At the end of Whelan's first season as Chairman, Wigan Athletic finished in 14th position in the old Third Division, the 84th rung of the 92-club English Football League ladder. Whelan and Wigan Athletic made headlines in summer 1995 when Whelan's business connections in Spain helped him attract three Spaniards to the club – Roberto Martínez, Isidro Diaz, and Jesus Seba – who became known as 'The Three Amigos'.[9] Martinez and Diaz would later become the first Spaniards to play in the FA Cup, and the trio became the on-pitch symbols of Whelan's ambitious plans.
In the summer of 2001, highly regarded young manager and former Latics forward Paul Jewell took over as manager following an unsuccessful spell at Sheffield Wednesday. His first season in charge saw mixed results and an embarrassing defeat to non-league Canvey Island in the FA Cup first round, although the club eventually finished in mid-table. Jewell's second season in charge was far more successful. Wigan Athletic went on a run to the quarter finals of the League Cup, beating Premier League opponents West Brom, Manchester City and Fulham en route. Wigan Athletic won the Division Two championship in 2002–03 with a points total of 100, powered by the goals of then-record £1.2 million signing Nathan Ellington, with a run of 10 consecutive wins along the way. The club lost only four times all season, and Wigan Athletic secured promotion to the second tier of the English Football League for the first time in their history.
After losing their first ever game in Division One, Wigan Athletic confounded expectations to go unbeaten for the next 17 games and sit atop the division by November 2003. A weak finish saw Wigan Athletic win only three of their last 10 games to finish seventh in Division One – a last minute goal by West Ham's Brian Deane in the final game of the season saw the Latics drop out of the play-off places in favour of eventual play-off winners Crystal Palace.
Hoping to build on the previous season's disappointing finish, the Latics went one better than 2003/04 by remain unbeaten for the first 17 games of the 2004/05 season. Along with Sunderland and Ipswich, the Latics remained in the promotion hunt all season. By the last day of the season, Sunderland had already won the title and Wigan Athletic needed at least a draw against Reading – who themselves needed to win to finish in the last play-off spot – to beat Ipswich to automatic promotion. A 3–1 victory in front of their home fans at the JJB Stadium earned Wigan Athletic promotion to the top division of the English football league system for the first time in their 73-year history.
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