2009 WKU Hilltoppers football team

The 2009 WKU Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University (WKU) during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was David Elson. WKU was an NCAA Division I FBS independent team in 2008, this year was their first year as a member of the Sun Belt Conference after their transition from Division 1-AA/FCS.[1] The Hilltoppers played their home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky.[2]

2009 WKU Hilltoppers football
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
2009 record	0–12 (0–8 SBC)
Head coach	David Elson
Offensive coordinator	Walter Wells
Defensive coordinator	Mike Dietzel
Home stadium	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium (Capacity: 22,113)

2009 Sun Belt Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Troy $		8	–	0					9	–	4
Middle Tennessee		7	–	1					10	–	3
Louisiana–Monroe		5	–	3					6	–	6
Florida Atlantic		5	–	3					5	–	7
Louisiana–Lafayette		4	–	4					6	–	6
Arkansas State		3	–	5					4	–	8
FIU		3	–	5					3	–	9
North Texas		1	–	7					2	–	10
WKU		0	–	8					0	–	12
$ – Conference champion As of January 6, 2010; Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	11:21 AM	at Tennessee*	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	SEC Network	L 7–63	98,761[3]
September 12	6:30 PM	South Florida*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	Big East Network	L 13–35	20,568[4]
September 19	6:00 PM	No. 13 FCS Central Arkansas*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY		L 7–28	17,295[5]
September 26	2:30 PM	at Navy*	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	CBSCS	L 22–38	29,009[6]
October 10	6:00 PM	Florida International	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY		L 20–37	13,574[7]
October 17	6:00 PM	Louisiana-Lafayette	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY		L 22–30	11,919[8]
October 24	2:30 PM	at Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN (100 Miles of Hate)	Sun Belt Network	L 24–62	17,787[9]
October 31	3:30 PM	at North Texas	Fouts Field Denton, TX	Sun Belt Network	L 49–68	11,214[10]
November 7	4:00 PM	Troy	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY		L 20–40	16,747[11]
November 14	3:00 PM	at Louisiana-Monroe	Malone Stadium Monroe, LA		L 18–21	16,229[12]
November 28	3:00 PM	at Florida Atlantic	Lockhart Stadium Fort Lauderdale, FL		L 23–29	14,671[13]
December 3	6:00 PM	Arkansas State	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	Sun Belt Network	L 20–24	4,513[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Coaching change

On November 9, 2009, David Elson was officially released as WKU's head coach. He remained as head coach until the end of the 2009 season. He was replaced by Stanford's running backs coach Willie Taggart, a Western Kentucky University alumnus.[15]

References

1. 2019 Sun Belt Conference Football Media Guide, retrieved 30 April 2020
2. WKU Football Media Guide retrieved 31 March 2020.
3. "Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. Tennessee Volunteers Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
4. "South Florida Bulls vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
5. "Central Arkansas Bears vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
6. "Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. Navy Midshipmen Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
7. "FIU Golden Panthers vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
8. "Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
9. "Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
10. "Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. North Texas Mean Green Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
11. "Troy Trojans vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
12. "Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
13. "Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. Florida Atlantic Owls Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
14. "Arkansas State Red Wolves vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
15. Graves, Will (November 23, 2009). "WKU Hires Stanford's Taggart as Coach". Associated Press.