2003 NCAA Division III football season

American college football season

2003 NCAA Division III football season
Regular seasonAugust – November 2003
PlayoffsNovember – December 2003
National
championship
Salem Football Stadium
Salem, VA
ChampionSaint John's (MN) (2)
Gagliardi TrophyBlake Elliott (WR, P, KR), Saint John's (MN)
← 2002 · NCAA Division III football seasons · 2004 →

The 2003 NCAA Division III football season, part of the college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States, began in August 2003, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 2003 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Saint John's (MN) Johnnies won second Division III championship by defeating the three-time defending national champion Mount Union Purple Raiders, 24−6.

The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Blake Elliott, wide receiver, punter, and kick returner from Saint John's (MN).[1]

Conference changes and new programs

School 2002 conference 2003 conference
New Jersey City Gothic Knights NJAC Dropped program
Upper Iowa Peacocks Iowa Northern Sun (Division II)

Conference standings

2003 American Southwest Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 15 Mary Hardin–Baylor +   8 – 1     9 – 1  
Hardin–Simmons +   8 – 1     8 – 2  
No. 14 East Texas Baptist +^   8 – 1     9 – 3  
Howard Payne   6 – 3     6 – 4  
McMurry   4 – 5     4 – 6  
Louisiana College   4 – 5     4 – 6  
Austin   3 – 6     3 – 7  
Mississippi College   2 – 7     3 – 7  
Texas Lutheran   2 – 7     2 – 8  
Sul Ross   0 – 9     0 – 10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 Atlantic Central Football Conference standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Frostburg State $   3 – 0     4 – 5  
Salisbury   2 – 1     7 – 2  
Wesley   1 – 2     6 – 4  
Apprentice §   0 – 3     1 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • § – Not an NCAA member
2003 Centennial Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 25 Johns Hopkins +   5 – 1     10 – 1  
Muhlenberg +   5 – 1     7 – 3  
McDaniel   4 – 2     5 – 5  
Franklin & Marshall   3 – 3     4 – 6  
Gettysburg   2 – 4     5 – 5  
Dickinson   2 – 4     4 – 6  
Ursinus   0 – 6     3 – 7  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 6 Wheaton (IL) $^   7 – 0     12 – 1  
Augustana (IL)   6 – 1     7 – 3  
Millikin   4 – 3     7 – 3  
North Central (IL)   4 – 3     7 – 3  
Elmhurst   3 – 4     6 – 4  
Illinois Wesleyan   3 – 4     5 – 5  
Carthage   1 – 6     3 – 7  
North Park   0 – 7     2 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 Empire 8 Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 10 Ithaca $^   4 – 0     10 – 3  
St. John Fisher   3 – 1     8 – 3  
Alfred   2 – 2     5 – 5  
Hartwick   1 – 3     2 – 7  
Utica   0 – 4     1 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 Freedom Football Conference standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 13 Springfield (MA) $^   6 – 0     10 – 1  
Norwich   4 – 2     6 – 5  
Merchant Marine   3 – 3     6 – 4  
Western Connecticut   3 – 3     6 – 4  
Coast Guard   3 – 3     4 – 5  
WPI   2 – 4     4 – 6  
Plymouth State   0 – 6     0 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Hanover $^   6 – 0     8 – 3  
Anderson (IN)   5 – 1     7 – 3  
Mount St. Joseph   4 – 2     6 – 4  
Defiance   3 – 3     4 – 6  
Franklin (IN)   2 – 4     2 – 8  
Manchester   1 – 5     2 – 8  
Bluffton   0 – 6     2 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2003 Illini–Badger Football Conference standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Concordia (WI) $^   7 – 0     9 – 2  
Lakeland   6 – 1     8 – 2  
Aurora   5 – 2     5 – 5  
MacMurray   3 – 4     5 – 5  
Greenville   2 – 5     3 – 7  
Benedictine (IL)   2 – 5     2 – 8  
Concordia (IL)   2 – 5     2 – 8  
Eureka   1 – 6     1 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2003 Iowa Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 4 Wartburg $^   8 – 0     11 – 1  
No. 23 Simpson   7 – 1     9 – 2  
Loras   5 – 3     7 – 3  
Buena Vista   4 – 4     6 – 4  
Luther   4 – 4     6 – 4  
Central (IA)   3 – 5     5 – 5  
Coe   3 – 5     5 – 5  
Cornell (IA)   2 – 6     4 – 6  
Dubuque   1 – 7     2 – 8  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Hope $^   5 – 1     7 – 4  
Adrian   4 – 2     8 – 2  
Albion   4 – 2     6 – 4  
Alma   3 – 3     6 – 4  
Wisconsin Lutheran   3 – 3     5 – 5  
Kalamazoo   2 – 4     6 – 4  
Olivet   0 – 6     4 – 6  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2003 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 11 Lycoming $^   8 – 1     9 – 2  
Delaware Valley   7 – 2     9 – 2  
Wilkes   7 – 2     8 – 3  
Albright   6 – 3     7 – 3  
King's (PA)   6 – 3     7 – 4  
Widener   4 – 5     5 – 5  
Susquehanna   4 – 5     4 – 6  
Juniata   3 – 6     3 – 7  
Moravian   3 – 6     3 – 7  
Lebanon Valley   1 – 8     1 – 9  
Fairleigh Dickinson–Florham   0 – 9     1 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 Midwest Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 16 St. Norbert $^   9 – 0     11 – 1  
Monmouth (IL)   8 – 1     8 – 2  
Lake Forest   6 – 3     7 – 3  
Ripon   5 – 4     6 – 4  
Beloit   3 – 6     4 – 6  
Illinois College   3 – 6     4 – 6  
Knox   3 – 6     4 – 6  
Carroll (WI)   3 – 6     3 – 7  
Lawrence   3 – 6     3 – 7  
Grinnell   2 – 7     3 – 7  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Saint John's (MN) $^ 8 – 0 – 0 14 – 0 – 0
No. 12 Bethel (MN) ^ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Concordia–Moorhead 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Augsburg 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Gustavus Adolphus 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
St. Olaf 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
St. Thomas (MN) 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Carleton 1 – 7 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Hamline 0 – 8 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 New England Football Conference standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Bogan Division
Westfield State xy   6 – 0     7 – 3  
Worcester State   5 – 1     8 – 3  
Bridgewater State   4 – 2     6 – 3  
Fitchburg State   3 – 3     5 – 4  
Massachusetts Maritime   2 – 4     2 – 7  
Maine Maritime   1 – 5     1 – 8  
Framingham State   0 – 6     0 – 9  
Boyd Division
Curry xy$^   6 – 0     11 – 1  
UMass Dartmouth   4 – 2     9 – 2  
Nichols   4 – 2     6 – 4  
Endicott   3 – 3     5 – 4  
Salve Regina   2 – 4     2 – 8  
MIT   1 – 5     3 – 6  
Western New England   1 – 5     2 – 7  
Championship: Curry 36, Westfield State 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2003 New England Small College Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Trinity (CT) $   8 – 0     8 – 0  
Williams   6 – 2     6 – 2  
Colby   5 – 3     5 – 3  
Tufts   5 – 3     5 – 3  
Amherst   4 – 4     4 – 4  
Middlebury   4 – 4     4 – 4  
Wesleyan   4 – 4     4 – 4  
Bates   2 – 6     2 – 6  
Hamilton   2 – 6     2 – 6  
Bowdoin   0 – 8     0 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
2003 New Jersey Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 17 Montclair State $^   5 – 0     9 – 2  
TCNJ   4 – 1     6 – 4  
Rowan   3 – 2     7 – 3  
Cortland   2 – 3     5 – 5  
Kean   1 – 4     1 – 9  
William Paterson   0 – 5     1 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 North Coast Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Allegheny $^   7 – 0     7 – 4  
Wittenberg   4 – 2     8 – 2  
Wabash   4 – 2     7 – 3  
Oberlin   4 – 2     5 – 5  
Wooster   4 – 3     7 – 3  
Ohio Wesleyan   2 – 4     4 – 6  
Denison   2 – 4     3 – 7  
Earlham   1 – 5     2 – 8  
Hiram   0 – 6     1 – 9  
Kenyon   0 – 0     2 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2003 Northwest Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 3 Linfield $^   5 – 0     11 – 1  
Willamette   4 – 1     7 – 3  
Pacific Lutheran   3 – 2     6 – 3  
Whitworth   2 – 3     4 – 6  
Lewis & Clark   1 – 4     3 – 6  
Puget Sound   0 – 5     0 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 Mount Union $^   9 – 0     13 – 1  
No. 9 Baldwin–Wallace ^   8 – 1     10 – 2  
Capital   7 – 2     8 – 2  
John Carroll   6 – 3     7 – 3  
Muskingum   4 – 5     5 – 5  
Ohio Northern   4 – 5     4 – 6  
Otterbein   3 – 6     3 – 7  
Wilmington (OH)   2 – 7     2 – 8  
Marietta   1 – 8     2 – 8  
Heidelberg   1 – 8     1 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 Old Dominion Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 7 Bridgewater $^   6 – 0     12 – 2  
No. 21 Hampden–Sydney   5 – 1     9 – 1  
Emory & Henry   3 – 3     5 – 5  
Randolph–Macon   3 – 3     4 – 6  
Catholic University   2 – 4     3 – 7  
Washington and Lee   1 – 5     3 – 7  
Guilford   1 – 5     2 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 22 Waynesburg $^   6 – 0     9 – 2  
Washington & Jefferson   4 – 1     8 – 2  
Westminster (PA)   3 – 2     5 – 5  
Grove City   2 – 3     5 – 5  
Thiel   1 – 4     3 – 7  
Bethany (WV)   0 – 5     1 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Redlands $^   5 – 1     6 – 4  
Occidental   4 – 2     7 – 2  
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps   4 – 2     6 – 3  
Cal Lutheran   4 – 2     5 – 4  
Pomona-Pitzer   3 – 3     5 – 4  
Whittier   1 – 5     1 – 8  
La Verne   0 – 6     1 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
2003 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
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 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Centre +   5 – 1     8 – 2  
No. 24 Trinity (TX) +^   5 – 1     8 – 3  
Rhodes   4 – 2     7 – 3  
DePauw   3 – 3     5 – 5  
Rose–Hulman   3 – 3     5 – 5  
Millsaps   1 – 5     1 – 9  
Sewanee   0 – 6     3 – 7  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 University Athletic Association football standings
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  • e
 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Washington University $   3 – 0     6 – 4  
Carnegie Mellon   2 – 1     6 – 4  
Chicago   1 – 2     2 – 7  
Case Western Reserve   0 – 3     5 – 4  
  • $ – Conference champion
2003 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference football standings
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  • e
 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North
Martin Luther x   5 – 2     7 – 2  
Northwestern (MN) x   5 – 2     6 – 4  
Minnesota Morris   4 – 2     5 – 6  
Crown   3 – 4     4 – 7  
Trinity Bible   0 – 7     0 – 9  
South
Westminster (MO) x$   7 – 0     7 – 2  
Rockford   5 – 1     7 – 3  
Principia   2 – 5     3 – 6  
Maranatha Baptist   2 – 5     2 – 7  
Blackburn   1 – 6     2 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
2003 Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
  • v
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  • e
 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 5 RPI +^   3 – 1     11 – 2  
Hobart +   3 – 1     6 – 4  
Rochester (NY)   2 – 2     5 – 5  
Union (NY)   2 – 2     5 – 5  
St. Lawrence   0 – 4     2 – 8  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 USA South Athletic Conference football standings
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  • e
 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Shenandoah +   5 – 1     8 – 2  
No. 19 Christopher Newport +^   5 – 1     8 – 3  
Ferrum   3 – 2     6 – 4  
Averett   3 – 3     5 – 4  
Methodist   3 – 3     4 – 5  
Greensboro   1 – 5     3 – 7  
Chowan   0 – 5     2 – 7  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
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  • e
 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 8 Wisconsin–La Crosse $^   6 – 1     10 – 2  
No. 18 Wisconsin–Stevens Point   5 – 2     8 – 2  
Wisconsin–Whitewater   5 – 2     7 – 3  
Wisconsin–Stout   4 – 3     6 – 4  
Wisconsin–Eau Claire   4 – 3     5 – 5  
Wisconsin–River Falls   2 – 5     2 – 7  
Wisconsin–Oshkosh   1 – 6     4 – 6  
Wisconsin–Platteville   1 – 6     3 – 7  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com
2003 NCAA Division III independents football records
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 20 Brockport ^   –     9 – 2  
Menlo   –     7 – 3  
Thomas More   –     6 – 4  
Mount Ida   –     4 – 6  
Chapman   –     3 – 7  
Colorado College   –     2 – 7  
Buffalo State   –     2 – 8  
Maryville (TN)   –     2 – 8  
Macalester   –     1 – 8  
Huntingdon   –     0 – 7  
Husson   –     0 – 7  
  • ^ – NCAA Division III playoff participant
Rankings from D3football.com

Conference champions

Conference champions

Postseason

The 2003 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 31st annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia for the 11th time. This was the fifth bracket to feature 28 teams since last expanding in 1999.[2]

Playoff bracket

First Round
Campus Sites 		Second Round
Campus Sites 		Quarterfinals
Campus Sites 		Semifinals
Campus Sites 		National Championship Game
Salem Football Stadium
Salem, Virginia
Mount Union 39
UW–La Crosse 52 UW–La Crosse 14
Concordia Wisconsin 13 Mount Union 56
Wheaton (IL) 55 Wheaton (IL) 10
Hope 45 Wheaton (IL) 16
Baldwin Wallace 54 Baldwin Wallace 12
Hanover 32 Mount Union 66
Bridgewater (VA) 0
Lycoming 16*
East Texas Baptist 42 East Texas Baptist 15
Trinity (TX) 41 Lycoming 9
Bridgewater (VA) 28 Bridgewater (VA) 13
Waynesburg 24 Bridgewater (VA) 26
Christopher Newport 24 Christopher Newport 3
Muhlenberg 20 Mount Union 6
Saint John's (MN) 24
Springfield 34
RPI 34 RPI 40
Curry 20 RPI 21
Ithaca 14 Ithaca 16
Brockport 9 Ithaca 33
Montclair State 20 Montclair State 13
Allegheny 19 RPI 10
Saint John's (MN) 38
Saint John's (MN) 38
St. Norbert 26** St. Norbert 13
Simpson 20 Saint John's (MN) 31
Wartburg 21 Linfield 25
Bethel (MN) 7 Wartburg 20
Linfield 31 Linfield 23
Redlands 23

* Overtime

Final D3football.com Poll

Team Final Record Points
1. St. John's (25) 14–0 625
2. Mount Union 13–1 595
3. Linfield 11–1 575
4. Wartburg 11–1 489
5. RPI 11–2 483
6. Wheaton 12–1 475
7. Bridgewater 12–2 453
8. UW-La Crosse 10–2 441
9. Baldwin-Wallace 10–2 399
10. Ithaca 10–3 355
11. Lycoming 9–2 353
12. Bethel 9–2 342
13. Springfield 10–1 336
14. East Texas Baptist 9–3 259
15. Mary Hardin-Baylor 9–1 234
16. St. Norbert 11–1 218
17. Montclair State 9–2 189
18. UW-Stevens Point 8–2 176
19. Christopher Newport 8–3 175
20. Brockport State 9–2 163
21. Hampden-Sydney 9–1 140
22. Waynesburg 9–2 103
23. Simpson 9–2 81
24. Trinty(Tx.) 8–3 66
25. Johns Hopkins 10–1 60

Others receiving votes: 26. Capital 50, 27. Hardin-SImmons 47, 28. Allegheny 42, 29. Trinity(Conn.) 38, 30. Redlands 22, 31. Hope 21, 32. UW-Whitewater 19, 32. Hanover 19, 34. Curry 18, 35. Concordia(Wis.) 16, 36. Washington and Jefferson 12, 37. Muhlenberg 9, 38. Rowan 7, 38. Augustana 7, 40. Delaware Valley 6, 41. Menlo 3, 42. Willamette 2, 43. New Jersey 1, 43. Shenandoah 1. [3]

Awards

Gagliardi Trophy: Blake Elliott

AFCA Coach of the Year: John Gagliardi

AFCA Regional Coach of the Year: Region 1: Mike DeLong, Springfield College Region 2: Jeff Hand, Waynesburg College Region 3: Ralph Harris, East Texas Baptist University Region 4: Mike Swider, Wheaton College Region 5: John Gagliardi, St. John’s University (Minn.)[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ "All-Time Division III Football Championship Records" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. pp. 4–15. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
  2. ^ "2003 NCAA Division III National Football Championship Bracket" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. p. 15. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
  3. ^ "D3football.com Top 25, 2003 final". D3football. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  4. ^ "- John Gagliardi, Bob Stoops Headline 2003 Regional Coach of the Year Winners". April 12, 2004. Archived from the original on April 12, 2004. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
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NCAA football seasons
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