The Western Illinois Leathernecks are the teams and athletes that represent Western Illinois University, located in Macomb, Illinois, in NCAA Division I sports. The school's primary conference affiliation is with the Summit League; its football team is a member of the Division I FCS Missouri Valley Football Conference.
The Western Illinois Leathernecks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Western Illinois University located in Macomb, Illinois. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The school's first football team was fielded in 1903. The team plays its home games at the 16,368 seat Hanson Field.
The Western Illinois Leathernecks baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois, United States. The program's first season was in 1948, and it has been a member of the NCAA Division I Summit League since the start of the 1985 season. Its home venue is Alfred D. Boyer Stadium, located on Western Illinois's campus. Andy Pascoe is the team's head coach starting in the 2020 season. The program has appeared in 0 NCAA Tournaments ad the Division I level. It has won zero conference tournament championships and 0 regular season conference titles. As of the start of the 2018 Major League Baseball season, 3 former Leathernecks have appeared in Major League Baseball.
The 2012 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by head coach Mark Hendrickson in his fourth full season and fifth overall year since coaching the first seven games of the 2008 season. They played their home games at Hanson Field. Western Illinois finished the season 3–8 overall and 1–7 in MVFC play to place ninth.
The 2012–13 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team represented Western Illinois University during the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Leathernecks, led by fifth year head coach Jim Molinari, played their home games at Western Hall and were members of The Summit League. They finished the season 22–9, 13–3 in Summit League play to claim a share of the regular season conference title. They advanced to the semifinals of The Summit League Tournament where they lost to North Dakota State. They were invited to the 2013 College Basketball Invitational where they lost in the first round to Purdue.
The 2013 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first year head coach Bob Nielson and played their home games at Hanson Field. Western Illinois finished the season 4–8 overall and 2–6 in MVFC play to place ninth.
The 2015 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third year head coach Bob Nielson and played their home games at Hanson Field. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in MVFC play to finish in a three way tie for third place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs where they defeated Dayton in the first round before losing in the second round to fellow MVFC member Illinois State.
The 2016 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Charlie Fisher and played their home games at Hanson Field. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). They finished the season 6–5, 3–5 in MVFC play to finish in a tie for sixth place.
The 2010 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by Mark Hendrickson in his third year and second full season as head coach. They played their home games at Hanson Field. The team finished the regular season with an 8–3 overall record and a 5–3 record in Missouri Valley Football Conference play. They qualified for the playoffs, in which they were eliminated by Appalachian State in the second round.
The 2009 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by co-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 finished the regular season with a 1–10 overall record and a 0–8 record in Missouri Valley Football Conference play. The Leathernecks finished the season with the worst record in the Missouri Conference and did not win a single conference game.
The 2017 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Charlie Fisher and played their home games at Hanson Field. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). They finished the season 8–4, 5–3 in MVFC play to finish in fourth place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost to Weber State in the first round.
The 2017–18 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team represented Western Illinois University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Leathernecks, led by fourth-year head coach Billy Wright, played their home games at Western Hall in Macomb, Illinois as members of the Summit League. They finished the season 12–16, 3–11 in Summit League play to finish in last place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Tournament to South Dakota.
The 2018 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Jared Elliott and played their home games at Hanson Field. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). They finished the season 5–6, 4–4 in MVFC play to finish in fifth place.
Khalen Saunders is an American football defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Western Illinois and high school football at Parkway Central High School.
The 2019 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Jared Elliott and played their home games at Hanson Field. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). They finished the season 1–11, 1–7 in MVFC play to finish in a two-way tie for ninth place.
The 2019–20 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team represented Western Illinois University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Leathernecks, led by sixth-year head coach Billy Wright, played their home games at Western Hall in Macomb, Illinois, as members of the Summit League. They finished the season 5–21, 2–14 in Summit League play to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the Summit League Tournament.
The 2020 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Jared Elliott and played their home games at Hanson Field. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC).
The 2020–21 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team represented Western Illinois University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Leathernecks, led by first-year head coach Rob Jeter, played their home games at Western Hall in Macomb, Illinois, as members of the Summit League.
The 2021 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represents Western Illinois University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) for the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They are led by fourth-year head coach Jared Elliott. The Leathernecks play their home games at Hanson Field in Macomb, 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 with a mark of 3–2–1 in conference play, placing fourth in the IIAC. Western Illinois later forfeited its win over Illinois State, 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.
