2003 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team

2003 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
NCAA Division I-AA champion A-10 co-champion Lambert Cup winner ECAC Team of the Year
NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game, W 40–0 vs. Colgate
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 1
Record	15–1 (8–1 A-10)
Head coach	K. C. Keeler (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Kirk Ciarrocca (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Dave Cohen (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Delaware Stadium
Seasons ←  2002 2004  →

2003 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 Delaware +^		8	–	1					15	–	1
No. 11 UMass +^		8	–	1					10	–	3
No. 20 Northeastern		6	–	3					8	–	4
No. 25 Villanova		5	–	4					7	–	4
Maine		4	–	4					6	–	5
William & Mary		4	–	4					5	–	5
James Madison		4	–	5					6	–	6
New Hampshire		3	–	6					5	–	7
Rhode Island		3	–	6					4	–	8
Hofstra		2	–	6					2	–	10
Richmond		1	–	8					2	–	9
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2003 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team was an American football team that represented the University of Delaware as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) during the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their second year under head coach K. C. Keeler, the Fightin' Blue Hens compiled a 15–1 record (8–1 in conference games, outscored opponents by a total of 555 to 247, and tied with UMass for the A-10 championship. The Fightin' Blue Hens advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, where they defeated Southern Illinois in the first round, Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals, Wofford in the semifinals, and Colgate in the championship game. ^[1]

The team gained 3,322 rushing yards (207.6 yards per game) and 2,937 passing yards (183.6 yards per game). On defense, they gave up 1,829 rushing yards (114.3 yards per game) and 3,019 passing yards (188.7 yards per game). ^[1] The team's individual statistical leaders included:

• Quarterback Andy Hall completed 234 of 378 passes (61.9%) for 2,764 yards with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He tallied a season-high 283 passing yards against The Citadel. ^[1]
• Running back Germaine Bennett set a Delaware record with 1,625 rushing yards on 323 carries (5.0 yards per carry) with 21 touchdowns. Bennett also led the team with 126 points scored. He rushed for a season-high 186 yards against Wofford. ^[1]
• Wide receiver David Boler tallied 60 receptions for 716 yards and nine touchdowns. He had a season-high 121 receiving yards against New Hampshire. ^[1]
• Middle linebacker Mondoe Davis led the team with 110 total tackles, including 54 solo tackles and 56 assists. ^[1]
• Placekicker Brad Shushman completed 17 of 24 field goals and 64 of 67 extra points for a total of 115 points. ^[1]

The team played home games at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	7:00 pm	The Citadel *	No. 14	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE		W 41–7	20,612	[2]
September 13	7:00 pm	Richmond	No. 11	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	CN8	W 44–14	21,388	[3]
September 20	7:00 pm	West Chester *	No. 8	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)		W 49–7	21,002	[4]
September 27	12:30 pm	at Hofstra	No. 7	James M. Shuart Stadium Hempstead, NY	CSTV	W 24–14	3,228	[5]
October 4	7:00 pm	William & Mary	No. 4	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)		W 41–27	20,485	[6]
October 11	12:00 pm	at New Hampshire	No. 4	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	CSN	W 22–21	4,815	[7]
October 18	12:00 pm	Rhode Island	No. 4	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE		W 55–10	20,795	[8]
October 25	1:30 pm	at Navy *	No. 3	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	HDNet	W 21–17	34,982	[9]
November 1	1:00 pm	Maine	No. 2	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE		W 24–21 OT	22,057	[10]
November 8	12:30 pm	at Northeastern	No. 2	Parsons Field Brookline, MA		L 14–24	4,198	[11]
November 15	12:20 pm	No. 3 UMass	No. 6	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	TFN	W 51–45 3OT	21,804	[12]
November 22	4:00 pm	at No. 18 Villanova	No. 3	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA (Battle of the Blue)	CN8	W 20–17	12,253	[13]
November 29	1:00 pm	No. 4 Southern Illinois *	No. 3	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	CSTV	W 48–7	14,572	[14]
December 6	12:00 pm	No. 7 Northern Iowa *	No. 3	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	ESPN Plus	W 37–7	11,881	[15]
December 13	1:00 pm	No. 2 Wofford *	No. 3	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)	ESPN2	W 24–9	14,351	[16]
December 19	7:00 pm	vs. No. 6 Colgate *	No. 3	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game)	ESPN2	W 40–0	14,281	[17]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^{[18] [19]}

Roster

2003 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 2 Germaine Bennett Sr WR 6 David Boler So QB 10 Ryan Carty Fr QB 12 Andy Hall Sr WR 18 Joe Bleymaier So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 24 Mike Adams Sr DB 4 Roger Brown So LB 15 Mondoe Davis Jr DB 47 Sidney Haugabrook Jr C 69 Chris Edwards Jr TE 88 Rick Lavelle Sr DL 96 Shawn Johnson Sr DL 90 Richard Washington Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach K. C. Keeler Coordinators/assistant coaches Bryan Bossard Kirk Ciarrocca Dave Cohen Kyle Flood Brian Ginn Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "2003 Atlantic 10 Conference: Delaware". CBS Sports. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
2. Kevin Tresolini (September 7, 2003). "Hens Take It Easy: Delaware's offense nearly unstoppable against unranked Citadel". The News Journal. pp. D1, D7 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Kevin Tresolini (September 14, 2003). "Hens Romp To Win: Richmond errors help Delaware build early lead". The News Journal. pp. D1, D7 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Kevin Tresolini (September 21, 2003). "Mismatch: Delaware strikes early and often in routing Rams". The News Journal. pp. D1, D6 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Kevin Tresolini (September 28, 2003). "Hall's Dash Does It: Quarterback's record run through Hofstra keeps UD unbeaten". The News Journal. pp. D1, D6 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Kevin Tresolini (October 5, 2003). "On All Cyliners: Delaware offense continues to dominate in Atlantic 10 victory". The News Journal. pp. E1, E9 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Kevin Tresolini (October 12, 2025). "Blue Hens sneak away with a win". The News Journal. pp. D1, D9 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Kevin Tresolini (October 19, 2003). "Routing the Rams: Overwhelming offense, Rhode Island turnovers add up to easy win for UD". The News Journal. pp. D1, D6 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Hard Road To 8-0". The News Journal. October 26, 2003. pp. D1, D6 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Kevin Tresolini (November 2, 2003). "'An Amazing Win': Key block, field goal in overtime boost Blue Hens to 9-0". The News Journal. pp. A1, C1, C6 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Martin Frank (November 9, 2003). "Mistakes doom Delaware: Penalties, dropped passes sabotage UD's chance for unbeaten season". The News Journal. pp. D1, D11 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Kevin Tresolini (November 16, 2003). "Hens Back on Track: Overtime thriller brings A-10 closer". The News Journal. pp. D1, D11 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Martin Frank (November 23, 2003). "UD Rallies For A-10 Title: Even injury can't slow these Hens". The News Journal. p. E1 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Tresolini, Kevin (November 30, 2003). "Blue Hens advance in playoffs". The News Journal . p. A1. Retrieved December 29, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
15. Kevin Tresolini (December 7, 2003). "UD Plows Ahead". Daily News Journal. pp. D1, D9 – via Newspapers.com.
16. Kevin Tresolini (December 14, 2003). "Hens In Title Game". Daily News Journal. pp. A1, A6 – via Newspapers.com.
17. Kevin Tresolini (December 20, 2003). "Blue Heaven: Delaware Routs Colgate, Wins First I-AA Crown". The News Journal (Wilmington, DE). pp. C1, C7 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Delaware Blue Hens Schedule 2003". ESPN . Retrieved November 8, 2022.
19. "2003 Football Schedule". Delaware Blue Hens . Retrieved November 8, 2022.