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David Elson is in his seventh season as WKU's head football coach, his 14th overall year with the Hilltoppers, a period marked by sustained success both on the field and in the classroom.
Since taking over as head coach prior to the start of spring practice in March 2003, Elson has compiled a 39-32 overall mark and led WKU to Division I-AA playoff appearances in 2003 and 2004. Since he joined the staff in 1996, WKU has recorded a 100-56 (64.1%) record. Always emphasizing academics, WKU's 948 Academic Progress Rate (APR) in football from 2005-2008 is higher than every Sun Belt member and nine points higher than the NCAA average in the sport. The Hilltoppers have completed a two-year transition to the NCAA Division I-A (Football Bowl Subdivision) level and are eligible to win the Sun Belt Conference and participate in a bowl game for the first time in 2009.
"David Elson is without a doubt one of the brightest football minds in the country," WKU Director of Athletics Dr. Camden Wood Selig said. "Coach Elson is committed to developing the student-athlete in every area - intellectually, athletically, and socially. If I had a son who was talented enough to play college football, I would want him to place his future under the guidance and direction of Coach Elson."
Playing the most ambitious schedule in the program's history last season, as seven of the Hilltoppers 12 opponents reached post-season play, WKU's 2008 season also marked its first in the newly renovated Houchens Industries - L.T. Smith Stadium. WKU posted the second-highest per game attendance average (16,697) in the school's history, and the 22,297 that witnessed WKU's 50-9 win over Murray State on September 20 marked a school single-game record. Student attendance increased 53.2% from 2007 to 2008, and offensive lineman Greg Ryan capped his stellar career by signing a free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens. Prior to the school's announcement in November 2006 that it would move up to the NCAA I-A/FBS division, the Toppers advanced to the NCAA I-AA playoffs on six occasions - including a string of five straight appearances from 2000-04.
Elson has experienced plenty of success in his 13 years at WKU. In addition to finishing with a winning record in 12 of those seasons, WKU claimed the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA national championship, the Hilltoppers' only team national title in any sport. WKU also captured the Ohio Valley and Gateway Football Conference titles in 2000 and 2002, respectively. WKU reached the top spot in the national polls twice during the 2005 season and also posted top-15 finishes following both the 2003 and 2004 campaigns. That included finishing as high as seventh at the end of his initial season after Elson matched the legendary E.A. Diddle for the most victories by a WKU first-year head coach after leading the Toppers to a 9-4 record and a quarterfinal appearance in the NCAA playoffs. At the time of his hiring, Elson was the youngest head coach in Division I football. The following year, Elson was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson national Coach-of-the-Year Award after guiding WKU to a 9-3 finish, including a 6-1 mark in the Gateway Football Conference, despite losing 25 seniors from his first squad. Although he started as a defensive backs coach and served as defensive coordinator in 2001 and 2002 prior to his promotion, Elson has proven he can win relying on both sides of the ball while building a solid special teams unit.
Highlighted by an 87-0 victory over West Virginia Tech in the home opener, which set school marks for points and scoring margin in a contest while tying an NCAA I-A/FBS record with 49 points in the opening quarter, the 2007 Hilltoppers climbed into the top 10 in the school's record books in numerous categories. WKU also set a standard with 266 total first downs - the Toppers actually posted two of the top five marks in the category for a game after collecting 32 in a win at Indiana State and 31 the following week in a victory over North Carolina Central - and a 62.8 pass completion percentage, while the 4,906 total yards, 51 total touchdowns and 398 points the offense piled up were the fifth-best marks on the Hill. The unit finished the 2007 season fourth in school history with 408.8 yards and 33.2 points per outing as well as fifth with an average of 5.12 yards per play.
Defensively, the Hilltoppers' 20 interceptions ranked sixth on the school's top-10 list, while the special teams unit's efforts were highlighted by a punt team that averaged 40.8 yards per punt, the third-best figure in WKU history. The place kicking unit scored 90 points, which was fourth on the record list as well.
Individually, Curtis Hamilton and Chris James capped their four-year careers by setting new school career records. The former collected 149 catches and 2,324 yards receiving to break marks that were set in 1971, while the latter broke the old standards for scoring and field goals by recording 298 and 51, respectively.
The Hilltoppers led the Gateway in passing, pass efficiency and total defense - ranking in the top 25 nationally in both pass defense categories - on their way to a 6-5 finish in 2006. The offense was 23rd in the country with 364.73 yards per game, and the kick return unit averaged 22.44 yards per run back to finish 13th in the nation, the highest the Toppers were in any category. The previous season, on the other hand, saw the WKU offense average 405.73 yards per contest - the fifth-highest total in school history - while scoring 30.82 points per game. Not only did both those figures rank among the top 30 in the country, but the Hilltoppers also finished 14th in rushing with 228.55 yards per outing. Defensively in 2005, the Toppers ranked 11th nationally surrendering 113.1 yards per game on the ground, while the punt return unit was fourth after recording an average of 16.13 yards per run back.
The 2004 Toppers featured a balanced attack, finishing in the top 30 in the country in seven different statistical categories - two offensive, three defensive and a pair of special teams - while standing among the top three in the conference in 10 categories. WKU topped the league in both net punting (37.48 avg) as well as punt returns (11.32 ypr), and was in the top 20 nationally in turnover margin (+0.67) as well as rushing yardage (226.17).
The 2003 Toppers became just the third unit to post more than 5,000 yards of total offense - ranking third in school history with 5,129 - while scoring 427 points, the fourth-highest total in the record books. While WKU attempted more passes than any year since 1988, it also extended its streak of finishing in the top 10 nationally in rushing to 14 straight years. On the defensive side of the ball that fall, the Hilltoppers ranked in the top three in the Gateway Football Conference, and top 35 in the country, in all five statistical categories. WKU topped the league allowing only 283.69 total yards per contest, which stood sixth nationally (fourth among scholarship programs), and also paced the GFC by surrendering just 16.85 points per game to rank 14th among all NCAA I-AA institutions. In six of the Toppers' 13 games, the opposition managed to score a touchdown or less.
Not only has the team done well on the field, but numerous individuals have been honored during Elson's tenure. Hamilton, Marion Rumph, Greg Ryan and Chris Sullivan became the four most recent additions to the Hilltopper All-American list after earning honors in the fall of 2006. Erik Losey (2005) and Buster Ashley (2003-04) have been selected first-team All-America by the American Football Coaches Association, while eight other individuals were recognized in Elson's first two seasons by other organizations as well.
In each of Elson's first four years, at least 10 individuals earned Gateway Conference accolades, highlighted by Justin Haddix' selection as the league's Freshman of the Year in 2003. Off the field, numerous Toppers have been honored for their work in the classroom. Led by Rumph (three time selection) and Dan Cline (two-time selection) who each received multiple ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV selections, five individuals have been recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) for extraordinary academic achievements. WKU also had numerous players cited for their schoolwork by the Gateway Conference.
Elson was named the school's head football coach March 5, 2003, after serving as defensive coordinator for WKU's 2002 NCAA I-AA national championship team. He replaced Jack Harbaugh, who resigned after 14 years at the helm of the program. He was the longest-tenured assistant on Harbaugh's staff, working seven years on the Hill with defensive backs, the last two as defensive coordinator.
In 2002, the Hilltoppers' defense led the Gateway Football Conference in the regular season in rushing, passing, pass efficiency and both total and scoring defense, becoming just the second team in league history to allow fewer than 10 points per contest in GFC games. In WKU's first season in the conference the previous fall, it led all teams in rushing, passing, total and scoring defense, setting a league record for fewest total yards allowed per game, and the Toppers ranked in the top 10 nationally in each category.
Nine defensive players earned first-team all-conference honors during Elson's two years as coordinator, with a total of 13 recognized by the voters. Two defensive backs were selected consensus All-America - Bobby Sippio (2000) and Mel Mitchell (2001) - while 10 Hilltoppers on that side of the ball have been named All-America since his arrival on the Hill. Mitchell and Joseph Jefferson were both selected in the 2002 National Football League draft, the first time since 1990 that two WKU players were picked in the same year, while Jefferson was the first player chosen from an NCAA I-AA institution.
Elson came to the Hill from Southern Illinois, where he served as a graduate assistant coach in 1994 and 1995 while earning a master's degree in education. He is a 1994 graduate of Butler, where he was a three-year letter winner and started at strong safety his final two seasons. The Bulldogs were conference champions in both his sophomore and junior years.
A native of Indianapolis, Elson and his wife Kathy have three daughters, Lauren (13), Jessica (8) and Maggie (Jan. 2009). Elson is the 16th head coach in the school's 91 years of football, but just the sixth since 1948.
The Elson File:
Born — Aug. 26, 1971, Indianapolis, Ind.
High School — Cathedral ’89
HS Athletics — Football, SS, 3 letters (co-captain, all-city)
College — Butler ’94 (BS), Southern Illinois ’95 (MS)
College Athletics — Football, SS, 3 letters
Coaching Experience —
Southern Illinois, graduate assistant (1994-95)
WKU, assistant (1996-02)
WKU, head coach (2003- )
Family — Wife, Kathy; three daughters, Lauren (13), Jessica (8), Maggie (Jan. 2009)
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