2003 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

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 1-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]

2003 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
Division I-AA Playoffs, Lost Quarterfinals
ConferenceGateway Football Conference
Ranking
FCS CoachesNo. 7
2003 record9–4 (5–2 Gateway)
Head coachDavid Elson (1st season)
Assistant coachWillie Taggart
Home stadiumHouchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
2003 Gateway Football Conference standings
Conf  Overall
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

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
DateOpponentRankSiteResult
August 28Union (KY)*No. 5
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
W 51–3
September 6West Virginia Tech*No. 5
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
W 67–3
September 20No. 23 Eastern Kentucky*No. 3
W 36–3
September 27at D-1A Auburn*No. 3
L 3–48
October 4at No. 2 Western IllinoisNo. 6
L 28–33
October 11Southwest MissouriNo. 9
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
W 9–6
October 18at Illinois StateNo. 9
W 27–24
October 25at Indiana StateNo. 8
W 59–14
November 1No. 3 Southern IllinoisNo. 8
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
L 24–28
November 8No. 6 Northern IowaNo. 12
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
W 24–3
November 15at Youngstown StateNo. 10
W 37–13
November 29No. 17 Jacksonville State*No. 9
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY (I-AA Playoffs First Round)
W 45–7
December 6No. 2 Wofford*No. 9
L 17–34
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game
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References
  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.
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