2002 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

The 2002 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Don Patterson and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with an 11–2 record overall and a 6–1 record in conference play, making them conference co-champions. The team received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated Eastern Illinois in the first round and lost to Western Kentucky in the quarterfinal. The team was ranked No. 5 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of Division I-AA.

2002 Western Illinois Leathernecks football
Gateway co-champion
ConferenceGateway Football Conference
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 5
Record11–2 (6–1 Gateway)
Head coach
Home stadiumHanson Field
2002 Gateway Football Conference standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 1 Western Kentucky +^  6 1   12 3  
No. 5 Western Illinois +^  6 1   11 2  
Youngstown State  4 3   7 4  
Illinois State  4 3   6 5  
Indiana State  3 4   5 7  
Northern Iowa  2 5   5 6  
Southern Illinois  2 5   4 8  
Southwest Missouri State  1 6   4 7  
  • + Conference co-champions
  • ^ NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll
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