History of the Broncos
The Western Michigan Broncos are a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I program that represents Western Michigan University (WMU) in college athletics. They compete in the Mid-American Conference in men's baseball, basketball, football (within the Football Bowl Subdivision), soccer, and tennis, and women's basketball, cross-country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball. The men's ice hockey team competes in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. The Broncos also have a flight team, the SkyBroncos, who has won the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) National Championship award five times.
The Broncos have won two NCAA national championships. The men's cross country team won the NCAA title in 1964 and 1965. WMU finished as national runners-up in 1955 for baseball and 1958 for men's cross country.
College Sports Established
1903
Location
Kalamazoo, Michigan
College Name
Western Michigan University
Collegiate History
1973 - Present / NCAA Division I
1947 - 1973 / University Division of the NCAA
Conference History
1947 - Present / MAC Conference
Nickname
Broncos - WMU athletic teams were once known as the Hilltoppers, a reference to the school's location on top of Prospect Hill, but changed their nickname in 1939 to the Broncos to avoid confusion with teams of other schools such as the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. John Gill, an assistant coach on the football team who later served as head coach, coined the new athletic nickname after approval for the name change was granted by the school's athletic board. In 2011, WMU commissioned artist Revere La Noue to create a 6,500-square-foot building wrap representing the Broncos for the 2011 ArtPrize competition. WMU president John Dunn has said that the work, "Epic Broncos", captures the "history and pride of being a Bronco."
NCAA Championships
Baseball 0
Men's Basketball 0
Women's Basketball 0
Football 0
Soccer 0
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