1978 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

1978 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
OVC champion
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
Ranking
APNo. T–4
Record8–2 (6–0 OVC)
Head coach
Home stadiumHouchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
Seasons
← 1977
1979 →
1978 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. T–4 Western Kentucky $ 7 0 0 8 2 0
No. 8 Eastern Kentucky 6 1 0 8 2 0
Tennessee Tech 4 3 0 5 6 0
Austin Peay 4 3 0 6 4 0
Murray State 2 5 0 4 7 0
Morehead State 2 5 0 2 6 1
East Tennessee State 2 5 0 4 7 0
Middle Tennessee 1 6 0 1 9 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from Associated Press poll

The 1978 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University in the inaugural 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season and were led by head coach Jimmy Feix. The NCAA had formed NCAA Division I-AA for football and Western Kentucky, along with the rest of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), moved up from Division II to I-AA.[1] The Hilltoppers won the OVC championship, but just missed the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.[2] The team finished the season tied for fourth in final national NCAA poll.[3]

Western Kentucky's roster included future National Football League (NFL) players Carl Brazley, Darryl Drake, Ray Farmer, Ricky Gwinn, Lamont Meacham, Eddie Preston, Phil Rich, Troy Snardon, Brad Todd, Tony Towns, and Pete Walters. Towns was selected to play in the Blue-Gray Football Classic and Coach Feix was named OVC Coach of the Year for the second time. The All-Conference Team included Brazley, John Hall, Reginald Hayden, Preston, and Towns.[4]

  1. ^ OVC History, retrieved 30 April 2020
  2. ^ 2017 OVC Football Media Guide, retrieved 30 April 2020
  3. ^ "Division I-AA". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. November 21, 1978. p. 4B. Retrieved May 15, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  4. ^ 2019 WKU Football Media Guide retrieved March 31, 2020.