Western Illinois Leathernecks football

Western Illinois Leathernecks football
2024 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team
First season1902; 122 years ago
Athletic directorPaul Bubb
Head coachJoe Davis
1st season, 4–8 (.333)
StadiumHanson Field
(capacity: 16,368)
Year built1950
Field surfaceMatrix Turf
LocationMacomb, Illinois
NCAA divisionDivision I FCS
ConferenceBig South–OVC
All-time record512–444–38 (.534)
Bowl record2–1 (.667)
Playoff appearances1 (NCAA Division II)
1973
11 (NCAA Division I)
1988, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2010, 2015, 2017
Playoff record0–1 (NCAA Division II)
7–11 (NCAA Division I)
Conference titles13
1939, 1942, 1949, 1958, 1959, 1964, 1969, 1981, 1988, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002
ColorsPurple and gold[1]
   
Fight songWe're Marching On
MascotColonel Rock (Live Bulldog), Rocky (Costumed Bulldog)
Marching bandWestern Illinois University Marching Leathernecks
OutfitterAdidas
Websitegoleathernecks.com
Western Illinois Leathernecks

The Western Illinois Leathernecks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Western Illinois University located in Macomb, Illinois.[2][3] The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). They are members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), and play their games as part of the Big South–OVC Football Association, which combines teams from the Ohio Valley and Big South conferences. The team plays its home games at the 16,368 seat Hanson Field.

History

See also: List of Western Illinois Leathernecks in the NFL draft

Western Illinois had an unofficial football team in 1902, the year the school was established. The team played four games against regional high schools and the Western Illinois Normal & Business Institute going 2-2. In 1903, the school formed an athletic association for the fall football season, which is considered the official beginning of Western Illinois football by the school.[4]

The team adopted its nickname in 1927 when coach Ray Hanson, a decorated officer in the United States Marine Corps, asked the U.S. Navy for permission to use the Corps' Fighting Leathernecks nickname and logo for his team. Western Illinois is the only college which officially takes its nickname from a branch of the U.S. military.[5]

From 2008 through 2023, the Leathernecks were members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The university announced on May 12, 2023 that its football program would remain in the MVFC through the autumn of 2023 before joining the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in 2024. The remainder of the Leathernecks' athletic programs transitioned to the OVC one year prior, on July 1, 2023.[6]

Conference affiliations

Years Conference Classification
1902–1913 Independent
1914–1949 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic
1950–1969 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic NCAA College Division
1970–1972 Independent
1973–1977 Independent Division II
1978–1980 Mid-Continent
1981–1984 Division I-AA
1985–2005 Gateway Football
2006–2007 Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
2008–2023 Missouri Valley Football
2024–future Ohio Valley

Championships

Conference championships

Years Conference Overall Record Conference Record
1939 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 5–1–1 2–0–1
1942 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 5–0–2 3–0–1
1949 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 9–1–0 4–0
1958 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 6–1–1 5–1
1959 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 9–0–0 6–0
1964† Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 6–3–0 3–1
1969 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 8–2–0 3–0
1981† Mid-Continent 5–6 2–1
1988 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference 10–2–0 6–0
1997 Gateway Football Conference 8–3 4–1
1998 Gateway Football Conference 11–2 6–0
2000 Gateway Football Conference 9–3 5–1
2002† Gateway Football Conference 11–2 6–1

† Co-championship

Playoffs and bowls

Playoffs

Season Result Classification
1973 First Round NCAA Division II Playoffs
1988 First Round NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs
1991 First Round NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs
1996 First Round NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs
1997 Quarterfinals NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs (Pecan Bowl)
1998 Semifinals NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs (Pecan Bowl)
2000 First Round NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs
2002 Quarterfinals NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs (Pecan Bowl)
2003 Quarterfinals NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs (Pecan Bowl)
2010 Second Round NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs
2015 Second Round NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs
2017 First Round NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs

*Note: Since 1981, the NCAA Division I-AA/Division I FCS Playoffs Regional Championships were commonly referred to as the Boardwalk Bowl (East Region Championship), Pecan Bowl (Midwest Region Championship), Grantland Rice Bowl (South Region Championship), and Camellia Bowl (West Region Championship).

Bowl games

Season Bowl Opponent Result
1949 Corn Bowl Wheaton W 13–0
1953 Corn Bowl Iowa Wesleyan W 32–0
1955 Corn Bowl Luther L 20–24

Head coaches

Years Name
1902–1903 Unknown
1904 L. H. Laughlin
1905 A. Laughlin
1906, 1910 Oliver Morton Dickerson
1907–1908 Charles A. Barnett
1909 Francis Taft
1911 Albert Walrath
1912–1913 Unknown
1914 Edward S. Dowell
1915 Unknown
1916–1917, 1919 Erskine Jay
1918 No team
1920–1921 W. A. Cleveland
1922–1925 Howard Hawkes
1926–1941 Ray Hanson
1942–1943 Wix Garner
1944 Bob Barnwell
1945–1947 Wix Garner
1948 Harold Ave
1949–1953 Vince DiFrancesca
1954–1956 Wes Stevens
1957–1959 Lou Saban
1960–1968 Art Dufelmeier
1969–1973 Darrell Mudra
1974–1975 Brodie Westen
1976–1978 Bill Shanahan
1979–1982 Pete Rodriguez
1983–1989 Bruce Craddock
1990–1998 Randy Ball
1999–2009 Don Patterson
2008–2012† Mark Hendrickson
2013–2015 Bob Nielson
2016–2017 Charlie Fisher
2018–2021 Jared Elliott
2022–2023 Myers Hendrickson

† Acting head coach first seven games of 2008 season and last eight games of 2009 season.

Season records

Year Overall record Conference record Standing (Total teams)
1903 0-3 - -
1904 5-2 - -
1905 4-2 - -
1906 1-4 - -
1907 2-3 - -
1908 2-3-1 - -
1909 2-3 - -
1910 4-1-1 - -
1911 4-3 - -
1912 4-3 - -
1913 5-3 - -
1914 3-2-1 0-1 T-14th (15)
1915 1-5 0-4 T-16th (28)
1916 1-7-1 0-5 T-18th (19)
1917 2-4 1-4 13th (18)
1918 No games played N/A N/A
1919 5-2 1-2 16th (19)
1920 0-3-1 0-2-1 T-17th (21)
1921 3-3-1 1-2 T-16th (23)
1922 6-2 2-1 T-6th (23)
1923 1-6-1 1-4-1 20th (23)
1924 4-3 3-3 8th (22)
1925 4-3-1 4-3-1 9th (22)
1926 4-3-1 4-3 8th (19)
1927 6-3-1 4-3-1 9th (16)
1928 2-3-3 2-3-2 14th (22)
1929 3-5[Note A] 2-5 18th (23)
1930 4-4 3-4 15th (22)
1931 2-6 2-4 18th (22)
1932 4-2-1 4-2-1 7th (21)
1933 3-5 2-4 16th (21)
1934 5-3 4-2 T-6th (20)
1935 2-6 1-6 17th (20)
1936 3-2-2 3-2-1 T-7th (21)
1937 3-4-1 3-1-1 6th (21)
1938 6-2 2-1 4th (8)
1939 5-1-1 2-0-1 1st (5)
1940 1-6-1 0-3-1 4th (5)
1941 3-4-1 1-2-1 4th (5)
1942 5-0-2 3-0-1 1st (5)
1943 1-6 0-4 4th (5)
1944 0-8 0-4 4th (5)
1945 1-5-1 0-3-1 T-3rd (5)
1946 2-6 0-4 4th (5)
1947 4-4-1 0-4 4th (5)
1948 4-4 1-3 3rd (5)
1949 9-1 4-0 1st (5)
1950 7-1 4-1 2nd (7)
1951 7-1-1 4-1-1 2nd (7)
1952 7-2 5-1 2nd (7)
1953 8-2 5-1 2nd (7)
1954 6-1-3 3-1-2 3rd (7)
1955 5-4-1 2-3-1 T-4th (7)
1956 6-3 4-2 2nd (7)
1957 5-4 4-2 T-2nd (7)
1958 6-1-1 5-1 1st (7)
1959 9-0 6-0 1st (7)
1960 6-2 5-1 2nd (7)
1961 5-3 4-2 T-2nd (7)
1962 5-3 2-2 3rd (5)
1963 6-3 3-1 2nd (5)
1964 6-3 3-1 T-1st (5)
1965 4-5 2-2 3rd (5)
1966 1-7-1 1-2 3rd (4)
1967 2-6 1-2 T-3rd (4)
1968 2-7-1 1-2 T-3rd (4)
1969 8-2 3-0 1st (4)
1970 7-3 - -
1971 8-2 - -
1972 9-2 - -
1973 7-4 - -
1974 7-3 - -
1975 5-4-1 - -
1976 7-3 - -
1977 3-7 - -
1978 3-6-1 1-3-1 T-4th (6)
1979 3-8 1-4 5th (6)
1980 4-6 0-4 5th (5)
1981 5-6 2-1 2nd (4)
1982 2-8 0-3 4th (4)
1983 3-8 0-3 4th (4)
1984 6-4-1 0-2-1 4th (4)
1985 6-5 2-3 3rd (6)
1986 6-5 2-4 5th (7)
1987 7-4 5-1 2nd (7)
1988 10-2 6-0 1st (7)
1989 4-7 1-5 6th (7)
1990 3-8 3-3 5th (7)
1991 7-4-1 4-2 3rd (7)
1992 7-4 4-2 2nd (7)
1993 4-7 4-2 3rd (7)
1994 8-3 4-2 2nd (7)
1995 4-7 2-4 6th (7)
1996 9-3 3-2 2nd (6)
1997 11-2 6-0 1st (7)
1998 11-3 5-1 1st (7)
1999 7-4 2-4 4th (7)
2000 9-3 5-1 1st (7)
2001 5-5 4-3 4th (8)
2002 11-2 6-1 1st (8)
2003 9-4 5-2 3rd (8)
2004 4-7 2-5 5th (8)
2005 5-6 3-4 5th (8)
2006 5-6 2-5 6th (8)
2007 6-5 3-3 4th (7)
2008 6-5 4-4 4th (9)
2009 1-10 0-8 9th (9)
2010 8-5 5-3 2nd (9)
2011 2-9 1-7 9th (9)
2012 3-8 1-7 9th (10)
2013 4-8 2-6 9th (10)
2014 5-7 3-5 8th (10)
2015 7-6 5-3 5th (10)
2016 6-6 4-4 6th (10)
2017 8-4 5-3 4th (10)
2018 5-6 4-4 5th (10)
2019 1-11 1-7 10th (10)
2020 1-5 1-5 9th (10)
2021 2-9 2-6 11th (11)
2022 0-11 0-8 11th (11)
2023 0-11 0-8 11th (11)
2024 4-8 3-6 6th (9)
^A. Adjusted record is 0–8 (3 wins vacated). After the season Western was forced to vacate their wins due to an ineligible player.

[7] [8]

Individual accomplishments

Award winners

  • Walter Payton Award finalists
    Paul Singer - 1988 . . . 2nd
    Aaron Stecker - 1997...2nd
    Charles Tharp - 2000...8th
    Russ Michna - 2003...6th
    Herb Donaldson - 2007...13th
    Herb Donaldson - 2008...3rd
  • Buck Buchanan Award
    James Milton - 1998
    Edgerton Hartwell - 2000
  • Buck Buchanan Award finalists
    Cyron Brown - 1997...3rd
    Edgerton Hartwell - 1999...5th
    Lee Russell - 2002...6th
    Lee Russell - 2003...5th
    Jason Williams - 2008...4th
    Kyle Glazier - 2010...T-2nd
    Brett Taylor - 2016...7th
    Brett Taylor - 2017...2nd
    Darius Joiner - 2021...6th
  • Eddie Robinson Award finalists
    Randy Ball - 1997...6th
    Randy Ball - 1998...5th
    Don Patterson - 2000...13th
    Don Patterson - 2002...3rd
    Mark Hendrickson - 2010...2nd

College Football Hall of Fame members

Name Position Years Inducted Ref.
Darrell Mudra Coach 1969–1973 2000 [9]

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of December 9, 2022.[10]

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028
at New Mexico State at Northern Illinois Eastern Kentucky at Wisconsin at Oklahoma State at Purdue
Lindenwood UT Martin at Eastern Washington at Lindenwood
at Southern Utah at Eastern Kentucky
at Illinois State

Notable former players

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ^ Western Illinois Leathernecks Athletics 2017–18 Branding & Style Guidelines (PDF). July 11, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  2. ^ "Western Illinois Athletics Leathernecks Football". goleathernecks.com. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  3. ^ "Western Illinois Leathernecks College Football Clubhouse". ESPN. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  4. ^ "Western Illinois Football Record Book" (PDF). Western Illinois University Athletics. p. 66. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  5. ^ "The Leatherneck Nickname". Western Illinois University Athletics. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  6. ^ "Leatherneck Athletics Moving to Ohio Valley Conference for All Sports," Western Illinois University Athletics, Friday, May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  7. ^ "Missouri Valley Football Conference Records" (PDF). Missouri Valley Football Conference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  8. ^ "Western Illinois Football Record Book" (PDF). goleathernecks.com. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  9. ^ "Darrell Mudra (2000) - Hall of Fame". National Football Foundation.
  10. ^ "Western Illinois Leathernecks Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved December 9, 2022.

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