Tagged: Western Kentucky University

The president of Kentucky's third largest university said adding Pikeville University to the state system would be financially cumbersome for the state, although House Speaker Greg Stumbo says he won't personally support new funding for higher education until UPike is admitted.

In college football, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers fell to Central Michigan 24-21 in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Wednesday night in Detroit.

With less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, WKU passed up an opportunity for a game-tying field goal on fourth down, instead attempting a pass play deep in Central Michigan territory. But the Chippewas broke up the play to secure the victory.

Western Kentucky finishes the season with a 7-6 record. The Hilltoppers were led by interim coach Lance Guidry , who took over when Willie Taggart left for South Florida.

Outwardly, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers' 34-14 victory over McNeese State was a cause for big-time celebration for WKU President Gary Ransdell.

The Toppers won the 2002 Division I-AA national championship.

Inwardly, the championship stirred another reaction. The playoffs for the I-AA division -- now known as the Football Championship Subdivision -- had cost WKU money. The first-round playoff game drew just 3,300 people to Bowling Green's Smith Stadium. The title game had no payout.

Western Kentucky University has introduced Bobby Petrino as the school’s 18th football coach.

Petrino returns to the college game eight months after his firing from Arkansas for lying about an extramarital affair he had with a woman on his staff.

"I'm honored to sit in front of you as the head coach of Western Kentucky University," Petrino said at a late afternoon news conference.