The 2002 Western Carolina Catamounts team represented Western Carolina University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) in the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Catamounts were led by first-year head coach head coach Kent Briggs and played their home games at Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium in Cullowhee, North Carolina. Western Carolina compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, tying for fifth place in the SoCon.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31		at Liberty*	Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA		W 23–3	8,375
September 7	5:00 p.m.	at Auburn*	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	PPV	L 0–56	80,067
September 14		West Virginia Tech*	Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC		W 47–3	5,121
September 22		at The Citadel	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC		W 37–34	14,105
September 28		East Tennessee State	Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC		L 7–27	8,121
October 5		at No. 5 Furman	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC		L 23–24	13,125	[1]
October 12		No. 16 Georgia Southern	Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC		L 24–41	7,749
October 19		at Wofford	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC		L 24–31	8,182
October 26		Chattanooga	Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC		W 45–28	7,021
November 2		at VMI	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA		W 35–23	5,820
November 9		No. 8 Appalachian State	Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC (Battle for the Old Mountain Jug)		L 14–24	10,321	[2]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

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