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Khalen Saunders
Kansas City Chiefs (Steve Sanders)

Saunders, Chiefs Win Super Bowl LIV

Khalen Saunders will hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy as the Super Bowl LIV champion.

MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois University football program now lays claim to 18 Super Bowl rings, after Khalen Saunders added his name to the list Sunday night (February 2).

The Kansas City Chiefs picked the WIU graduate 84th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, and his rookie season ended in a 31-21 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Saunders finished the game with a solo tackle, while his offense cemented the come-from-behind win with 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. 

The 2019 season brought in a pair of national championships for the Leathernecks, where they were the lone Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) school to win the Grey Cup and the Super Bowl.

The Canadian Football League (CFL) title game pit former WIU teammates Sean McGuire (Winnipeg Blue Bombers) and Jaelon Acklin (Hamilton Tiger-Cats) against each other in the 107th Grey Cup final, and the trophy went to McGuire's Blue Bombers.

Randy Ball, Western's all-time winningest football coach, is also a member of the Chief's personnel, serving as its pro scouting assistant in a position held since 2013. 

Leatherneck Super Bowl Champions (former players)

Cyron Brown | Denver Broncos
Frank Winters | Green Bay Packers
Don Beebe | Green Bay Packers
Khalen Saunders | Kansas City Chiefs
Bryan Cox | New England Patriots
Rodney Harrison | New England Patriots (x2)
Rich Seubert | New York Giants
Mike Wagner | Pittsburgh Steelers (x4)
Aaron Stecker | Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Western Illinois has won 18 Super Bowl Championships between alum and former coaches.




 
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