1997 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

The 1997 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Randy Ball and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with an 11–2 record overall and a 6–0 record in conference play, making them conference champions. The team received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated Jackson State before losing to McNeese State in the quarterfinals.^[1]

1997 Western Illinois Leathernecks football
Gateway champion
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 12–14 vs. McNeese State
Conference	Gateway Football Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 2
Record	11–2 (6–0 Gateway)
Head coach	Randy Ball (8th season)
Home stadium	Hanson Field
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Gateway Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 2 Western Illinois $^		6	–	0					11	–	2
Northern Iowa		5	–	1					7	–	4
No. 4 Youngstown State ^		4	–	2					13	–	2
Southwest Missouri State		3	–	3					5	–	6
Indiana State		2	–	4					3	–	8
Southern Illinois		1	–	5					3	–	8
Illinois State		0	–	6					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Running back Aaron Stecker, a transfer from Wisconsin, finished the year with 1,957 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns, which ranked second and first in Division I-AA respectively. Stecker was named the Gateway Conference's offensive player of the year.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 28	No. 6 Eastern Illinois*	No. 9	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	W 41–0	6,700	[3]
September 6	Truman State*	No. 5	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	W 45–18	7,000	[4]
September 13	at Alcorn State*	No. 5	Jack Spinks Stadium Lorman, MS	W 31–17	4,121	[5]
September 20	at Marshall*	No. 4	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	L 7–48	26,724	[6]
October 4	at Southern Utah*	No. 9	Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT	W 45–6	4,445	[7]
October 11	No. 17 Northern Iowa	No. 5	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	W 29–22 2OT	13,446	[8]
October 18	at Indiana State	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	W 37–3	2,381	[9]
October 25	Southwest Missouri State	No. 3	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	W 37–7	10,874	[10]
November 1	Southern Illinois	No. 2	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	W 31–26	5,241	[11]
November 8	at Illinois State	No. 2	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	W 37–23	6,512	[12]
November 22	at No. 4 Youngstown State	No. 2	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH	W 24–21	12,134	[13]
November 29	No. 14 Jackson State*	No. 2	Hanson Field Macomb, IL (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	W 31–24	8,980	[14]
December 6	No. 7 McNeese State*	No. 2	Hanson Field Macomb, IL (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	L 12–14	5,000	[15]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game