1973 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

The 1973 Western Kentucky football team represented Western Kentucky University during the inaugural 1973 NCAA Division II football season. The team came off an 7–3 record from the prior season and was led by coach Jimmy Feix. They finished the regular season undefeated and won the Ohio Valley Conference championship. The Hilltoppers made the initial NCAA Division II Football Championship, winning their first two playoff games, including a win over Grambling in the Grantland Rice Bowl, before falling in the championship game to Louisiana Tech in the Camellia Bowl. Their rankings in the final polls were UPI 2 and AP 3.

1973 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
OVC champion Grantland Rice Bowl Champion
Camellia Bowl, L 0–34 vs. Louisiana Tech
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 3
Record	12–1 (7–0 OVC)
Head coach	Jimmy Feix (6th season)
Home stadium	L. T. Smith Stadium
Seasons ← 1972 1974 →

1973 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Western Kentucky $^	7	–	0	–	0			12	–	1	–	0
Murray State	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Eastern Kentucky	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Morehead State	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
East Tennessee State	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Middle Tennessee	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Tennessee Tech	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	1
Austin Peay	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP small college poll

This team was one of the best in school history, set a school record for victories, and finished ranked 1st in NCAA Division II in Scoring Offense. The roster included future NFL players Virgil Livers, John Bushong, David Carter, Rick Caswell, Clarence “Jazz” Jackson, and Mike McCoy. Porter Williams and David Nollner were named to All American teams, Lonnie Schuster was named OVC Defensive Player of the Year, and Feix OVC Coach of the Year. The All OVC team included Bushong, Jackson, Charlie Johnson, McCoy, Bob Morehead, Nollner, Schuster, Aundra Skiles, and Williams. The coaching staff included future NFL coach Romeo Crennel.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	at Appalachian State*		Conrad Stadium Boone, NC	W 42–7	8,250
September 22	at Austin Peay		Municipal Stadium Clarksville, TN	W 28–0	7,000
September 29	East Tennessee State		L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 30–0	13,500
October 6	Western Carolina*	No. 13	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 45–7	13,400
October 13	Tennessee Tech	No. 11	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 41–0	13,150
October 20	at Eastern Kentucky	No. 6	Hanger Field Richmond, KY (Battle of the Bluegrass)	W 35–0	19,500
October 27	Morehead State	No. 5	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 34–7	19,250
November 3	at Middle Tennessee	No. 3	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN (100 Miles of Hate)	W 42–8	10,000
November 10	at Butler*	No. 3	Butler Bowl Indianapolis, IN	W 48–6	3,425
November 17	Murray State	No. 3	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY (Battle for the Red Belt)	W 32–27	19,250
December 1	Lehigh	No. 2	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal)	W 25–16	12,500
December 8	vs. No. 5 Grambling	No. 2	BREC Memorial Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (Grantland Rice Bowl—NCAA Division II Semifinal)	W 28–20	15,000
December 15	vs. No. 3 Louisiana Tech	No. 2	Charles C. Hughes Stadium Sacramento, CA (Camellia Bowl—NCAA Division II Championship Game)	L 0–34	12,016
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game