After Anderson left the hill once again, this time to be an assistant coach at Indiana, the Hilltoppers selected Gander Terry to lead the program.

Feix became the first WKU football athlete ever to earn All-America honors after posting the highest pass completion percentage in the nation (.612).

They made it to the championship game against Louisiana Tech coming up just short and finishing the season 12–1, setting a new school record for wins that still stands.

In 1975, the Hilltoppers made the playoff field again advancing to the title game for the second time, but once again having to settle for runner-up honors finishing their season with an 11–2 record.

Feix retired as head coach moving to work in Alumni Affairs for two years before taking over as director of athletics in 1986.

In his vacancy, the Hilltoppers hired former Vanderbilt assistant Dave Roberts to be the head coach with hopes of continuing what Feix started.

[6] Harbaugh took the Hilltopper football program from the depths of despair in the early 1990s to its best stretch since the legendary Jimmy Feix coached on the Hill.

Having already made up his mind that he was not going to quit, he talked with his players left them a choice: accept defeat and leave, or fight to stay.

All the efforts paid off and on April 30, 1992, the WKU Board of Regents voted to allow football to stay but with a reduced budget.

While still playing in the NFL, Jim joined the WKU football coaching staff as an NCAA-certified unpaid assistant which allowed him to recruit.

John, on the other hand, was a coach at Cincinnati and could rely on his scouting services, deep contacts, and endless high school game footage to help out.

[10] The Hilltoppers went 7–4 in 1996 and returned to the NCAA Playoffs in 1997 behind the arm and legs of quarterback Willie Taggart, which started a long series of winning seasons.

[13] The move allowed WKU to add 22 scholarships by 2009 and increase the overall football budget by an estimated $2.5 million by the time the transition was complete.

Knowing it wasn't going to be easy, and without the motivation of being eligible to compete for a championship, Elson and the Hilltoppers set two team goals that season; to win seven games and to go undefeated at home.

[15] They were able to accomplish the first of those goals, going 7–5 that season as they beat long-time rival MTSU in Murfreesboro, but were unable to hold off Troy at home; both of which were FBS schools and members of the Sun Belt Conference.

[18] In their first year under Taggart, coming off a winless season under Elson, WKU finally broke their 26-game losing streak with a 54–21 win at UL Lafayette.

[19] Lance Guidry, WKU's defensive coordinator was named interim head coach and led the Hilltoppers to their first bowl appearance as an FBS member.

[20] Taggart, who started all four years as the Hilltoppers quarterback from 1995 to 1998 under Jack Harbaugh, ran a run-heavy West Coast style offense that helped develop leading rushers, Bobby Rainey and Antonio Andrews.

[21] In the news conference announcing Petrino's hiring in December 2012, athletic director Todd Stewart called it a "landmark moment" in the history of WKU football.

[22] Keeping the programs momentum going, on April 1, 2013, it was announced that WKU would join Conference USA in all sports effective July 1, 2014, the following season.

[26] On January 8, 2014, it was announced that Petrino would leave WKU to return to Louisville to accept the head football coach position.

[27] After one season as offensive coordinator for the Hilltoppers, Jeff Brohm was promoted to the program's head football coach, replacing Petrino.

In 2016, Brohm led WKU to their second consecutive 10+ win season for the first time in school history and their second straight C-USA Football Championship title.

Despite winning their final two games, including a road upset of Louisiana Tech, WKU fired Mike Sanford on November 25, 2018.

On November 26, 2018, WKU announced the hire of Tennessee offensive coordinator Tyson Helton as the new Hilltoppers head coach.

[39] In his first year as head coach, Helton was able to turn the program around and finished the season 8–4 including a statement 45–19 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks.

In 2007, WKU initiated the transition to NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and became ineligible for any further playoff appearances.

The university's cupola is inscribed on the chest plate and the line from the school's alma mater "We shall never fail thee" is written on the bottom of the jersey.

[49][50] In 2023, the WKU football program introduced new Nike uniforms, which featured a new, larger but consistent and traditional striping pattern across the helmets (white, black and chrome), jerseys and pants, as well as drop shadow numbers.

[40]: 143 Jimmy Feix Jack Harbaugh 1973, 1978, 1980 2000 Antonio Andrews 2013 Xavius Boyd 2013 Five players have been designated by the NCAA as "Consensus All-Americans" as of 2017.