WKU Hilltoppers: The Top Stories of The 2010s

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The Towel Rack

18 min readDec 11, 2019

We’re less than a month away from the close of the decade. The period from 2010 to 2019 was a time of transition for WKU athletics. While some programs flourished (Volleyball, Football) others struggled (Baseball, Men’s Basketball) and the decade was a mix of highs and lows that most mid-major programs face. With that in mind here are the top five WKU Sports-related stories of the 2010s.

5) WKU moves to Conference USA

The early part of the decade was marked by wide conference realignment throughout Division 1 athletics. Big programs such as Nebraska, Texas A&M, Louisville, West Virginia and Maryland all switched leagues. That caused a ripple effect that made its way down to the mid-major ranks. As the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 all raided the Big East (which became the AAC), the trickle-down effect was felt immediately as Conference USA schools lost seven schools to the AAC in 2012/2013.

WKU was comfortably in the Sun Belt, the same conference it has been in since 1982. Despite the long history, the league was changing as four of its members (MTSU, North Texas, FAU & FIU) left to join the now reconfigured Conference USA. After losing bigger market schools including Houston, Memphis, SMU and Tulane, CUSA noticeably tried to add schools in large metro areas to fill the void, which included new football teams in Charlotte, Norfolk and San Antonio to try to attract the best media deal possible (which didn’t work in the longterm). That left WKU on an island in the Sun Belt, a league with less tv revenue, fewer bowl ties and no clear cut rivals (with MTSU gone).

For five months from November of 2012 (when MTSU and FAU left) to April of 2013, WKU was in limbo facing an uncertain future. The dominos kept falling after Maryland & Rutgers exit to the Big Ten and that luckily opened up a spot in Conference USA that was looking to get from 13 teams to an even 14. WKU didn’t offer a large media market that the previously added schools did but they did offer the best all-around athletic program of any of the Sun Belt Schools that they were competing with. At the time WKU was coming off of multiple NCAA tournaments births (basketball, volleyball) and its first bowl bid in program history. That success and WKU’s unique geographic proximity to Middle Tennessee and Marshall separated WKU from other candidates including Arkansas State and Louisiana Lafayette. On April 1st of 2013, Hilltoppers fans exhaled as it was announced that they’d be joining the slightly more esteemed league.

After a lame-duck year in the Sunbelt (2013–14), WKU started its first season in CUSA in the fall of 2014. The move paid immediate dividends on several fronts, WKU immediately won titles across many sports (Volleyball, Women's Basketball, Softball & Track and Field) during its inaugural season while also qualifying for a bowl in football. That was the start of dominance across all sports as the Hilltoppers have more 9 more conference titles than the next closest program.

The move also helped WKU maintain its biggest rivalry (MTSU) while also adding a new hated rival (Marshall). CUSA has its challenges including a putrid television deal and long travel to some distant members (El Paso) but at the end of the day, the move definitely helped WKU take its overall athletic program to the next level.

4) Michelle Clark-Heard Ressurects Lady Toppers Basketball

WKU’s women’s basketball program was a national title contender under Paul Sanderford into the ’90s. As women’s athletics became more and more popular and more resources were allocated to the sport, WKU’s women’s program struggled to keep up with that previous level of success. Mary Taylor Cowles took over the program in 2002 and took the Lady Toppers to the NCAA tournament twice in the 2000s but most of her success was on the back of future WNBA player Crystal Kelly. By the start of the 2010s, she was struggling to keep the program going. She guided WKU to the WNIT in 2009–10 but quickly fell off over the next two years posting WKU’s first losing season since 1981–82 as they went 15–17 in 2010–11. The final death knell for Taylor Cowles was a 9–21 season in 2011–12 which led to Ross Bjork pulling the trigger on the WKU alum.

Bjork looked to find someone that could reinvigorate the program and found that in another WKU alum in Louisville assistant coach Michelle Clark-Heard. She was a key assistant for UofL coach Jeff Walz (a former WKU assistant under Sanderford) helping the Cardinals reach the national championship game in 2009. She played for Sanderford during the late ’80s and knew what the program could be and set forth on returning WKU Lady Topper Basketball to the consistent excellence she knew back in the day.

Clark-Heard wasted no time getting WKU back to the top of the Sun Belt Standings, during her debut season she took Taylor Cowles players and finished third in the Sun Belt guiding the Lady Tops to the second round of the WNIT. Clark-Heard then proceeded to infuse WKU with talented players that would help her over her six-year tenure. Players such as Chastity Gooch, Tashia Brown, Kendall Nobel, Alexis Govan, and Ivy Brown helped spark a run of four NCAA appearances in Clark-Heards last five years winning four conference tournament titles in the process (along with two regular-season titles).

MCH had taken a struggling program and proceeded to re-establish it as mid-major power. She went 154–47 during her six-year tenure good enough for a .766 winning percentage with six postseason births. Athletic budget troubles led to an important staff position to be cut during her final season, which spurred her to leave for higher-paying Cincinnati after the 2017–18 season but her legacy was cemented. She’ll be remembered for getting the Lady Toppers back to greatness and left her top assistant Greg Collins to keep the train rolling which has paid dividends to start the last half-season of the decade.

3)Men’s Basketball Struggles to meet Expectations

When the decade started WKU basketball was coming off back to back NCAA tournament appearances and had arguably its best decade (5 tournament appearances) since the 1970s. Ken McDonald entered his second season with a loaded roster that included future NBA player Jeremy Evans and long terms pros Steffphon Pettigrew, AJ Slaughter, and Sergio Kerusch that all had played key roles on the recent tournament teams. WKU was expected to enter another era of consistently high-level play but instead underachieved to a 21–13 record and a semifinal exit at the Sun Belt tournament which would be an unfortunate sign of things to come during the decade.

McDonald’s problems continued during his third season as a Pettigrew and Kerusch led squad slipped to 16–16 overall. McDonald entered his fourth season squarely on the hot seat and despite a high level recruiting class that included George Fant and T.J. Price his last team couldn’t turn it around starting 5–11 overall with the death knell being an overtime loss to a Louisiana Lafayette team that had six players on the court. Ross Bjork pulled the plug on McDonald and inserted Ray Harper as the interim head coach of the WKU program.

What happened next was pure lightning in a bottle as the former Kentucky Wesleyan and Oklahoma City coach proceeded to take McDonald’s team and turn it around in the Sun Belt. After starting 0–3 under Harper's tutelage, the Hilltoppers closed the regular season 6–4 and entered the Sun Belt Tournament as a seven seed. WKU had to win four games in four days to make the tournament and the scrappy Hilltoppers pulled it off beating FIU, UALR & Denver to meet #5 seed North Texas in the finals beating the Mean Green 74–70 to make the NCAA tournament despite a 15–18 record.

The Hilltoppers would be placed in the opening round play-in game in Dayton and face Mississippi Valley State. WKU proceeded to fall behind the Delta Devils by as much as 16 points late in the second half before rallying to a win a thriller 59–58 in front of President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron. WKU would then hold their own against future NCAA Champion Kentucky losing only by 16 despite having a losing record overall. The future seemed bright and Harper was rewarded the permanent Head Coach position.

Harper’s first full year was an improvement on 2011–12 but was still a struggle as the Tops finished the regular season at a pedestrian 16–15 forcing them to once again win four games in four days at the Sun Belt Tournament as a six seed. Harper worked his magic again beating Louisiana Monroe, South Alabama, Arkansas State & FIU over the next four days to propel the Hilltoppers to their second straight big dance as a sixteen seed against Kansas. The 20-15 Hilltoppers gave the Jayhawks all they could handle leading at the half and would lead KU well into the second half before falling 64–57. Harper’s back to back runs had Hilltopper fans excited for the future that included two more seasons of Fant and Price.

Harper could never build on his early success at WKU. He finished his next two seasons with back to back disappointing 20–12 records and back to back early conference tournament exits. What compounded the disappointment was the fact that Harper’s teams struggled to build quality resumes during the regular season and it was apparent during each January that they had become just another conference tournament or bust school instead of a mid-major contender. Harper also struggled to maintain the roster and had a revolving door of transfers that limited his program's ceiling after Price and Fant left. During his last season, Harper struggled to his worst record an 18–16 mark and it became apparent that he’d never be able to take WKU to the next level. After an off the court incident that resulted in three key players dismissal, athletic director Todd Stewart decided to not renew Harper's contract. He replaced him with former Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury.

Stansbury brought a lot of hype to the Hilltopper program promising to sell out Diddle Arena and restore Western Kentucky to its past glory. His first season was mediocre (15–17) but was written off due to the gutted roster that he had to patch after Harper’s departure. Despite that poor season, Stansbury built tons of hype with his initial recruiting class that included 5-star McDonalds All-American Mitchell Robinson, 4-star forward Josh Anderson and Mr. Kentucky basketball Taveion Hollingsworth as well as Juco All American Jordan Brangers. The future appeared bright once again.

Unfortunately for WKU drama followed Stansbury. The dismissal of Robinson’s godfather Shammond Williams as assistant coach led the 5-star center to have cold feet about the WKU program. Robinson reported to school but he left the campus barely a week into practice. Stansbury convinced him to come back but Robinson left again. The whole episode was a black eye on Stansbury and started off a feel-good season on the wrong foot. Brangers and a few others also wouldn’t stick with WKU and they entered Stansbury’s season with just 7 scholarship players (while they were waiting on NCAA approval of Anderson and Moustapha Diange).

Despite it all, Stansbury delivered the best regular season in recent memory. He (and seniors Justin Johnson, Darius Thompson, and Dwight Coleby) led the Hilltoppers to memorable wins over Purdue & SMU despite starting off a rocky 7–5. WKU would then reel off 15 wins in 17 games and setting themselves up for a potential NCAA tournament at-large bid. WKU would lose their final two of that regular season as their at-large hopes died but they rallied to make the finals of the Conference USA tournament. There they went back and forth with Marshall but fell behind by 10 in the second half before rallying and cutting it to one. A last-second shot by Lemonte Bearden came inches short of going in as WKU’s streak of NCAA-less seasons stretched to five seasons. WKU’s resume did qualify them for their only NIT bid of the decade which they took full advantage of beating Power Conference opponents Boston College, USC & Oklahoma State to get them to the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden where they led Utah in the last minute before losing a heartbreaker. WKU finally had a season that reflected their aspirations as a top mid-major and the future once again looked bright.

Stansbury would only build off that season by adding 5-star Center Charles Bassey to the fold and got him to stick with his commitment. Expectations were sky-high in 2018–19 but the team once again struggled to meet expectations. They dropped several losses to bad teams (Indiana State, Troy, Missouri State & FIU), canceling out big wins over West Virginia, Arkansas, Wisconsin, and St Marys and finishing the regular season 18–13. WKU once again rallied to make the Conference USA tournament final but lost to a senior-laden Old Dominion team in the second half to extend the NCAA-less streak to six seasons and finish a very disappointing 20–14 overall leaving a bad taste in several fans mouths.

The 2010s was a big step back for the basketball program as they lost an average of 14.6 games per season and only made the NCAA tournament twice (both as sixteen seeds). While Harpermania salvaged the decade from being a total bust, the 2010s will be remembered as a disappointment as WKU repeatedly came up short and failed to deliver on the expectations fans demand from a program that is in the top 20 of all-time NCAA wins.

2) Volleyball Dynasty

Travis Hudson has been the head coach of WKU Volleyball since 1995 having built up the program from friends and family crowds to regular Sun Belt Contender in the 2000s. Entering the 2010s he had led WKU to a respectable four NCAA tournament appearances in 14 seasons. That solid foundation would grow into a dynasty during the decade.

Hudson would take his coaching to the next level and the Hilltopper program would take off. In 2010, he led WKU to a 27–9 record getting them back to the NCAA tournament after a once year drought. He would repeat that feat in 2011 and take the program to the next level in 2012 making the second round of the NCAA tournament. Despite being left out of the 2013 tournament with a record of 27–6. The success would roll on as WKU would roll up four more NCAA tournament appearances in a row as Hudson kept attracting top-level talent to the program including all-time greats Jordyn Skinner, Alyssa Cavanaugh, Jessica Lucas & Rachel Anderson who led WKU to new heights.

Since 2011, WKU would trail only perennial power Penn State in total wins and would make eight tournaments in 10 years during the 2010s making the second round four times. Hudson would rebound from a disappointing (by his lofty standards) 2018 season and finish off the decade with the program's best season yet. The Hilltoppers finished 2019 with a record of 32–2, sweeping Conference USA and only lost to in-state rival Louisville. The Hilltoppers earned the #15 overall seed in the tournament and hosted Diddle first regional for Volleyball.

While they lost a five-set heartbreaker to the Cardinals, Hilltopper nation responded by gaining crowds of 4500 & 5000+ for each of WKU’s games. Travis Hudson not only succeeded in making Volleyball the premier program on the Hill but he’s repeatedly reaffirmed his commitment to the University despite offers from bigger schools. If there was one consistent sport over the decade it was his program and he’s built a dynasty in Conference USA that should continue to excel as long as he’s at the helm.

1)Football Establishes Success at FBS Level

WKU started the decade at the end of their rocky transition from FCS to FBS. Gone as head coach was David Elson, who went winless in 2009 and in was former All-American Quarterback Willie Taggart. Taggart had elevated himself was given the reigns despite being only 33 years old and having only two years of experience (Stanford running backs coach) outside of Bowling Green. Taggart inherited a program that had forgotten how to win (20 game losing streak) and had fan apathy at an all-time high.

Taggart’s answer to those challenges was enthusiasm, recruiting and hard-nosed football. He brought a new swagger and energy to the Hilltopper program. The losing streak would end at 26 with a 54–21 win over Louisiana Lafayette as he would get WKU to 2–10 in his debut season. That year would be the low point in a wildly successful decade. Taggart took the program to its first winning season since 2007 in 2011, overcoming an 0–4 start to win seven of its last eight games to finish second in the Sun Belt. Despite being left out of a bowl game due to the Sun Belt’s small number of bowl ties (two at the time), the program was experiencing FBS success for the first time

A mix of talented Elson holdovers and Taggart recruits formed a talented core of players littered across the roster. Foundational players like Jack Doyle, Bobby Rainey, Andrew Jackson, Antonio Andrews, Quanterus Smith, and Jonathan Dowling would continue to take WKU to new heights in Taggart’s last season in 2012. That season would start off on fire as the Hilltoppers jumped out to a 5–1 start that was highlighted by WKU’s first Power Five win over in-state big brother Kentucky on a throwback two-point conversion from Antonio Andrews to Kawaun Jakes to seal a 32–31 overtime victory which would be WKU’s biggest win to date. WKU would finish 2–5 the rest of the way but finish with their second straight winning record and earned their first bowl trip as Todd Stewart secured WKU a spot in the Little Ceasars Bowl in Detroit. Unfortunately for the Hilltoppers, the coach that turned the program around would leave for South Florida and Stewart was tasked with finding a new head coach to keep Taggart’s momentum going.

That replacement would come in the talented but damaged Bobby Petrino who had just been fired a year earlier at Arkansas for having a relationship with a volleyball player. Despite Petrino being a national punchline, Stewart saw a talented coach in need of an image rehab that WKU would normally not be in a position to get during a normal hiring cycle. Petrino could keep the momentum that Taggart built going and perhaps build on it, which is exactly what the fledgling program needed at the time. After Petrino’s hiring, the buzz around the WKU Football program was near an all-time high. Petrino would back that up during his debut season as he took the Hilltoppers to Nashville and they handled Kentucky for the second year in a row.

The rest of Petrino’s tenure was a bit rocky as they started the year off 4–4 and he ruffled feathers throughout the roster and administration with his personality. But the team rallied from there winning its last five games, including a 34–31 thriller against Arkansas State on senior night to finish his lone season at 8–4. WKU would once again be left out of a bowl game due to the Sun Belt’s lack of bowl ties (and the Tops announced move to CUSA)but Petrino accomplished his mission of rehabbing his image and keeping the momentum going in the Hilltopper program. He would leave for Louisville but would leave WKU with $400,000 and in the capable hands of his offensive coordinator Jeff Brohm.

Jeff Brohm was an accomplished assistant that most thought would be a Petrino clone when he was hired, he quickly shattered those perceptions by showing he was an offensive mastermind that we may never see on the Hill again. Taking a roster of Taggart’s recruits (Brandon Doughty, Forrest Lamp, Leon Allen) and with talented junior college transfers filling in gaps, Brohm exploded onto the scene in his debut against Bowling Green outscoring the Falcons 59–31 as the Brohmball era started off on fire. Brohn would then experience the ups and downs that most rookie head coaches face as the 2014 Hilltoppers started off just 3–5 including a humbling 59–10 loss at Louisiana Tech. From there Brohm adopted a playoff mentality that would propel his team to four straight wins to close out the regular season at 7–5 capped off by a thrilling 67–66 overtime win over undefeated Marshall, a win that would start the Moonshine Throwdown. He would cap that strong finish by hanging on during a wacky Bahamas Bowl 49–48 to finish his debut season 8–5 and establish Championship expectations for his sophomore season.

Brohm would build off that late-season success to have the best season in program history at the FBS level. The Hilltoppers would return weapons all over the field (Doughty, Allen, Taywan Taylor, Jared Dangerfield, Tyler Higbee just to name a few) that would help the program meet those high expectations. After starting off the year with an ugly win at Vanderbilt (the programs 3rd P5 win), WKU would start the season at 6–1 with their only loss at Indiana (35–38) before a showdown at #5 LSU loomed. WKU would hold their own against the Tigers keeping it within one score well into the 3rd quarter before succumbing to a 48–20 loss. The rest of the season was pure magic as WKU steamrolled Conference USA (the closest margin was 16 points) and won the Conference USA title in a convincing 45–28 victory over Southern Miss at home. WKU would cap their season off with a win over Taggart’s USF squad in the Miami Beach Bowl to finish off their season at 12–2 and the #24 ranking in the final AP poll. The 2015 squad was the surefire team of the decade.

He surprisingly stayed at WKU and his encore was rock solid. After having to replace Doughty, Dangerfield and several other key contributors, Brohm plugged Mike White onto a team that returned several impact players and continued to light up scoreboards. After a 3–3 start with losses against Alabama, Vanderbilt, and Louisiana Tech, WKU once again dominated Conference USA and reeled off seven straight wins to claim another Conference title (with a revenge game against Louisiana Tech). Brohm would leave for Purdue after the championship but his tenure was an indisputed success as he finished 30–10 overall in three seasons. Interim coach Nick Holt would lead WKU to another fun bowl victory over Memphis in Boca Raton as the program had established itself as a consistently good Conference USA squad.

WKU’s program was now in the middle of six straight winning seasons, Todd Stewart was tasked with finding the next up and comer to build on what Taggart, Petrino, and Brohm built. After a lengthy search, Stewart settled on Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Sanford to lead the WKU program. Sanford came in and said the right things but it quickly became apparent that he wasn’t the same level of coach as his three predecessors. Despite returning several pieces from both championship teams (Mike White, Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Nacarius Fant & D’Andre Ferby) the Hilltoppers struggled to score as they did during the Brohm years and there were several uninspiring performances (EKU, Illinois, UTEP) as the rookie Sanford alienated the locker room by changing too much too fast. Despite it all, he had WKU at 5–2 when Lane Kiffin’s FAU Owls came to town. Despite leading well into the fourth quarter, the team faded down the stretch in a 42–28 loss that was a sign of things to come for the rest of Sanford’s tenure. That loss would start off a 1–5 finish. Despite it all Sanford did get WKU to bowl eligibility for the seventh straight season with a thrilling win over hated rival MTSU. The Tops would go to the Cure Bowl in Orlando and face Georgia State. WKU turned in yet another uninspiring performance in a 27–17 loss to give WKU its first losing season (6–7) since Taggart's debut in 2010. Fans weren’t happy but reluctantly giving Sanford the benefit of the doubt.

Sanford entered year two with a roster that was now fully rebuilding and a fan base low on patience. That patience was tested immediately as the Toppers lost to FCS Maine after jumping out to a 21–0 lead. A 1–9 start would follow as close losses (including a bizarre comeback meltdown against ODU) turned into blowouts and Sanford juggled quarterbacks. Sanford’s rhetoric and blame of his predecessor exacerbated the problems as Fans quickly became fed up with the second-year coach and showed their disapproval only having 6,222 fans on senior night against UTEP. Sanford’s young team would finish the season by winning their last two games but the damage had been done and Todd Stewart fired Sanford pushing the reset button on the program as Sanford finished a dismal 9–16 in Bowling Green.

Stewart rightly decided to go back to the Brohm era by hiring former offensive coordinator Tyson Helton, who was a key strategist during the 2015 championship. Helton came in and quickly showed the discipline and decision making skills that his predecessor lacked. Using a mix of Brohm era seniors (Lucky Jackson, Miles Pate) and quality recruits that Sanford brought in (DeAngelo Malone, Juwaun Jones) Helton took the talent he was given and guided WKU back to bowl contention. After a fourth-quarter meltdown to FCS Central Arkansas, Helton’s Hilltoppers would reel off wins in five of his next six games to put the Sanford era behind him. Despite coming up short against FAU and Marshall, WKU would rally behind Arkansas grad transfer quarterback Ty Storey and finish the season 8–4 with memorable wins over Arkansas (the programs 4th P5 win) and Southern Miss to get the Toppers back to a bowl game as they’ll play in the First Responder Bowl on December 30th in Dallas. Helton quickly got the program back to the level of success that they consistently achieved throughout the decade and the groundwork he laid this season should carry over to the next decade.

Overall WKU’s program went from a fledgling FBS member to a consistent upper-tier program in Conference USA during the decade. The Hilltoppers were Bowl eligible 8 of 10 years and were rewarded with a bowl bid in six of those seasons. Football changed from a past time that got fans to basketball season to a sport that is universally cared about and discussed. WKU will continue to push to stay relevant throughout the next decade and now has a recent history of success to sell to recruits and a new generation of fans.