Leatherneck Nation

Hey folks...I need your help.

I've volunteered to put together the /r/cfb and /r/fcs wiki for Western Illinois football, but my perspective is limited (and my memory kinda sucks). I'm working on gathering the information and getting things updated, but I don't want to completely ignore things that I've forgotten about or that happened before I started following WIU Football.

So, I'd appreciate it if you could head over to the /r/CFB Western Illinois wiki, take a look at what I have so far and make sure I'm correct on stuff, as well as looking at the blanks and letting me know what you think should go in there. Things like the greatest games in WIU history, greatest plays, greatest players (I've already got quite a few, but let me know if I've completely missed someone...we're talking like once-in-a-generation type players), and greatest coaches (I've got Hanson of course, and Red Miller, even though he wasn't technically a HC for us, he was a coach and did quite a bit at the NFL level...do I put Ball (the winningest coach in WIU history)...Patterson (second-winningest, second-longest tenured, most playoff appearances)...Craddock (who really got the ball rolling to set up much of our '90s success)? Or what about Vince DiFrancesca (.837 record over 5 years) or Lou Saban (only 3 years, but .788 record and the only undefeated season in WIU history)? You're supposed to only put 2-3 of each, but I'm having a hard time narrowing it down to the greatest 2-3. Maybe Red Miller shouldn't be on the list (could mention him later) since he wasn't a HC for us....thoughts?

As for greatest games, I think probably the UNI game in...I think '02, when Scifres kicked the 50+ yard FG to win the game and the conference title. What others?...wins over FBS teams?...playoff wins?...huge homecoming wins?

Anyway, take a look, let me know what you think I should put down, and I'll see about getting it updated.

Thanks.

This is awesome. I'll see what info I can recall and find. Most my knowledge starts in 2000.

Mike's Game winner was a 56 yarder to win conference in 2000. School recorder and his first college attempt. Stonger leg than Joe Lopez who also had a few misses already.

2003 second round playoff win at Montana. Double OT, Justin Langan kicks school recorder (tied FCS) 5th FG (5-5 on the day) on first possession of 2OT and Phil Archer blocks (found story on our site giving block to Fu'ad Khaleel) their 33yrd attempt to win.

Their kicker Chris Snyder was 4-4 before that point and broke the FCS scoring recorder during the game.

Was only their 16th home loss in stadium history at that point since 1986. Won 110 times during that same span.

letsgonecks wrote: Sat Jul 08, 2017 11:51 am This is awesome. I'll see what info I can recall and find. Most my knowledge starts in 2000.

Mike's Game winner was a 56 yarder to win conference in 2000. School recorder and his first college attempt. Stonger leg than Joe Lopez who also had a few misses already.

Right, that's the one...not 2002 (always get confused between those two years for some reason).

As for memorable games, I suggest the 4-overtime game with South Dakota State on 8-30-07. Western won 29-26.
http://www.goleathernecks.com/news/2007 ... h=football

I believe that this was the first game played with the new east-side seating and concessions/bathrooms.

wiu712 wrote:As for memorable games, I suggest the 4-overtime game with South Dakota State on 8-30-07. Western won 29-26.
http://www.goleathernecks.com/news/2007 ... h=football

I believe that this was the first game played with the new east-side seating and concessions/bathrooms.

Yea, I thought about that one too...it was very exciting and memorable, but there wasn't really much "on-the-line"...season opener, at that time out-of-conference (although we knew at that point that they'd be joining in a year or two)...so it's not like it was for a championship or playoff win or anything.

I'll keep it in mind if we don't come up with anything else though.


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Is the focus of this Reddit page only our 1-AA days ???

Western played NAIA football 1903-1941.
Western played NCAA College Division football 1942-1972 which would include the Mike Wagner days.
Western played NCAA Division 2 football 1973-1980.
Western started playing 1-AA football in 1981.

We did share the Mid-Continent Championship in 1981 with a 2-1 conference record.

Western won the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1939, 1942, 1949, 1958, 1959, 1964 (shared), and 1969.

Western went to the first round of the NCAA Division 2 playoffs in 1973.

Western went to the Corn Bowl in 1949, 1953, 1955. The Corn Bowl was played 1947-1955. The Corn Bowl was sponsored by the Hybrid Seed Corn Breeders of Illinois and the Bloomington American Legion.

wiu712 wrote: Sat Jul 08, 2017 8:58 pm Is the focus of this Reddit page only our 1-AA days ???

I believe so, but I'll check with the guys organizing it to find out if they want to stick to just D1 or cover everything.

EDIT - ok, here's what they say "Totally up to you! At this point more content is better, so whatever you have time and interest for "

So, I think we can pretty much go nuts with whatever we want to add as long as we can organize it relatively efficiently...don't want 8 miles of text that people have to scroll through (because they won't).

EDIT (part dos) - added most of what you had listed in a section I added called "Historical Information". I'm going to try not to go crazy with it though, kinda want this to be an overview of the program, a bit of history, etc. and then I'll have a link to the full record book and media guides for anyone who wants more information.

Are audio clips and video clips available anywhere? We really do need to start capturing and posting these memorable moments somewhere. Links to content you don't control eventually go sour over time.

[youtube][/youtube]

Scott,

Western was in the Corn Bowl in 1949, 1953, 1955. Your Reddit page is showing different dates.

Should our Mid-Con co-championship in 1981 be included in your "D1 Era Conference Championships" ??