Hello Hilltopper Nation!
Following tremendous anticipation and excitement throughout the summer and fall, our football team has started the season 3-1 for only the second time since we transitioned to the Football Bowl Subdivision. The strong start includes a win at Southeastern Conference opponent Vanderbilt, a home win over Louisiana Tech (Conference USA's pre-season favorite to win the West Division) and a 42 point win this past Saturday over Miami (Ohio).
As you know, our football program has come a long way in a relatively short period of time. The days of going 2-10 and 0-12 have been replaced by four consecutive seasons of seven or more wins, two bowl appearances including our first ever FBS bowl victory, and last season's WKU offense ranked fourth in the nation. As a result, we are also much more relevant on the national stage and in the eyes of national television.
For the first time in program history, all 12 of our football games this year are being televised nationally. As part of Conference USA's television agreements, along with the nine other FBS conferences, broadcast partners have the right to determine game times for all games in which a conference member is the home team. As a result, our next three home games will be broadcast on national television with an 11 am central kick time. While changing game times for television is a relatively new concept for WKU, it is not new to the majority of football programs nationwide.
National television exposure is a tremendous benefit for our football program, university, and community. It has played a significant role in helping us to develop an identity beyond south central Kentucky. Alumni, who reside in all 50 states, along with families and friends of our players who can't attend the games, benefit from access to the television broadcasts. It also directly impacts recruiting. Potential Hilltoppers watching at home see our style of play and the accompanying excitement in the stadium that you create and want to be a part of it.
Our desire has always been to have traditional afternoon or evening kick times for home football games. We understand the challenges for some of you associated with an 11 am kick time, and it was communicated to all appropriate parties that we preferred a later start time. After learning of the 11 am game times, we worked with university officials and tailgating will be extended until darkness for our final three home games including Homecoming. Your game day experience will hopefully remain the same, the order will just need to be altered.
You have supported our program through some very lean times, and we appreciate your loyalty and dedication. We all remember the 26 game losing streak and the 18 game home losing streak, but we have become relevant for five consecutive years and you deserve as much as anyone the successes we are now achieving. We had strong crowds for the Louisiana Tech and Miami (Ohio) games, and your energy and enthusiasm had a very positive impact on our team.
Our hope is that you continue to embrace this program for what it has become and specifically the 2015 team, our players and coaching staff. They have worked tirelessly to put themselves in the position they are in today and will need your support more than ever moving forward. Our next three home games could very well determine a conference championship, and you can make a difference by filling Houchens-Smith Stadium!
Thank you for your continued support!
Go Tops!