The 1963 Western Kentucky football team represented Western Kentucky State College (now known as

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

) during the

1963 NCAA College Division football season The 1963 NCAA College Division football season was played by American football teams representing 299 colleges and universities recognized the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as minor programs. The remaining 120 colleges and unive ...

. The Hilltoppers were led by OVC Coach of the Year Nick Denes, won the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Divisi ...

championship, and finished the season undefeated. This team was one of the finest in school history and set a school record for

victories The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...

. The roster included future

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) players John Mutchler,

Dale Lindsey Phillip Dale Lindsey (born January 18, 1943) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the University of San Diego. Lindsey has also worked as a coach in the National Football League (NFL), the Canadian Fo ...

, Jim Burt, and Harold Chambers as well as future NFL coach

Joe Bugel Joseph John Bugel (March 10, 1940 – June 28, 2020) was an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL). For many years, he was acknowledged as the greatest offensive line coach in the league, particularly with the Washington ...

. Mutchler was named OVC Defensive Player of the Year. The Hilltoppers earned a berth in the Tangerine Bowl, where they defeated the

Coast Guard Academy The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) is a service academy of the United States Coast Guard in New London, Connecticut. Founded in 1876, it is the smallest of the five U.S. service academies and provides education to future Coast Gu ...

27-0. Western Kentucky quarterback Sharon Miller was named the game's most valuable player. Mutchler, Chambers, Bugel, Jim Burt, Lindsey, and Bobby Westmoreland were named to the All-OVC team, while John Burt, Eddie Crum, Bob Gebhart, Sharon Miller, and Stan Napper were Honorable Mention.

Schedule

References

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football seasons Citrus Bowl champion seasons Ohio Valley Conference football champion seasons College football undefeated seasons

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football program is a college football team that represents Western Kentucky University. The team competes at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level and represents the university as a member of Confer ...

{{collegefootball-1960s-season-stub