2003 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team

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.

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 (capacity: 22,000)
Seasons ← 2002 2004 →

2003 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
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

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

^[2][3]

Roster

2003 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 10 Ryan Carty Fr QB 12 Andy Hall Sr WR 18 Joe Bleymaier So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 24 Mike Adams Sr DB 4 Roger Brown So LB 15 Mondoe Davis Jr DB 47 Sidney Haugabrook Jr DL 96 Shawn Johnson Sr DL 90 Richard Washington Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach K. C. Keeler Coordinators/assistant coaches Bryan Bossard Kirk Ciarrocca Dave Cohen Kyle Flood Brian Ginn Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt Roster

References

1. Tresolini, Kevin (November 30, 2003). "Blue Hens advance in playoffs". The News Journal. p. A1. Retrieved December 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Delaware Blue Hens Schedule 2003". ESPN. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
3. "2003 Football Schedule". Delaware Blue Hens. Retrieved November 8, 2022.