Countdown to kickoff: Bonded together, Leathernecks seek to change program’s trajectory

Photo courtesy Western Illinois University football program

MACOMB, Ill. — Joe Davis called them “family dinners.” It’s a weekly get-together for the Western Illinois University football team, a team meal and bonding exercise that Davis started in the winter after becoming the Leathernecks’ new coach. The Leathernecks haven’t won a game in the last two seasons, and there were going to be…

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‘It is truly ladies first’: WIU football program’s Women’s Football Night is bona fide success

A group of participants in the Western Illinois University football program's Women's Football Night pose for a picture inside Western Hall in Macomb, Ill. | Shane Hulsey photo

MACOMB, Ill. — Ladies first. The motto and message of Western Illinois University’s Women’s Football Night came across loud and clear. “Ladies first. We mean it when we say it,” WIU cornerbacks coach Elven Walker said. Walker was one of several WIU coaches and players who helped run drills at Hanson Field on Friday night…

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Never them, always us: WIU football coaching staff keeps focus simple as training camp nears

The camaraderie the Western Illinois University football team has built throughout the spring and summer should impact the Leathernecks' success on the field this fall. | Photo courtesy WIU football program

MACOMB, Ill. — There’s a phrase first-year Western Illinois University football coach Joe Davis dropped during his time talking to media members during Wednesday’s Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Virtual Media Day that the Leathernecks better be prepared to hear often. Never them, always us. WIU is venturing into new territory this fall, having left the…

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WIU tabs EIU offensive coordinator Joe Davis to be next head football coach

Joe Davis, who spent the previous two seasons as offensive coordinator at Eastern Illinois University, has been named the new head football coach at Western Illinois University. | Photo courtesy EIU Athletics

MACOMB, Ill. — Joe Davis’ task is to bring gridiron success from east to west. The Eastern Illinois University offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, fresh off an eight-win season in Charleston, Ill., was named Sunday as the new head football coach at Western Illinois University. “Joe clearly met the expectations that we have for our…

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