May 23rd marks 100 days until the 2018 season kickoff for the 100th season of WKU Football, and each day this summer, WKU Athletics will treat fans to unique and interesting history of Hilltopper Football, from never-before-seen photos to game tickets and programs and everything in between, all leading up to an August 31 season kick off.
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| DAY 10Â (August 21) |
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| Entering our final 10 days of the countdown, we continue with our 10th conference championship team and WKU's only national championship squad - the 2002 Hilltoppers. Led by head coach Jack Harbaugh, WKU's season began rather rough as the team began 2-3 with losses to Kansas State (48-3), Western Illinois (14-0), and McNeese State (38-13). Following that, however, the Hilltoppers won 10-straight and tied for 1st in the Gateway Conference with a 6-1 record. Those early losses to Western Illinois and McNeese were also avenged as No. 15 WKU upset No. 2 Western Illinois in the second round of the playoffs and No. 1 McNeese State 34-14 in the NCAA Division 1-AA National Championship Game in Chattanooga. |
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| DAY 9Â (August 22) |
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| The countdown has finally entered the single digits! Our ninth conference championship came in 2000 as Coach Harbaugh's squad, led by captains Brad Davis, Alan Ogletree, James Richie, and Melvin Wisham dominated the Ohio Valley Conference and posted an 11-2 overall record while going undefeated in OVC at 7-0. The Hilltoppers rose to as high as No. 5 in the nation that season. At the time, it was just the fifth season with double-digit victories and the fourth undefeated conference season. |
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| DAY 8Â (August 23) |
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| Jimmy Feix's 1980 squad delivered WKU's all-time winningest head coach his sixth and final conference championship as the program's leader. The Hilltoppers, led by captains Bryan Gray, Ricky Gwinn, and Pete Walters, finished the year 9-1 and 6-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference. |
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| DAY 7Â (August 24) |
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| It's just one week until kickoff! Our seventh conference championship came in 1978 when Reginald Hayden and Fred Hixmiller captained Jimmy Feix's Hilltoppers to a 6-0 conference finished and 8-2 overall record in the Ohio Valley Conference. The 1978 squad won their final five games of the season, including a 54-0 win over Middle Tennessee on Homecoming. |
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| DAY 6Â (August 25) |
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| The 1975 Ohio Valley Conference co-champions brought our sixth conference title home to The Hill. That squad tallied an 11-2 overall record and advanced to the Division II National Championship game for the second time in three years. |
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| DAY 5Â (August 26) |
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| Our 1973 national runners up brought our 5th conference title home to The Hill in 1973. That season, Porter Williams became the first receiver in school history to record a 1,000-yard season and Clarence Jackson finished No. 5 nationally in scoring. Quarterbacks Leo Peckenpaugh and Denis Tomek were a dynamic duo under centered and helped the team to a 12-1 overall record and a perfect 7-0 finish in the Ohio Valley Conference. The 1973 team is still one of only three teams to ever win 12 games in a single season (2002, 2015). |
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| DAY 4Â (August 27) |
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| Prior to the 2015 and 2016 Conference USA Championship teams, only two teams had ever won back-to-back conference titles and that's where the countdown takes us today. Back in 1971, then fourth-year head coach Jimmy Feix won his second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference title when his Hilltoppers went 8-2 and 6-1 in league play. That squad, led by captains Terry Kokinda, Jim Barber, and Bill Sykes, allowed just 10 points per game and led the nation in pass defense - allowing just 57.7 yards per game through the air. |
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| DAY 3Â (August 28) |
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| The first of a pair of consecutive Ohio Valley Conference championships, our third conference championship came in 1970 in head coach Jimmy Feix's third year on The Hill. With captains Bill Hape - whose son, Andy, was also a Hilltopper captain - Lawrence Brame, and Bill Muller, the 1970 squad went 8-1-1 and 5-1-1 in OVC play. That year, the Hilltoppers allowed a staggeringly low 7.6 points per game, still the third-fewest allowed on average in a season since 1954. |
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| DAY 2Â (August 29) |
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| Undefeated. Tangerine Bowl Champions. Our second-ever conference championship came in 1963 as Joe Bugel and Harold Chambers captained Nick Denes' squad to the only undefeated season in school history. The Hilltoppers went 10-0-1 that season with a 14-14 tie on the road at Tampa and closed the season out with three consecutive shutouts including a 27-0 thumping of the Coast Guard Academy in the 1963 Tangerine Bowl in Orlanda, Fla. |
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| DAY 1Â (August 30) |
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| One more day until kickoff! And as our quest for our 13th conference championship is about to begin, we end it with our first-ever conference championship. Back in 1952, head coach Jack Clayton and his Hilltoppers tore through their 10-game schedule with a 9-1 overall record and a 4-1 mark against Ohio Valley Conference opponents. At the end, Arkansas State and the Refrigerator Bowl awaited in Evansville, Indiana. The Hilltoppers came away victorious 34-19 and capped the first conference championship season with the first-ever bowl victory. |
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| GAME DAY! (August 31) |
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| We've come to the end! Thank you for following along on this journey through the last 99 seasons of Hilltopper Football. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did and continue to follow along during the 100th season! |
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