2017)
* Jacksonville State (2018)
* Austin Peay & Southeast Missouri State (2019)
* Jacksonville State (2020)
* UT Martin (2021)
* Southeast Missouri State & UT Martin (2022)

National championships in bold
† WKU claims a co-championship, while both the OVC and Tennessee Tech state it is not shared

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*[v]: View this template
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*[Conf.]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number