1939 Western Kentucky State Teachers Hilltoppers football team

1939 Western Kentucky State Teachers Hilltoppers football
KIAC co-champion
ConferenceKentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Record7–1–1 (2–0–1 KIAC, 5–1–1 SIAA)
Head coach
CaptainSam Panepinto
Alternate captainWaddell Murphy
Home stadiumWestern Stadium
1939 Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Western Kentucky State Teachers + 2 0 1 7 1 1
Murray State + 2 0 1 4 4 1
Centre 1 0 1 1 5 2
Georgetown (KY) 2 1 1 4 4 1
Eastern Kentucky 3 2 0 6 3 0
Morehead State 2 2 0 6 2 0
Louisville 1 1 1 5 2 1
Union (KY) 1 1 1 3 3 1
Transylvania 0 7 0 1 8 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1939 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Louisiana Normal $ 7 0 0 11 0 0
Tennessee Tech 4 0 0 6 3 1
Mississippi College 3 0 0 6 1 1
Miami (FL) 2 0 0 5 5 0
Rollins 5 1 0 10 1 0
Western Kentucky State Teachers 5 1 1 7 1 1
Mississippi State Teachers 4 1 0 4 2 3
Murray State 4 1 1 4 4 1
Newberry 3 1 1 4 1 4
Presbyterian 3 1 2 4 3 2
Georgetown (KY) 2 1 1 4 4 1
Eastern Kentucky 3 2 0 6 3 0
Union (TN) 3 2 0 7 2 0
Morehead State 2 2 0 6 2 0
Louisville 1 1 1 5 2 1
Union (KY) 1 1 1 3 3 1
Oglethorpe 3 3 1 3 4 1
Centre 1 1 1 1 5 2
Centenary 1 1 0 2 9 1
Louisiana Tech 3 4 0 5 6 0
West Tennessee State Teachers 3 4 0 3 8 0
Troy State 2 3 0 7 4 0
SW Louisiana 2 3 0 3 5 1
Stetson 2 4 2 3 5 2
Louisiana College 2 5 0 4 6 1
Middle Tennessee State Teachers 1 5 1 1 6 1
Erskine 1 5 0 1 9 0
Delta State 1 6 0 1 9 0
Wofford 0 2 3 1 5 3
Tampa 0 3 1 2 7 1
Jacksonville State 0 3 1 0 8 2
Transylvania 0 7 0 1 8 0
Emory and Henry 0 0 0 7 2 0
  • $ – Conference champion

The 1939 Western Kentucky State Teachers Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky State Teachers College—now known as Western Kentucky University—as a member of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1939 college football season. Led by second-year head coach Gander Terry, the Hilltoppers compiled an overall record of 7–1–1 with marks of 2–0–1 in KIAC play and of 5–1–1 against SIAA opponents. Western Kentucky State Teachers shared the KIAC title with Murray State, which the Hilltoppers played to a tie in the season finale.

Sam Panepinto was the team's captain and Waddell Murphy was the alternate captain. Western Kentucky was ranked at No. 150 (out of 609 teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1939.