2001 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

2001 Western Illinois Leathernecks football
ConferenceGateway Football Conference
Record5–5 (4–3 Gateway)
Head coach
Home stadiumHanson Field
2001 Gateway Football Conference standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 4 Northern Iowa $^  6 1   11 3  
No. 12 Western Kentucky ^  5 2   8 4  
No. 15 Youngstown State  5 2   8 3  
Western Illinois  4 3   5 5  
Southwest Missouri State  3 4   6 5  
Indiana State  2 5   3 8  
Illinois State  2 5   2 9  
Southern Illinois  1 6   1 10  
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2001 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by third-year head coach Don Patterson and played their home games at Hanson Field in Macomb, Illinois. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 5–5 record overall and a 4–3 record in conference play. Western Illinois played a ten-game schedule instead of the typical eleven-game schedule in Division I-AA, as they were unable to schedule an eleventh opponent before the season began.