2003 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team

2003 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
2003 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
NCAA Division I-AA champion; A-10 co-champion; Lambert Cup winner; ECAC Team of the Year
NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game, W 40–0 vs. Colgate
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 1
Record	15–1 (8–1 A-10)
Head coach	K. C. Keeler (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Kirk Ciarrocca (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Dave Cohen (2nd season)
Home stadium	Delaware Stadium
	Seasons ← 2002 2004 →

2003 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Delaware +^	8	–	1	15	–	1
No. 11 UMass +^	8	–	1	10	–	3
No. 20 Northeastern	6	–	3	8	–	4
No. 25 Villanova	5	–	4	7	–	4
Maine	4	–	4	6	–	5
William & Mary	4	–	4	5	–	5
James Madison	4	–	5	6	–	6
New Hampshire	3	–	6	5	–	7
Rhode Island	3	–	6	4	–	8
Hofstra	2	–	6	2	–	10
Richmond	1	–	8	2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2003 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team represented the University of Delaware as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) during the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by second-year head coach K. C. Keeler, the Fightin' Blue Hens compiled an overall record of 15–1 with a mark of 8–1 in conference play, sharing the A-10 with UMass. Delaware advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where the Fightin' Blue Hens beat Southern Illinois in the first round, Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals, Wofford in the semifinals, and Colgate in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game. The team played home games at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	7:00 pm	The Citadel*	No. 14	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE		W 41–7	20,612
September 13	7:00 pm	Richmond	No. 11	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	CN8	W 44–14	21,388
September 20	7:00 pm	West Chester*	No. 8	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)		W 49–7	21,002
September 27	12:30 pm	at Hofstra	No. 7	James M. Shuart Stadium Hempstead, NY	CSTV	W 24–14	3,228
October 4	7:00 pm	William & Mary	No. 4	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)		W 41–27	20,485
October 11	12:00 pm	at New Hampshire	No. 4	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	CSN	W 22–21	4,815
October 18	12:00 pm	Rhode Island	No. 4	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE		W 55–10	20,795
October 25	1:30 pm	at Navy*	No. 3	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	HDNet	W 21–17	34,982
November 1	1:00 pm	Maine	No. 2	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE		W 24–21 ^OT	22,057
November 8	12:30 pm	at Northeastern	No. 2	Parsons Field Brookline, MA		L 14–24	4,198
November 15	12:20 pm	No. 3 UMass	No. 6	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	TFN	W 51–45 ^3OT	21,804
November 22	4:00 pm	at No. 18 Villanova	No. 3	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA (Battle of the Blue)	CN8	W 20–17	12,253
November 29	1:00 pm	No. 4 Southern Illinois*	No. 3	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	CSTV	W 48–7	14,572	^[1]
December 10	12:00 pm	No. 7 Northern Iowa*	No. 3	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	ESPN Plus	W 37–7	11,881
December 13	1:00 pm	No. 2 Wofford*	No. 3	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)	ESPN2	W 24–9	14,351
December 19	7:00 pm	vs. No. 6 Colgate*	No. 3	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game)	ESPN2	W 40–0	14,281
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time