The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was known as the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship.
Darrell E. Mudra Sr., nicknamed "Dr. Victory", was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Adams State College (1959–1962), North Dakota State University (1963–1965), the University of Arizona (1967–1968), Western Illinois University (1969–1973), Florida State University (1974–1975), Eastern Illinois University (1978–1982), and the University of Northern Iowa (1983–1987), compiling a career college football record of 200–81–4. Mudra was also the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) for one season in 1966. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2000.
William John Cubit is an American football coach and former player. Cubit was the head football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, first on an interim basis in the 2015 season and then promoted to the post full-time before his dismissal on March 5, 2016. Cubit served as the head football coach at Widener University from 1992 to 1996, and Western Michigan University from 2005 to 2012. Most recently, in 2019, he served as assistant head coach and running backs coach at his alma mater, the University of Delaware.
The 1904 Purdue Boilermakers football team was an American football team that represented Purdue University during the 1904 Western Conference football season. It was the Boilermakers' first season following the disastrous 1903 Purdue Wreck in which 14 players were killed. In their second season under head coach Oliver Cutts, the Boilermakers compiled a 9–3 record, finished in sixth place in the Western Conference with a 1–2 record against conference opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 176 to 66. D. M. Allen was the team captain.
The 1916 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1916 college football season. In their fourth season under head coach Robert Zuppke, the Illini compiled a 3–3–1 record and finished in fifth place in the Western Conference. Quarterback Bart Macomber was the team captain.
The 1918 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1918 Big Ten Conference football season. In their sixth season under head coach Robert Zuppke, the Illini compiled a 5–2 record and tied for the Big Ten Conference championship.
The 1947 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Michigan College of Education as a member of the Mid-American Conference during the 1947 college football season. In its sixth season under head coach John Gill, the team compiled a 6–3 record and was outscored by a total of 147 to 139. The team played its home games at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The 2004 Central Michigan Chippewas football team was an American football team that represented Central Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first season under head coach Brian Kelly, the Chippewas compiled a 4–7 record, finished in fifth place in the MAC's West Division, and were outscored by their opponents, 378 to 260. The team played its home games in Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, with attendance of 75,216 in five home games.
The 1918 Big Ten Conference football season was the 23rd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1918 college football season.
The 2009 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the in Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by head coaches Mark Hendrickson and Don Patterson, who left the team late in the 2008 season due to health problems. The 2009 season was Patterson's last with Western Illinois. He coached the first three games before stepping down, ceding the head coaching duties to Hendrickson. They played their home games at Hanson Field. The team compiling an overall record of 1–10 with a mark of 0–8 in conference play, placing last out of nine teams in the MVFC.
The 1977 Southern Illinois Salukis football team was an American football team that represented Southern Illinois University in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. Under second-year head coach Rey Dempsey, the team compiled a 3–8 record. The team played its home games at McAndrew Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.
The 1983 Southern Illinois Salukis football team was an American football team that represented Southern Illinois University in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Under eighth-year head coach Rey Dempsey, the team compiled a 13–1 record, finished second in the MVC, and won the NCAA Division I-AA Championship, defeating Western Carolina in the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game. The team played its home games at McAndrew Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.
The 1955 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1955 college football season. Led by second-year head coach Wes Stevens, the Leathernecks finished the season with an overall record of 6–3–1 and a mark of 3–2–1 in conference play, placing fourth in the IIAC. Western Illinois later forfeited its win over Illinois State Normal, dropping its season record to 5–4–1 overall and 2–3–1 in the IIAC, putting the team into a fourth-place tie with Illinois State. The forfeit came as a result of Western Illinois using an ineligible player, quarterback Sam Esposito; while Esposito also played in other games for the team, Illinois State Normal was the only school to protest their result.
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 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.
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 10–2 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 lost to Western Kentucky in the first round.
The 1958 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1958 NCAA College Division football season. They were led by second-year head coach Lou Saban and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 6–1–1 record overall and a 5–1 record in conference play, winning the IIAC title.
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 1981 Illinois State Redbirds football team was an American football team that represented Illinois State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Bob Otolski, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 3–7 with a mark of 0–5 in confernece play, placing last uot of eight teams in the MVC. Illinois State played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.
