1996 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

Last updated

1996 Western Illinois Leathernecks football
Conference Gateway Football Conference
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 10
Record9–3 (3–2 Gateway)
Head coach
Home stadium Hanson Field
Seasons
← 1995
1997  →
1996 Gateway Football Conference standings
ConfOverall
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

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
August 29 Northwestern Oklahoma State *
W 44–21 [2]
September 7at Northern Illinois *
W 17–021,370 [3]
September 14 Alcorn State *
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
W 34–176,498 [4]
September 21at No. 14 Hofstra *
W 18–93,719 [5]
October 5 Indiana State No. 22
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
L 7–10 [6]
October 12at No. 7 Eastern Illinois *No. 25
W 10–710,133 [7]
October 19at Southern Illinois No. 17
W 26–1911,300 [8]
October 26 Cal Poly *No. 15
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
W 51–10 [9]
November 2at No. 7 Southwest Missouri State No. 13
W 23–1715,878 [10]
November 9 Illinois State No. 10
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
W 28–115,714 [11]
November 16at No. 3 Northern Iowa No. 8
L 6–3015,476 [12]
November 30at No. 4 Murray State *No. 10
L 6–342,753 [13]

Related Research Articles

The 1986 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (GCAC) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Al Molde, the Panthers played their home games at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Illinois. Eastern Illinois finished the season with an overall record of 11–2 and won the GCAC title with a mark of 5–1 in conference play. The team was invited to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they beat Murray State in the first round before losing to Eastern Kentucky in the quarterfinals.

The 1999 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 1999 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Todd Berry, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 11–3 with a mark of 6–0 in conference play, winning the Gateway Football Conference title. Illinois State received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where the Redbirds defeated Colgate in the first round and Hofstra in the quarterfinals before losing to Georgia Southern in the semifinals. Illinois State was ranked No. 3 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of NCAA Division I-AA teams. The team played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

The 1998 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by third-year head coach Todd Berry, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 4–2 mark in conference play, placing second in the Gateway. Illinois State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, losing to Northwestern State in the first round. Illinois State was ranked No. 16 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of NCAA Division I-AA teams. The team played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

The 2003 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Don Patterson and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with an 9–4 record overall and a 5–2 record in conference play. The team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated Montana in the first round and lost to Colgate in the second round. The team was ranked No. 6 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of Division I-AA.

The 2002 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Don Patterson and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with an 11–2 record overall and a 6–1 record in conference play, making them conference co-champions. The team received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated Eastern Illinois in the first round and lost to Western Kentucky in the quarterfinal. The team was ranked No. 5 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of Division I-AA.

The 2000 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by second-year head coach Don Patterson and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 9–3 record overall and a 5–1 record in conference play, making them conference champions. The team received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they lost to Lehigh in the first round. The team was ranked No. 12 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of Division I-AA.

The 1998 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by ninth-year head coach Randy Ball and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with an 11–3 record overall and a 5–1 record in conference play, making them conference champions. The team received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated Montana and Florida A&M before losing to Georgia Southern in the semifinals. The team was ranked No. 4 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of Division I-AA.

The 1997 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Randy Ball and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with an 11–2 record overall and a 6–0 record in conference play, making them conference champions. The team received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated Jackson State before losing to McNeese State in the quarterfinals.

The 1991 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference during the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by second-year head coach Randy Ball and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 7–4–1 record overall and a 4–2 record in conference play. The team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they lost to Marshall in the first round.

The 1988 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference during the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Bruce Craddock and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 10–1 record overall and a 6–0 record in conference play, making them the conference champions. Senior and 4-year starter Paul Singer was the Leathernecks' quarterback. He was selected to five All-American teams, as well as being a GTE and NCAA Academic All-American, the Conference Player of the Year, and the national Player of the Year runner-up. He held nearly every WIU passing and offensive record, as well as several conference records. The 10 wins were the most in the nearly 100-year history of WIU football.

The 1981 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Association of Mid-Continent Universities during the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by third-year head coach Pete Rodriguez and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 5–6 record overall and a 2–1 record in conference play, making them conference co-champions with Eastern Illinois and Northern Iowa.

The 1969 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1969 NCAA College Division football season. They were led by first-year head coach Darrell Mudra and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 8–2 record and a 3–0 record in conference play, winning the IIAC title.

The 1964 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1964 NCAA College Division football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Art Dufelmeier and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 6–3 record overall and a 3–1 record in conference play, sharing the IIAC title with Northern Illinois.

The 1939 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1939 college football season. They were led by 14th-year head coach Ray Hanson and played their home games at Morgan Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 5–1–1 record overall and a 3–0–1 record in conference play, winning the IIAC title.

The 2004 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference in the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Don Patterson and played their home games at Hanson Field in Macomb, Illinois. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 4–7 record overall and a 2–5 record in conference play.

The 2005 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 2005 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by seventh-year head coach Don Patterson and played their home games at Hanson Field in Macomb, Illinois. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 5–6 record overall and a 3–4 record in conference play.

The 2007 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 2007 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by ninth-year head coach Don Patterson and played their home games at Hanson Field in Macomb, Illinois. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 6–5 record overall and a 3–3 record in conference play, tying for third place in the Gateway.

The 2001 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by third-year head coach Don Patterson and played their home games at Hanson Field in Macomb, Illinois. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 5–5 record overall and a 4–3 record in conference play. Western Illinois played a ten-game schedule instead of the typical eleven-game schedule in Division I-AA, as they were unable to schedule an eleventh opponent before the season began.

The 1999 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 1999 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by first-year head coach Don Patterson and played their home games at Hanson Field in Macomb, Illinois. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 7–4 record overall and a 2–4 record in conference play.

The 1987 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (GCAC) during the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Bruce Craddock, the Leathernecks compiled an overall record of 7–4, with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, and finished second in the GCAC. The Leathernecks came within one loss, to Northern iowa, of winning the conference championship and making the national playoffs. The Leathernecks lost on a last second field goal to nationally ranked Division 1 Fresno State. Senior linebacker Marty Lomalino led the team in tackles and was named an All-American. Third year starter junior quarterback Paul Singer led the Leathernecks in passing for the third consecutive year, and broke the Leatherneck records for passing yards, touchdown passes, and total offense in a season.

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.


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