The 2003 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

in the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

(MAC) during the

2003 NCAA Division I-A football season The 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with an abundance of controversy, resulting in the claim of a split national championship. This was the first claimed split title since the inception of the BCS, something the BCS intended to elimi ...

. In their seventh season under head coach

Gary Darnell Gary Brent Darnell (born October 15, 1948) is a former American football player and coach at the college level. Darnell is native of Arkansas and an alumnus of Oklahoma State University, where he played college football. A long-time defensive co ...

, the Broncos compiled a 7–5 record (5–3 against MAC opponents), finished in a tie for third place in the MAC's West Division, and were outscored by their opponents, 370 to 331. The team played its home games in

Waldo Stadium Waldo Stadium is a stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It is primarily used for football, and has been the home of Western Michigan University Broncos football in rudimentary form since 1914, and as a complete stadium since 1939. It currently has ...

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

. The team's statistical leaders included Chad Munson with 2,123 passing yards, Philip Reed with 744 rushing yards, and Greg Jennings with 1,050 receiving yards. Linebacker

Jason Babin Jason Thomas Babin (born May 24, 1980) is a former American football defensive end and outside linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played ...

was selected by ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' as a second-team All-American.

Schedule

Roster

References

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Michigan, Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region a ...

Western Michigan Broncos football seasons

Western Michigan Broncos football The Western Michigan Broncos football program represents Western Michigan University in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Western Michigan has competed in football since 1906, when they played th ...

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