FEATURE | FB | 2003 ASC Champs - Looking Back 20 Years

Barrels outlined the endzone, the instrument of choice for many fans that day. Couches decorated the outskirts of Ornelas Stadium, inviting as many to participate in the experience as possible. Not a seat in the stands was empty, and a spot on the hill was prime real estate. The home playoff game against Trinity University in 2003 was an environment like no other, fitting for a Tiger football team like no other. 

The 2003 roster is the most decorated squad in ETBU football history. Despite it being a new program at the time, the team is the only one for football able to earn a berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs, win nine games in a season, have a five-game win streak and won the program’s first American Southwest Conference championship. 

As the team celebrates 20 years since their hallmark season, past and present members of the program reflect back on how the 2003 squad changed ETBU football for the better. Chad Glover, a two-time All-American defensive lineman for the Tigers from 2003 to 2006, says the team’s greatest impact on the program comes from their perseverance despite all odds.

Driven by faith and a dream of a conference championship, the 2003 team cemented themselves as a model for the Tigers who followed. Phil Van Cleave, freshman quarterback that led ETBU to a win over ASC powerhouse the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor and playoff opponent Trinity University that year, says their squad set a standard not just for ETBU football but for Tiger athletics as a whole.

ETBU’s 2003 team is widely known for their playoff appearance, the sole berth the Tiger football program has ever earned. Glover says getting to play a starting role in their playoff run was an opportunity of a lifetime.

“It was an amazing experience to be a part of the playoffs,” Glover said. “The environment was electric, this young program already playing in a big way was so special. At the time we were just trying to win games, but now all these years later it has been sweeter and sweeter.”

The year 2003 reigns supreme over many of the pages in the ETBU football record books. As former players from the team returned to Ornelas Stadium to commemorate their efforts, when they looked back at those pages, they didn’t just see how their team served as a cornerstone for the program. They saw how ETBU football served as a cornerstone for their lives. 

“ETBU shaped me in more ways than words can express,” Glover said. “After God got ahold of my life, it was the football team that gave me a platform to start pouring into men’s lives and call them to follow Jesus. ETBU football prepared me for life after college by teaching me a strong work ethic, giving me a love for running towards a common goal with a team of men, and enjoying the ups and downs of life.”