History of the Broncos

The Western Michigan Broncos have a long and storied history of excellence in NCAA sports. From their humble beginnings as an independent school to their current status as a member of the Mid-American Conference, the Broncos have consistently been one of college athletics' most competitive teams.

In 1946, Western Michigan joined the MAC and began competing in football for the first time since 1921. Since then, they've appeared in 10 bowl games, including four Cotton Bowls (1951 & 1952) and two Holiday Bowls (1986 & 1988). The program has also seen great success on both sides of the ball with numerous All-Americans over its history, such as wide receiver Greg Jennings who won Super Bowl XLV with Green Bay Packers after being drafted by them out of WMU's 2006 draft class which included three players taken within first round alone!

The men’s basketball team had made 11 appearances at March Madness dating back to 1974 when they were led by legendary coach Don Boven who was inducted into National Collegiate Basketball Hall Fame 2018 after leading his squad all way Final Four 1975 season! They also reached Sweet Sixteen 1984 before making it Elite Eight 1999 under head coach Bob Donewald Jr. Additionally, the baseball program had notable success during the mid-2000s winning regular season conference titles in 2004 and 2005 2008, while the softball team captured five straight tournament championships, from 2003 through 2007, becoming the only school ever to do so in that span period!

Other Bronco sports programs include women’s soccer, volleyball, cross country/track field, hockey, tennis, golf, lacrosse, swimming, diving, rowing equestrian triathlon, water polo, rugby, ultimate frisbee, archery, air rifle shooting, bowling, cricket curling disc golf, ice hockey paintball, racquetball, sand volleyball, ski, snowboard surfing wakeboarding wrestling, etc. With so many opportunities for athletes to compete and excel academically and athletically, there is no better place than WMU to be a collegiate experience like no other, where students can genuinely become champions in life beyond just playing field courts and stadiums around campus or worldwide!