The 2003 Miami RedHawks football team represented

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

in the

2003 NCAA Division I-A football season The 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with an abundance of controversy, resulting in the claim of a split national championship. This was the first claimed split title since the inception of the BCS, something the BCS intended to elim ...

. They competed in the East Division of the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

(MAC) . The team was coached by

Terry Hoeppner Terry Lee Hoeppner (August 19, 1947 – June 19, 2007) was an American college football coach who served as head coach of the Miami RedHawks from 1999 to 2004 and the Indiana Hoosiers from 2005 to 2006. Shortly after announcing that he would be o ...

and played their homes game in Yager Stadium. The Redhawks finished the season with a record of 13–1 (8–0 MAC). They won the MAC for the first time since 1986 and was invited to the GMAC Bowl, where they beat Louisville 49–28.

Schedule

Roster

After the season

Comments

Two Miami players were drafted into the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

: quarterback

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...

, left as a junior without a degree with a year of college eligibility remaining and was selected by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

in the first round, #11 overall, and guard Jacob Bell, taken by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

in the fifth round, #138 overall. Roethlisberger's #11 selection was the highest ever draft pick for a player from Miami.

Awards

The ''

Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since '' The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication i ...

'' named Hoeppner "Ohio College Coach of the Year." The 2003 team as a whole earned the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

's "Academic Achievement Honor" for achieving a graduation rate over 70%.

References

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Miami RedHawks football seasons Mid-American Conference football champion seasons 68 Ventures Bowl champion seasons

Miami RedHawks football The Miami RedHawks football (known as the Miami Redskins before 1996) program represents Miami University, located in Oxford, Ohio, in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The RedHawks compete in the Mid-American Conference and are ...

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