The Western Illinois Leathernecks are gearing up for one more season as members of the Missouri Valley in 2023. Following the season, the football team will move over to the Ohio Valley Conference with the rest of their sports.
The school announced the move effective July 1. The Leathernecks football team is coming off an 0-11 campaign in 2022 and hoping for better success this coming year. Western Illinois will open conference play in week 2 of the season against Illinois State on Sept. 2.
“This represents a new start, and a new era for Leatherneck athletics against some old rivalries, as well as some new teams in our geographic footprint,” athletic director Paul Bubb stated. “When you look at the schools in the Ohio Valley Conference, you see schools which are similar in enrollment, the size of communities where they exist, the academic programs they offer and the athletic budgets each has to work with at the Division I level.”
Western Illinois will remain at the FCS level despite moving conferences. Their last winning season came in 2017 when they were defeated in the first round of the FCS playoffs.