1996 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

1996 Western Illinois Leathernecks football
NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 6–34 vs. Murray State
Conference	Gateway Football Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 10
Record	9–3 (3–2 Gateway)
Head coach	Randy Ball (7th season)
Home stadium	Hanson Field

1996 Gateway Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 3 Northern Iowa $^		5	–	0					12	–	2
No. 10 Western Illinois ^		3	–	2					9	–	3
No. 21 Southwest Missouri State		3	–	2					7	–	4
Indiana State		3	–	2					6	–	5
Southern Illinois		1	–	4					5	–	6
Illinois State		0	–	5					3	–	8
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1996 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by seventh-year head coach Randy Ball and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 9–3 record overall and a 3–2 record in conference play. The team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they lost to Murray State in the first round.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 29	Northwestern Oklahoma State*		Hanson Field Macomb, IL	W 44–21		[2]
September 7	at Northern Illinois*		Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	W 17–0	21,370	[3]
September 14	Alcorn State*		Hanson Field Macomb, IL	W 34–17	6,498	[4]
September 21	at No. 14 Hofstra*		Hofstra Stadium Hempstead, NY	W 18–9	3,719	[5]
October 5	Indiana State	No. 22	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	L 7–10		[6]
October 12	at No. 7 Eastern Illinois*	No. 25	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	W 10–7	10,133	[7]
October 19	at Southern Illinois	No. 17	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 26–19	11,300	[8]
October 26	Cal Poly*	No. 15	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	W 51–10		[9]
November 2	at No. 7 Southwest Missouri State	No. 13	Robert W. Plaster Stadium Springfield, MO	W 23–17	15,878	[10]
November 9	Illinois State	No. 10	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	W 28–11	5,714	[11]
November 16	at No. 3 Northern Iowa	No. 8	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	L 6–30	15,476	[12]
November 30	at No. 4 Murray State*	No. 10	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	L 6–34	2,753	[13]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "Western Illinois Football Record Book" (PDF). Western Illinois University Athletics. p. 72. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
2. "Western Illinois rolls to 44-21 win in opener". Daily Republican-Register. Associated Press. August 30, 1996. p. 5. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Nickel, Lori (September 8, 1996). "Murphy's law haunts Northern loss". Chicago Tribune. p. 3:10. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Blalock too much for Alcorn". Clarion-Ledger. September 15, 1996. p. 9D. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "W. Illinois now 4-0; ISU wins in second OT". Chicago Tribune. September 22, 1996. p. 3:8. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Indiana State opens conference play with a 10-7 victory over W. Illinois". Indianapolis Star. October 6, 1996. p. C4. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Western Illinois hands Eastern Illinois defeat". The Pantagraph. Associated Press. October 13, 1996. p. F5. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Hardwig, Greg (October 20, 1996). "Another bitter pill". The Southern Illinoisan. p. 1D. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Mustangs knuckle under, 51-10". Santa Maria Times. Associated Press. October 27, 1996. p. B6. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Hecklinski, Western topple SW Missouri". The Pantagraph. Associated Press. November 3, 1996. p. F8. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Leathernecks set up showdown with UNI". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Associated Press. November 10, 1996. p. D3. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
12. McCool, Dan (November 17, 1996). "UNI tramples Western Illinois to claim Gateway title outright". Des Moines Register. p. 11D. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Murray State races by Western Illinois". Quad-City Times. Associated Press. December 1, 1996. p. 3S. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.