1940 Western Kentucky State Teachers Hilltoppers football team

1940 Western Kentucky State Teachers Hilltoppers football
Conference	Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Record	7–1–1 (1–0–1 KIAC, 4–1–1 SIAA)
Head coach	Gander Terry (3rd season)
Home stadium	Western Stadium
Seasons ←  1939 1941  →

1940 Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Centre	2	–	0	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Eastern Kentucky	1	–	0	–	0			8	–	0	–	0
Western Kentucky State Teachers	1	–	0	–	1			7	–	1	–	1
Georgetown (KY)	2	–	1	–	0			5	–	3	–	2
Transylvania	1	–	2	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
Morehead State	1	–	1	–	2			3	–	2	–	2
Union (KY)	0	–	1	–	1			5	–	1	–	1
Murray State	0	–	1	–	1			4	–	3	–	2
Louisville	0	–	2	–	0			3	–	5	–	1
$ – Conference champion

1940 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Rollins $	6	–	0	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
Newberry	4	–	0	–	0			7	–	2	–	1
Mississippi College	2	–	0	–	0			5	–	1	–	1
Eastern Kentucky	1	–	0	–	0			8	–	0	–	0
Western Kentucky State Teachers	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	1	–	1
Louisiana Normal	4	–	1	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
SW Louisiana	4	–	1	–	0			6	–	3	–	1
Union (TN)	3	–	1	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Georgetown (KY)	2	–	1	–	0			5	–	3	–	2
Murray State	4	–	2	–	1			4	–	3	–	2
Centre	2	–	1	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)	2	–	1	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Presbyterian	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Mississippi Southern	3	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Louisiana Tech	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
West Tennessee State Teachers	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Morehead State	1	–	1	–	2			3	–	3	–	2
Wofford	2	–	2	–	1			3	–	4	–	2
Middle Tennessee State Teachers	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	4	–	0
Tampa	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Oglethorpe	2	–	4	–	0			2	–	6	–	0
Tennessee Tech	1	–	2	–	0			2	–	6	–	0
Transylvania	1	–	2	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
Stetson	2	–	5	–	1			2	–	5	–	1
Troy State	1	–	3	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Louisiana College	1	–	4	–	2			2	–	5	–	2
Union (KY)	0	–	1	–	1			5	–	1	–	1
Centenary	0	–	2	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Louisville	0	–	2	–	0			3	–	5	–	1
Jacksonville State	0	–	2	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
Erskine	0	–	5	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
Delta State	0	–	5	–	1			0	–	8	–	2
$ – Conference champion

The 1940 Western Kentucky State Teachers Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky State Teachers College (now known as Western Kentucky University) as a member of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1940 college football season. Led by third-year head coach Gander Terry, the Hilltoppers compiled an overall record of 7–1–1 with marks of 1–0–1 in KIAC play and 4–1–1 against SIAA opponents. ^{[1] [2]}

Howard "Tip" Downing, Vernon Dulaney, Johnny Taylor, and Leslie Van Meter were named to the All-Kentucky Team. ^[3] Western Kentucky was ranked at No. 147 (out of 697 college football teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score system for 1940. ^[4]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 28		at Bradley *	Peoria, IL	W 13–0
October 5	2:30 p.m.	Presbyterian	Western Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 26–7		[5] [6]
October 11		at Louisiana Tech	Tech Stadium Ruston, LA	L 6–7		[7]
October 19		Tennessee Tech	Bowling Green, KY	W 6–0
October 26		Middle Tennessee State Teachers	Bowling Green, KY (rivalry)	W 13–0
November 2		Western State Teachers *	Bowling Green, KY	W 25–6
November 9		at Morehead State	Morehead, KY	T 0–0	2,500	[8]
November 16		Austin Peay *	Bowling Green, KY	W 20–0
November 23		Murray State	Murray, KY (rivalry)	W 6–0	5,000	[9]
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Central time

References

1. "Colonels Make Strong Bid For K.I.A.C. Crown". Danville Advocate-Messenger . Danville, Kentucky. December 2, 1940. p. 2. Retrieved July 27, 2025– via Newspapers.com .
2. "Football Standings". The Tampa Tribune . Tampa, Florida. December 2, 1940. p. 10. Retrieved September 23, 2020– via Newspapers.com .
3. "WKU Football 2021 Media Guide" (PDF). Bowling Green, Kentucky: Western Kentucky University. pp. 146, 174. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
4. Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 19, 1940). "Final 1940 Litkenhous Ratings". The Boston Globe. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Wallace, Herb (October 4, 1940). "Western To Meet Presbyterian In First Home Game of Season Tomorrow". The Park City Daily News . Bowling Green, Kentucky. p. 6B. Retrieved July 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com .
6. Wallace, Herb (October 6, 1940). "Western Displays Ground Power In Beating Presbyterian, 26-7". The Park City Daily News . Bowling Green, Kentucky. pp. 6, 8 . Retrieved July 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com .
7. "Tech rallies to beat Hilltoppers". The Shreveport Journal. October 12, 1940. Retrieved June 23, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
8. Jones, Jimmy (November 10, 1940). "Morehead, Western In 0-0 Tie". The Courier-Journal . Louisville, Kentucky. p. 4, section 5. Retrieved July 27, 2025– via Newspapers.com .
9. Paxton, E. J. Jr. (November 24, 1940). "Western Aerial Attack Downs Thoroughbreds 6-0". The Paducah Sun-Democrat . Paducah, Kentucky. p. 15. Retrieved July 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com .