The 2009 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers is the name for all of the men's intercollegiate athletic teams that play for Western Kentucky University. Women's teams are known as Lady Toppers...

 football team represented Western Kentucky University

Western Kentucky University

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

 during the 2009 college football season

2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season

The 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on September 2, 2009, progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in Pasadena, California on January 7, 2010, featuring the...

. The team's Head Coach was David Elson

David Elson

David Elson is the former head coach of the Western Kentucky University American football program. He held the position from 2003 to 2009. Elson oversaw the transition of WKU from a Football Championship Subdivision to a Football Bowl Subdivision program, the highest division in college...

. WKU was formerly an Independent

NCAA Division I-A independent schools

NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision independent schools are four-year institutions whose football programs are not part of an NCAA-affiliated conference. This means that FBS independents are not required to schedule each other for competition like conference schools do...

 team in 2008, before their move to the Sun Belt Conference

Sun Belt Conference

The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...

 in 2009. 2009 was the first season where the Hilltoppers were eligible for a Sun Belt conference championship and a postseason bowl game

Bowl game

In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...

. The Hilltoppers played their home games at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green

Bowling Green, Kentucky

Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...

, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

.

The Hilltopers were one of only two teams (Eastern Michigan

2009 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team

The 2009 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team represented Eastern Michigan University in the college football season of 2009. They competed in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football during the football season...

 being the other) to finish the 2009 season winless.

Schedule

Coaching change

On November 9, 2009, David Elson was officially released as WKU's head coach. He remained as head coach until the end of the 2009 season. He was replaced by Stanford

Stanford Cardinal football

The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. Stanford, the top-ranked academic institution with an FBS program, has a highly successful football tradition. The...

's running backs coach Willie Taggart

Willie Taggart

-References:...

, a Western Kentucky alumnus.