‘Time to make a leadership change’ as WKU fires its football coach

Mike Sanford’s tenure as Western Kentucky’s head football coach ended after just two seasons.

The school announced Sunday that Sanford was fired after compiling a 9-16 overall record, including a 6-10 record in Conference USA play. The Hilltoppers finished a 3-9 2018 season with consecutive victories against UTEP and Louisiana Tech, but that was not enough to save Sanford’s job.

“I felt it was time that we make a change in leadership,” WKU Athletics Director Todd Stewart said, according to a news release by the school. “This was not an easy decision and was not made lightly.”

When asked at a news conference later in the day why it didn’t work out with Sanford, Stewart said, “I don’t know there was any one thing or any one moment. To me, it’s just an accumulation of where we are right now. In some respects, it started last year at the bowl game (a Cure Bowl loss to Georgia State). That was a very disappointing performance. ...

“Honestly, the UTEP game, which was a great night for our seniors from the standpoint of getting a win ... it really hurt for them because of the complete lack of energy we had in the stadium that night from a crowd standpoint. Their final Topper Walk, we might have had a hundred people there. And that can’t be. Unfortunately, that’s what we’ve come to.”

Sanford arrived at WKU following a two-year stint as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Notre Dame.

“In consulting with Director of Athletics Stewart, I agree that for us to achieve the success we expect in WKU football, it is time to make a leadership change,” WKU President Dr. Tim Caboni said.

This story was originally published November 25, 2018 at 5:22 PM.