The 2014 sports world featured plenty of highs and lows on the field and off.

Western Kentucky University continued its athletic transition. Bowling Green High School saw one streak end, while another BGHS program soared to the top of the mountain.

Several coaches left, while a legendary coach passed away.

And one of the area’s most notable golfers walked away from the PGA, on his terms.

Here is a look at the top 10 sports stories of the year, as voted by the Daily News staff.

1. Penny Reece removed as Greenwood softball coach

Longtime softball coach Penny Reece saw her tenure come to an abrupt end, removed in November because of a “negative atmosphere” around the program.

Reece was suspended May 16 for unspecified reasons. The Lady Gators competed in the postseason with interim coach Laura Smith.

Reece was reinstated June 23 before becoming involved in a lawsuit filed by former pitcher Elizabeth Moss, a 2014 graduate, in September.

The suit alleges Reece “breached her duty … by failing to exercise reasonable care in following the medical advice and restrictions” after Moss suffered a back injury.

Reece had been Greenwood’s coach since the program’s inception in 1995. With 607 wins, she is the second-winningest high school softball coach in Kentucky.

The Lady Gators have won three state championships, including in 2013 – the first undefeated season in KHSAA fast-pitch softball history.

No replacement has been announced.

2. WKU joins Conference USA

On July 1, WKU’s era in the Sun Belt Conference officially came to an end and a new era in Conference USA began.

“I really am thrilled,” WKU athletic director Todd Stewart said at the time. “Thrilled for our student-athletes, our coaches, our administration, our university and the Bowling Green community, because I really feel that going into Conference USA is a transformational moment that will elevate all of us – and all of our programs.”

WKU enjoyed immediate success – the volleyball team won the Conference USA Tournament in November and WKU football earned the second bowl bid in school history.

3. Bowling Green football’s win streak snapped

With one 80-yard drive, the Purples’ 48-game win streak – spanning three-plus seasons – ended with a 21-20 loss to McCallie School (Tenn.) in September.

McCallie marched 80 yards in the final 2:15 to squeak past the Purples and deny BG a chance to match or surpass Trinity’s state record of 50 straight wins.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had to come in after a loss,” Bowling Green coach Kevin Wallace told the Daily News after the defeat. “There’s an awful lot of disappointed people in this building. I think my perspective is that they don’t give rings for a streak. They weren’t giving a ring out for this game tonight. “

The Purples would go on to win in the regular season and win the first two playoff games. The quest for a fourth straight Class 5A championship ended when Bowling Green lost to Graves County 7-0 in the regional finals.

4. Bobby Petrino leaves WKU for Louisville; offensive coordinator Jeff Brohm takes over

Bobby Petrino’s tenure at Western Kentucky proved to be brief, when he left WKU after one season to return for a second stint as head coach at the University of Louisville.

Petrino agreed to a seven-year deal, getting paid $3.5 million annually. He called Louisville his destination job.

“I’m not sure how many people have the opportunity to start their career and come back and finish it (in the same place),” Petrino said in January. “Emotionally, I’m tied to doing that, and contractually, I’m tied to doing that.”

In Petrino’s first year back at UofL, the school’s first year in the ACC, the Cardinals finished 9-4 after losing to Georgia in the Belk Bowl. Then-WKU offensive coordinator Jeff Brohm became the Hilltoppers’ new head coach and led WKU to an 8-5 record.

5. WKU football wins final four regular-season games, Bahamas Bowl

It looked like it would be a lost season in Brohm’s first year after the Hilltoppers started 3-5 through eight games.

Then things took a turn for the dramatic.

WKU won its final four games, capped by a 67-66 overtime win at then-unbeaten Marshall, to earn in a spot in the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.

There WKU met Central Michigan, in a rematch of the 2012 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.

The Hilltoppers built a 49-14 lead before CMU rallied for 34 points in the final quarter – including a 75-yard touchdown on the final play. A failed two-point conversion was all that stood between WKU and the largest bowl comeback in FBS history.

Despite the sour ending, there was still plenty to celebrate – including the fourth straight seven-win season.

“Certainly there were some major growing pains going through the process,” Stewart said told the Daily News before the Bahamas Bowl. “But I think we did it the right way. Even through the coaching changes, we’ve always had high-character kids. What’s happened now, because we’ve won four straight years, I really believe we have a winning culture. I think that’s part of what pulled us through when we were 3-5, is that this group is so used to winning.”

6. Kenny Perry says goodbye to PGA Tour at Valhalla

Perry earned a top-30 finish in the PGA Championship in Louisville in August in what the Franklin native acknowledged was likely the final PGA major of his career.

“I’m glad,” Perry said of the door closing on his PGA Tour career. “I’m ready for it to. Thirty years of trying to make 3-footers, I’m ready to do something else. It’s been great. I had my time and my chance and my opportunities, and it was awesome. I enjoyed every bit of the ride.”

While Perry’s PGA career ended, he will continue to play on the Champions Tour senior circuit, where he’s made more than $5.5 million with seven wins and 35 top-10 finishes.

7. Bowling Green boys’ win second state soccer title

The Purples became the eighth school to win multiple titles and remained the only school outside Louisville and Lexington with a state soccer title when they rallied for a 6-4 win over Scott in the championship game.

Bowling Green rallied from a 3-1 deficit, led by MVP Exodus Bargblor’s three goals, in the highest-scoring state final in history.

For coach Craig Widener, this title was a little different from the first one in 2006.

“This one I will enjoy,” Widener said. “The first one, I was a second-year head coach and I had no idea what to expect. This one we will savor and enjoy and enjoy the accolades that come with it. These players earned it. I wish I could take a little bit of credit, but I really can’t. They make everything happen.”

8. Jimmy Feix dies

WKU’s legendary football coached died at age 83 in October, remembered as a pillar of the community and known for molding lives.

Feix took over the WKU program in 1968. His teams won 106 games in 16 seasons – a 64.9 winning percentage. The Tops won conference titles in 1970, ‘71, ‘73, ‘75, ‘78 and ‘80.

When Feix’s coaching tenure ended in 1983, he and his wife, Frankie, didn’t leave Bowling Green. Instead, the Feix family remained close to the program that had become their own.

In 1986, after two years in the office of alumni relations, he became WKU’s athletic director and in 1991 was elected to the school’s first athletic hall of fame. Week after week in the spring and the fall, he found a seat or a bench or a cart to post up on to watch his beloved Hilltoppers practice on Feix Field – named in his honor in 1991.

“I just have great respect and love for him,” former WKU coach Jack Harbaugh told the Daily News in October. “To me, he’s one of the great throwbacks in our coaching profession. He was a fantastic father and husband, he loved his players, he respected his players.”

9. Jason Stonebraker resigns

Two days before the Greenwood boys’ basketball team began postseason play, head coach Jason Stonebraker resigned amid an investigation of allegations of inappropriate electronic communication with an 18-year-old GHS student.

Stonebraker was in his fourth season at the helm. Greenwood went 58-59 under the direction of the former Bowling Green High School player and Western Kentucky University walk-on, including a 20-win campaign in 2011-12 and a Region 4 Tournament berth in 2012-13.

The Gators would lose to Bowling Green 63-37 two days later with interim coach Logan Guess. Jordan Carter was eventually named as Stonebraker’s successor.

A police investigation against Stonebraker was concluded in April. No charges were filed.

10. Nacarius Fant wins Mr. Football

Fant made history when he won Mr. Football, becoming the first Bowling Green player to win and joining Warren Central’s Damon Hood as only the second player in the area to win the award.

“You have 90-plus years of football at Bowling Green, and obviously being one of the more successful programs in the state over the course of the last 30 years, to be able to have your first Mr. Football is certainly something that all of us in our school system were hoping for,” Wallace told the Daily News in January. “I certainly felt Nacarius was deserving. He’s been an integral part of one of the most successful runs in the history of Kentucky football.”

Other stories receiving votes

WKU women’s basketball team makes NCAA tournament in coach Michelle Clark-Heard’s second season.

KHSAA announces Girls’ Sweet 16 basketball tournament will leave E.A. Diddle Arena after 2015, while Region 4 boys’ and girls’ basketball tournaments leave Diddle Arena for one season in 2014.

Prep football districts realigned – South Warren, Warren East and Warren Central play in same Class 4A district beginning this year.

WKU eliminates men’s tennis program.

Franklin-Simpson graduate Joe Blanton retires from Major League Baseball.

Bowling Green Hot Rods suffer franchise-record 13-game losing streak during down campaign.

WKU volleyball team wins Conference USA title, reaches NCAA tournament.

South Warren volleyball, baseball teams win region championships.

— Follow prep sports reporter Micheal Compton on Twitter at twitter.com/mcompton428