2023 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

The 2023 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Myers Hendrickson. The Leathernecks played their home games at Hanson Field in Macomb, Illinois. This was the final season for the Leathernecks in the MVFC before moving to the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) for the 2024–25 season.

2023 Western Illinois Leathernecks football
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Record	0–11 (0–8 MVFC)
Head coach	Myers Hendrickson (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Pat Denecke (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Todd Drury (2nd season)
Home stadium	Hanson Field

2023 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 South Dakota State $^		8	–	0					15	–	0
No. 4 South Dakota ^		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 3 North Dakota State ^		5	–	3					11	–	4
No. 19 Youngstown State ^		5	–	3					8	–	5
No. 16 North Dakota ^		5	–	3					7	–	5
Northern Iowa		5	–	3					6	–	5
No. 12 Southern Illinois ^		4	–	4					8	–	5
Illinois State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Missouri State		3	–	5					4	–	7
Murray State		1	–	7					2	–	9
Indiana State		1	–	7					1	–	10
Western Illinois		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant As of November 22, 2024 Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	8:00 p.m.	at New Mexico State*	Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, NM	ESPN+	L 21–58	17,843
September 9	3:00 p.m.	Illinois State	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN+	L 18–34	3,648
September 16	6:00 p.m.	Lindenwood*	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN+	L 40–43	3,548
September 23	7:00 p.m.	at Southern Utah*	Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT	ESPN+	L 17–37	6,504
October 7	1:00 p.m.	at No. 16 North Dakota	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	L 10–49	9,758
October 14	3:00 p.m.	Missouri State	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN+	L 7–48	2,809
October 21	2:30 p.m.	at No. 14 North Dakota State	Fargodome Fargo, ND	ESPN+	L 7–52	14,255
October 28	3:00 p.m.	No. 11 Southern Illinois	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN+	L 0–63	2,636
November 4	1:00 p.m.	at No. 18 Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	L 6–50	8,051
November 11	12:00 p.m.	at Indiana State	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	L 6–27	3,151
November 18	1:00 p.m.	No. 5 South Dakota	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN+	L 6–48	1,935
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time