When Marshall University dropped the Tigers from its 2003 football schedule, the LSU Athletics Department vehemently began searching for another Division I-A opponent to fill the Sept. 13 slot.
After months of attempts to schedule teams like San Jose State, LSU was forced to settle with Division I-AA powerhouse Western Illinois.
“We were forced into this situation by Marshall having an opportunity to play a televised game,” said LSU senior associate athletics director Dan Radakovich in a February statement. “We made every attempt, including soliciting help from ESPN to find a Division I-A opponent.”
Marshall opted to release LSU from its schedule to set up a Friday night ESPN contest with Toledo at home, leaving the Tigers just more than six months to find another opponent.
“In the end, there was no Division I-A teams available to play in Tiger Stadium on Sept. 13,” Radakovich said.
But Western Illinois is not just any Division I-AA team. The Leathernecks are the No. 1-ranked school in Division I-AA and are coming off a 34-12 victory against Division I-A foe Eastern Michigan.
On Tuesday in a phone interview, Western Illinois athletics director Tim Van Alstine said it was a combination of things that allowed the Leathernecks to schedule LSU.
“I heard through the grapevine that LSU needed to schedule a game on this date,” said Van Alstine. “Then LSU contacted us and from then on it was just a domino effect until the whole thing was set in stone. We had other games we were looking at, but none were as attractive as LSU.”
The Leathernecks are no stranger to scheduling or beating Division I-A opponents. Since 1999, Western Illinois has played six games against Division I-A teams and have won four.
Van Alstine said the Western Illinois football program feels comfortable playing Division I-A teams and thinks the Leathernecks can compete with anyone in the country.
“Whenever we got this game scheduled, we went into the locker room and told the players,” Van Alstine said. “They were so jacked up. They want to prove they can play at a high level. This will be a good experience for them.”
Last season the Leathernecks lost to eventual national champions Western Kentucky 31-28 in a thrilling semi final match-up of the Division I-AA playoffs.
“I would love to schedule more teams like LSU,” Van Alstine said. “We’d like to look at some teams from the Big Ten, the Big XII and other teams from the SEC. We’re not afraid to schedule anyone, anywhere, anytime.”
The Leathernecks have yet to give up a touchdown this season and have grabbed their first No. 1 ranking in the school’s history. They return the 2002 Gateway Conference Offense Player of the Year in quarterback Russ Michna as well as 2002 Buck Buchanan finalist – given to the most outstanding defensive player in Division I-AA – in linebacker Lee Russell.
Although the program is thriving with success on the Division I-AA level, Van Alstine said Western Illinois has no aspirations to make the jump up to Division I-A.
“We know where we are,” Van Alstine said. “And what we want to do is be the very best at the level we are now.”
Van Alstine said many Division I-A teams are apprehensive about scheduling Division I-AA opponents because of the potential upset. In some cases, Van Alstine does not consider a Division I-AA team beating a Division I-A team an upset.
“Take a look at some Division I-AA programs and they are just as good as many Division I-A teams,” Van Alstine said. “Day-in and day-out we may not be able to compete with teams from the Top 25, but anybody can beat anybody on any given day.”