2001 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

2001 Western Illinois Leathernecks football
ConferenceGateway Football Conference
Record5–5 (4–3 Gateway)
Head coach
Home stadiumHanson Field
Seasons
← 2000
2002 →
2001 Gateway Football Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 4 Northern Iowa $^   6 1     11 3  
No. 12 Western Kentucky ^   5 2     8 4  
No. 15 Youngstown State   5 2     8 3  
Western Illinois   4 3     5 5  
Southwest Missouri State   3 4     6 5  
Indiana State   2 5     3 8  
Illinois State   2 5     2 9  
Southern Illinois   1 6     1 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2001 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by third-year head coach Don Patterson and played their home games at Hanson Field in Macomb, Illinois. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 5–5 record overall and a 4–3 record in conference play.[1] Western Illinois played a ten-game schedule instead of the typical eleven-game schedule in Division I-AA, as they were unable to schedule an eleventh opponent before the season began.[2]

  1. ^ "Western Illinois Football Record Book" (PDF). Western Illinois University Athletics. p. 73. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  2. ^ Batterson, Steve (August 8, 2001). "Western Illinois still seeks respect". Quad-City Times. p. D6. Retrieved January 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.