1966 WESTERN KENTUCKY HILLTOPPERS FOOTBALL TEAM

1966 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
1966 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	5–5 (3–4 OVC)
Head coach	Nick Denes (9th season);
Captain	Jack Crangle
	Seasons ← 1965 1967 →

1966 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Morehead State $	6	–	1	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Middle Tennessee	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Austin Peay	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
No. 16 Eastern Kentucky	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Tennessee Tech	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Western Kentucky	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
East Tennessee State	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Murray State	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from UPI small college poll

The 1966 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 1966 NCAA College Division football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Nick Denes, the Hilltoppers compiled an overall record of 5–5 with a mark of 3–4 in conference play, for sixth place in the OVC. The team's captain was Jack Crangle.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 17	Saint Joseph's (IN)*	Bowling Green, KY	W 42–21	6,000–7,047
September 24	at East Tennessee State	Johnson City, TN	W 24–7	7,100
October 1	No. T–10 Middle Tennessee	Bowling Green, KY ( rivalry)	L 9–33	7,994–10,000	^[2]
October 8	Austin Peay	Bowling Green, KY	W 7–3	7,000–7,584
October 15	at Tennessee Tech	Cookeville, TN	L 14–21	5,000–7,500
October 22	Drake*	Bowling Green, KY	L 21–37	4,000
October 29	Eastern Kentucky	Bowling Green, KY ( rivalry)	L 12–24	12,500–12,625
November 5	at Morehead State	Jayne Stadium Morehead, KY	L 7–12	5,000
November 12	Butler*	Bowling Green, KY	W 35–7	5,000–5,740
November 19	at Murray State	Cutchin Stadium Murray, KY ( rivalry)	W 37–20	2,500–4,100
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

v t e Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
Venues	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium (1968–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Eastern Kentucky: Battle of the Bluegrass Middle Tennessee: 100 Miles of Hate Murray State: Battle for the Red Belt
Culture & lore	Big Red " Stand Up and Cheer"
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1913 1914 1915 1916 1917–1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
Venues	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium (1968–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Eastern Kentucky: Battle of the Bluegrass Middle Tennessee: 100 Miles of Hate Murray State: Battle for the Red Belt
Culture & lore	Big Red " Stand Up and Cheer"
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1913 1914 1915 1916 1917–1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold