In the hallowed history that is Wittenberg football, the winningest NCAA Division III program of all-time, the 2002 season measures up quite well and offers plenty of highlights.

The Tigers finished with a regular season record of 9-1 overall and a 6-1 mark in the NCAC, which was good for second place. The Tigers advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs for a fifth consecutive year despite missing out on a sixth straight conference championship. In the postseason, Wittenberg played two thrilling games, defeating Hanover 34-33 on the road on Nov. 23 before falling to Wabash 25-14 on the road on Nov. 30.

Wittenberg opened the season at No. 4 in the first American Football Coaches Association poll before falling to 16th after a regular season loss to Wabash. The Tigers worked their way back to 10th in the final AFCA poll, and Don Hansen’s National Football Gazette ranked the Tigers No. 9 in its final poll, which was released after the playoffs.

The Senior Class of 2003 wound up as one of the greatest in Wittenberg history, finishing with records of 44-6 overall, 26-1 in the NCAC and 38-2 in the regular season.

The 10-2 overall record extended Wittenberg’s streak of 10-win seasons to five straight and 11 overall in the program’s history. The win over Hanover was the Tigers’ fifth straight first-round NCAA Division III playoff victory. In addition, numerous individual and team records were broken, and the Tigers placed 16 players on the All-NCAC awards list and five more on the All-North Region honor roll.

Leading the charge were record-setting tailback Daniel Grove ’03 and quarterback Greg Cornett ’03. Linebacker Dustin Goldsbury ’03 earned his fourth first-team All-NCAC designation, while seniors Andy Pope and John Hauser both were selected for a third straight year.

Head Coach Joe Fincham ended his seventh year guiding the Tigers with a 73-9 overall record. Fincham is 66-4 in regular season games, 48-3 against NCAC foes and 7-5 in NCAA Division III Playoffs.