2003 All-Conference Football Team

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 [...]

Four Gateway Teams Dot Top 10

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 [...]

2003 All-Academic Football Team

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 [...]

Randy Ball Gets Contract Extension

Randy Ball, head football coach at Southwest Missouri State for the past five years, has been given a two-year contract extension in action approved Friday by the SMS Board of Governors. The extension will extend through the 2005 season.
The athletics and university administration recommended that Ball’s coaching contract be extended and the Board of Governors [...]

National Poll: Four in the Top 11

Led by Southern Illinois at No. 5, the Gateway’s playoff hopefuls occupy four
of the top 11 spots in this week’s Sports Network poll. UNI, which claimed the
league’s automatic berth and co-championship with the win over SIU last week, is
at No. 8. Western Kentucky (8-3) is at No. 10, while Western Illinois (8-3) is
No. 11.
All [...]

Weekly Football Notebook - Nov. 16

The Waiting Game: The Gateway has four post-season eligible teams and won’t
find out until the NCAA I-AA football committee makes its selections on Sunday,
Nov. 23, at 12 noon CST on ESPNews. No league has ever received four bids into
the I-AA field.
Title Town
In the league’s 19 seasons, UNI has won or shared the title a [...]

Gateway Players of the Week - Nov. 15

This week’s Gateway Players of the Week are Eddie Galles of UNI; DB Dennis Mitchell of Western Kentucky; RS Steven Rush of SMS; and OG Ross Bohner of UNI.
Offensive
WR Eddie Galles, UNI
Sr., 6-2, 193, Mankato (Minn.) Mtn. Lake
Playing in his final regular-season home game for the Panthers, Galles had the best single-game receiving effort in [...]

Panthers Earn Gateway’s I-AA Bid

UNI led for just :25, but it was the final :25 as the Panthers rallied from a 28-7 halftime deficit and 40-28 fourth-quarter deficit to win 43-40, handing No. 2 Southern Illinois (10-1, 6-1) its only loss of the year. The win gave UNI (9-2, 6-1) a share of the league title and the Gateway’s [...]