Nov. 24, 2003
By virtue of its 12-10 win over Northeast Conference champion Monmouth in the ECAC Classic, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League champion Duquesne University (8-3, 5-0) vaulted to the top of all three national Mid-Major polls, making the Dukes consensus 2003 NCAA I-AA Mid-Major National Champions.
The National Championship is the first for Duquesne and its 11th-year coach Greg Gattuso.
"I'm really happy for our players and staff," said Gattuso, whose Dukes finished second in last year's Sports Network poll. "Our guys really stuck together late in the season and it paid off.
"I felt so bad for the team last year, because they came so close. This is the culmination of a lot of big wins over the last 10 years."
Duquesne, which entered the weekend ranked No. 5 in the Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major Top 10, moved to the top with the win. The Sports Network top 10 is the only Mid-Major poll that is determined by voters from across the county.
The Dukes will receive the 2003 Sports Network Cup on Dec. 18 - the eve of the I-AA championship game - at Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Duquesne, which received 12 of 23 first-place votes and 205 total points in the final poll, is the first MAAC team to finish No. 1 in the three-year history of the award. Sacred Heart of the Northeast Conference won the inaugural Cup in 2001, while Dayton of the Pioneer Football League collected the hardware last season. Duquesne, which went 8-3 this season, is the first team in the history of the poll to jump from a position as high as No. 5 into the top spot.
The Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major Top 10 poll includes the 23 programs of the MAAC, NEC, and Pioneer Leagues, which play at a non-scholarship or limited scholarship level. An updated poll, which is based on the votes of selected media members and I-AA mid-major Sports Information Directors, is announced each Monday during the regular season.
NOTING THE 2003 DUKES ...
* Finished the season ranked as the consensus No. 1 team in I-AA Mid-Major (Sports Network, Don Hansen's Football Gazette and Dopke.com)
* Has won five consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League titles
* Has won seven titles in the last nine years (1995, '96, '99, '00, '01, '02 & 2003)
* Duquesne is 62-7 all-time in MAAC games, and will enter next season with a 29-game MAAC win streak
* Placed a league-high 23 players on the All-MAAC first and second teams
* Placed two players on the 2003 Verizon Academic All-District 2 Football Team
* Produced the league's Offensive Player of the Year (QB Niel Loebig), co-Defensive Player of the Year (DL Philip Polony) and Coach of the Year (Greg Gattuso). It marked the fifth consecutive season DU produced the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year
The Sports NetworkI-AA Mid-Major Top 10
1. DUQUESNE (12) (8-3) 2052. San Diego (6) (8-2) 1833. Valparaiso (2) (8-4) 1704. Monmouth (1) (10-2) 1685. Dayton (2) (9-2) 1576. Morehead State (8-3) 1517. Albany (7-4) 938. Stony Brook (6-4) 659. Robert Morris (7-4) 4510. Wagner (6-5) 20Others receiving votes (min. five required): IonaFirst place votes in parentheses
Don Hansen's Football GazetteMid-Major Top 20Top 10 of 20 teams ranked listed below:
1. DUQUESNE 8-32. Valparaiso 8-43. Morehead State 8-34. Monmouth 10-25. Albany 7-46. San Diego 8-27. Dayton 9-28. Robert Morris 7-49. Stony Brook 6-410. Drake 6-6
Dopke.comTop 10 of 23 teams ranked listed below:
1. DUQUESNE 8-32. Valparaiso 8-43. Monmouth 10-24. Morehead State 8-35. San Diego 8-26. Albany 7-47. Dayton 9-28. Stony Brook 6-49. Drake 6-610. Iona 6-5
