A recent national championship is the one thing that has eluded the Gateway Football Conference, which has enjoyed imposing success in the last few years. A national championship in 1997 highlights the recent string of prosperity, but the league hopes that five-year drought will end during the 2002 campaign.

Including that 1997 national championship by Youngstown State, a Gateway Conference member has reached the I-AA playoff semifinals in five of the past six years -- Northern Iowa did it last year, only to fall at No. 1 ranked Montana. For the seventh-straight season, the Gateway Football Conference had two representatives in the I-AA playoffs. Gateway champion Northern Iowa was joined by at-large participant Western Kentucky. It marked UNI’s 10th appearance in the playoffs, while the Toppers made their fifth I-AA appearance and first as a Gateway member.

The league also posted three top-25 I-AA wins, while two more I-A wins were notched onto the Gateway’s belt as Indiana State (vs. Eastern Michigan) and Northern Iowa (vs. Ball State) both posted wins against I-A squads.

And to cap the success on the field, the league enjoyed its third season of Gateway television, as more fans were exposed to some of the best football in the Midwest. A record six conference games were telecast on the league package, with four of them on Fox Sports Net programming. What follows is a capsule outlook at some of the other high points of last year:

Northern Iowa Reaches Semis
For the fifth time in the past six seasons, a Gateway Football Conference team reached the I-AA semifinals, as Northern Iowa toppled Maine, 56-28, at the UNI-Dome on Dec. 8. A Gateway team has now appeared in two championship games (1997 & 1999) and nine semifinals. UNI has been to the semis more than any other GFC school (5 times).

Variety is the Spice of Life
The Gateway has had two I-AA playoff teams in each of the past seven seasons. In those seven years, six different members have represented the conference. Notably, in the past three years, five different Gateway teams have represented the GFC in postseason play.

I-A Wins
The Gateway has 22 I-A wins since 1985, and the league was 2-8 last season. Indiana State beat Eastern Michigan, while Northern Iowa won at Ball State for the league’s I-A wins during the 2001 campaign.

Farley is Top Coach in Region
Mark Farley of Northern Iowa was one of five I-AA coaches honored by the American Football Coaches Association as Regional Coach of the Year in 2001. Farley won the Region IV honor.

First-Year Mentors
The Gateway had three coaches (Mark Farley, Jerry Kill, Jon Heacock) who had their first I-AA head coaching jobs in the Gateway. Farley was the first-ever Gateway rookie coach to claim a conference title, and he also set all-time highs for victories (11) and league wins (6).

Crowd Pleasers
The Gateway averaged 9,704 fans league-wide last season, one of the all-time single-season bests. The Gateway established a league record for total (404,187) last year, and a per-game (10,104) record during 2000.

All-American
The 2001 Verizon All-America Academic Football teams were released Dec. 10, and Illinois State’s Adam Waugh represented the Gateway on that team for the second-straight year. The Gateway has had at least one player make the first- or second-team unit every year since 1996.

Behind the Eight Ball
Including last year, the Gateway has had at least two eight-game winners for eight-straight seasons. Notably, in 17 Gateway seasons, 28 teams have won eight or more games, and 24 of those have made the playoffs. Northern Iowa (in 1989 and 1999), Western Illinois (in 1994), and Youngstown State (2001) are the only league teams to win eight and not make it.

Eight is Great
Three Gateway teams (Northern Iowa, Western Kentucky and Youngstown State) had eight-win seasons, marking just the third time in league history that three teams won eight or more games the same season. The only other times that’s happened was in 1999 and in 1989.

Three-Headed Monsters
Youngstown State (3), Western Illinois (6) and Western Kentucky (8) were in the top eight of the Sports Network top-25 poll (Sept. 10). That marked the first time in league history that the league has had three teams in the top eight of a top-25 poll during the same week. On Sept. 2, 1997, the league had three of the top nine (UNI-4, WIU-5, YSU-9). And on Sept. 3, 2001, the league had three in the top 10 (YSU-5, WIU-7, WKU-10). Those three polls mark the only times the league has had three in the top 10 during the same week.

Gimme Five
For just the third time in league history, five Gateway teams (Northern Iowa, Southwest Missouri State, Western Illinois, Western Kentucky and Youngstown State) had .500 or better records in the same season. The league had five .500 or better teams in each of its first two seasons (in 1985 and in 1986), but that had not happened again until last year.

ILS .. Watts Up
Illinois State’s Willie Watts ended with 1,053 rushing yards on the season, seventh in school history on the single-season charts. He finished his career No. 9 on the all-time GFC list with 3,115 career yards and is one of just 10 Gateway runners to eclipse 3,000 career yards.

INS .. Reese Climbs Chart
Indiana State QB Julian Reese concluded the 2001 season with 1,851 yards, the seventh most productive season output in Indiana State history. The Fort Wayne, Ind., product rushed for 615 yards and passed for 1,236.

UNI .. Carter’s Little Pills
Sophomore Richard Carter of Northern Iowa rushed for 122 yards on 20 carries, including a 21-yard TD run, against Cal Poly in the regular-season finale. It marked his third 100-yard game of the season. Ironically, all came in the same game teammate Adam Benge also eclipsed the 100-yard rushing plateau.

SIU .. Chart Climber
After getting 62 yards in the season finale against Baylor, Southern Illinois Tom Koutsos ranks No. 4 spot on the all-time Gateway list with 3,531 career yards. The senior-to-be is the only running back in Gateway history to record three 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

SMS .. Keeping up with Jones’
With 500 career tackles, P. J. Jones broke the SMS career mark of 487 set during the 2000 season by LB Corky Martin, while Jones is now the No. 3 tackler in Gateway history.

WIU .. Passing Fancy
Western Illinois completed the 2001 season as the top passing team in school history, throwing for a school-record 285.5 yards per game. That total ranks No. 6 in league history behind teams of Northern Iowa (1986, 1999, and 2000) and Eastern Illinois (1985 and 1986). Western was No. 9 nationally in pass offense.

WKU .. Tenacious Defense
Western Kentucky’s 2001 defensive unit was one of the best in Gateway history. The Western defense set a GFC mark by allowing 233.2 total yards per game. Its 11.1 points per game average was second all-time in the GFC.

YSU .. Scoring Machine
Youngstown State’s P.J. Mays’ scored 21 rushing TDs last season. He is just the 15th player in YSU history to eclipse 1,000 yards in a single season. His 21 TDs are second only to Western Illinois’ Aaron Stecker, who set a league record with 24 touchdowns in 1997.