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 (MVFC). The school's first football team was fielded in 1902. The team plays its home games at the 16,368 seat Hanson Field. The Leathernecks are playing one final MVFC campaign in the fall of 2023 before joining the football alliance between the Big South Conference and Western's primary home of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in 2024.

History

Western Illinois had an unofficial football team in 1902, the year the school was established. The team played four games against regional high schools and the Western Illinois Normal & Business Institute going 2-2. In 1903, the school formed an athletic association for the fall football season, which is considered the official beginning of Western Illinois football by the school. The team adopted its nickname in 1927 when coach Ray Hanson, a decorated officer in the United States Marine Corps, asked the U.S. Navy for permission to use the Corps' Fighting Leathernecks nickname and logo for his team. Western Illinois is the only college which officially takes its nickname from a branch of the U.S. military. The university announced on May 12, 2023 that its football program will remain in the MVFC through the autumn of 2023 before joining the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in 2024. The remainder of the Leathernecks' athletic programs transition to the OVC one year prior on July 1, 2023.

Conference affiliations

Championships

Conference championships

† Co-championship

Playoffs and bowls

Playoffs

• Note: Since 1981, the NCAA Division I-AA/Division I FCS Playoffs Regional Championships were commonly referred to as the Boardwalk Bowl (East Region Championship), Pecan Bowl (Midwest Region Championship), Grantland Rice Bowl (South Region Championship), and Camellia Bowl (West Region Championship).

Bowl games

Head coaches

† Acting head coach first seven games of 2008 season and last eight games of 2009 season.

Season records

Individual accomplishments

Award winners

College Football Hall of Fame members

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of December 9, 2022.

Notable former players

Notable alumni