New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos, Towson defensive back Allante Harrison, Norfolk State linebacker Kevin Talley and Indiana State kicker Kyle Hooper have been honored as national I-AA players of the week by The Sports Network, the division’s most widely recognized information service. Santos threw for 385 yards and tied a school record with five touchdown passes as New Hampshire upset I-A Rutgers, 35-24. Talley set [...]

Western Kentucky visits Eastern Kentucky this Saturday in the 81st meeting between the two schools. Western leads the series, 44-33-3, which includes a 36-3 Hilltopper win last year. Eastern, though, holds a 20-12-2 advantage in games in Richmond, Ky. The game can be seen on FSN Midwest, FSN South and Fox College Sports (digital). Blake Fulton (play by play), Pat Sperduto (color) and Keeli Davidson [...]

This week’s Players of the Week in the Gateway Football Conference are Travis Glasford of Western Illinois; DB Quincy Wallace of Indiana State; PK Kyle Hooper of Indiana State; and OL Brad Durham of SMS. Offensive RB Travis Glasford, Western Illinois Jr., 5-11, 190, Miami (Fla.) Southridge Glasford rushed for 229 yards and six TDs on 24 carries in under two quarters against Cheyney, setting [...]

Two I-A near-misses were the story in Gateway Conference action on Sept. 11. Illinois State battled No. 22 Minnesota before falling, 37-21, and top-ranked Southern Illinois fell at I-A Northern Illinois, 23-22, as a failed two-point try by the Salukis late in the fourth was the difference. In all, the Gateway went 5-3 on Saturday, including a 2-1 mark against I-AA teams. Elsewhere in the [...]

Southern Illinois has become the fifth No. 1 team in Gateway history, and third different team in the past three years, as the Salukis are the top-ranked team in the Sports Network Top-25 poll, announced Monday. It marks the first time SIU is ranked #1 in the nation since winning the National Championship in 1983. That season, Southern spent six weeks at the top spot. [...]

For the first time in league history, a Gateway Newcomer of the Year is from the University of Northern Iowa; while the league’s Freshman of the Year hails from Western Kentucky University. RB Terrance Freeney becomes the first Panther to win the league’s Newcomer of the Year honor, while QB Justin Haddix is the first Hilltopper to earn the league’s five-year-old Freshman of the Year [...]

The Gateway Football Conference went 3-1 in the opening round of the I-AA playoffs, but all three teams will be on the road on Dec. 6, as quarterfinal action takes place next Saturday. This past weekend, Western Illinois won at Montana, 43-40 (2ot); Western Kentucky rolled past Jacksonville State, 45-7; UNI outdistanced visiting Montana State, 35-14; and Southern Illinois fell at Delaware, 48-7.   Saturday, [...]

For the first time in league history, the Gateway has a repeat Offensive Player of the Year and a repeat Defensive Player of the Year honoree in the same season, as QB Russ Michna and LB Boomer Grigsby successfully defended their 2002 individual honors by earning 2003 Gateway Conference top player awards. Additionally, Jerry Kill – a finalist for Eddie Robinson national coach of the [...]

n the final regular-season poll of 2003, four Gateway schools are in the Sports Network/CSTV Top 10, including Southern Illinois, which ranks No. 4 in the nation to lead all Gateway teams. UNI ranks No. 7 in the poll, while Western Kentucky (9th) and Western Illinois (10th) represent the league in the nation’s Top 10. It marks the fourth time this year that four Gateway [...]

Thirty-three student-athletes, including 12 who earned first-team honors, highlight the 2003 Gateway Conference all-academic team, announced by the league office today. Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.00 cumulative grade point average (4.0 scale). Student-athletes must have reached sophomore academic and athletic standing at their institutions (freshmen are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year [...]