Western Michigan Broncos football

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The Western Michigan University Broncos compete in Division I-A and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Broncos have competed in football since 1906, when they played three games that season. In 1927, WMU joined four other schools (Central Michigan University, Eastern Michigan University, Ferris State University, Wayne State University) to form the Michigan Collegiate Conference. Western Michigan then moved to its present conference in 1946.

The Broncos have had 14 coaches in their history, with the current head coach, Bill Cubit, taking the job in 2005. WMU had a huge turnaround in Cubit's first season, going from 1-10 in 2004 to 7-4 in 2005. The 54.5% increase marked the highest in Division I-A between the two seasons and garnered Cubit the 2005 MAC Coach of the Year Award. Cubit was also the only first-year Division I-A head coach to take their team to a negative point differential in 2004 to a positive one the following year (-188 to +12). WMU was also one of eight football teams that was bowl eligible but did not go to a bowl game.

WMU's main rival is the Central Michigan University Chippewas. The Broncos own a 43-32-2 advantage in the series, winning 5 of the last 6 games. In 2002, Western Michigan won the rivalry game at Central Michigan for the first time since 1973, snapping a 12 game winless streak (0-11-1).

Western Michigan University announced on November 28, 2006 that they have accepted a bid from the inaugural International Bowl to be played on January 6, 2007 in Toronto, Canada.

1 History
2 Coaching staff
3 Media
4 Stadium
5 All-Time Win-Loss Record (through 2005)
6 Conference Championships
- 6.1 Michigan Collegiate Conference
- 6.2 Mid-American Conference
  - 6.2.1 MAC West Division
7 Bowl games
8 Trophy games
9 Current NFL Players
10 External links
11 References

[edit] History

[edit] Early dominance (1906-47)

From the Broncos, initially known as the Hilltoppers's, first season of football in 1906 until they joined the MAC in 1949, WMU compiled a 187-87-12 (.675) record, going undefeated 6 times (1909, 1913, 1914, 1922, 1932, 1941). During that stretch, Western Michigan had only 7 losing seasons, and only once had back-to-back losing records. The highlight of this era may have been 1922 when the team finished 6-0 while outscoring their opponents 160-0.

The early dominance of the Hilltoppers was led by quarterback Walt Olsen and running back Scott Dunlap. In 1916, Olsen led the country in scoring with 17 touchdowns and 36 extra points. Olsen set a school-record with 8 TDs in a single game that season. Dunlap also set a team-record with 19 TDs. The only loss in 1916 was to Notre Dame when George Gipp completed a 62 yard drop kick, the longest in football history.

In 1939, WMU began playing at Waldo Stadium. Coinciding with the new stadium, the Hilltoppers changed their name to the Broncos, to avoid confusion with Western Kentucky University and Marquette University.

[edit] Struggling in the MAC (1948-86)

Western Michigan joined the MAC in 1948. At that time, the MAC consisted of Miami University, Ohio University, University of Cincinnati and Western Reserve. The Broncos won their first conference game 26-0 over Western Reserve and finished with a 6-3 record, good for second place. However, WMU would finish second or higher only 4 times in the next 39 years, compiling a 102-141-8 (.422) conference record in that stretch.

In 1961, Western Michigan finished second in the MAC with a 4-1-1 record, one-half game behind Bowling Green State University. Despite the second place finish, WMU was invited to the Aviation Bowl in Dayton, OH. In freezing rain and snow, the Broncos lost to University of New Mexico 28-12.

1966 saw a 7-3 season and WMU's first MAC football championship, which it shared with Miami. That season, tackle Bob Rowe won his second MAC Lineman of the Year Award. Rowe would go on to a 10 year National Football League career.

[edit] The Golden Years: The Molde era (1987-96)

In December 1986, Al Molde was hired to replace Jack Harbaugh. Molde had spent the previous four seasons as head coach at Eastern Illinois University where he led the Panthers to two playoff appearances (1983 and 1986) and a top 5 national ranking in 1986 (his 1986 squad was led by quarterback Sean Payton, current head coach of the NFL's New Orleans Saints).

The hiring paid immediate dividends, as Molde's first WMU squad finished the 1987 season 4-4 in the MAC (5-6 overall) and was much more competitive than recent WMU squads had been. Molde's first notable win came in the MAC opener, a 34-27 win at Bowling Green State University which was only two seasons removed from an 11-1 season.

In only his second year, Molde orchestrated the single greatest season in WMU history, leading the Broncos to a postseason bowl game for the first time since 1961. The 1988 season began with five consecutive dominating wins over the University of Wisconsin, the University of Toledo, Illinois State University, Bowling Green and Miami University by a cumulative score of 177-65. The win over Wisconsin in Madison was WMU's first ever over a Big Ten team. After a midseason home loss to pre-season MAC favorite Kent State University, WMU found itself with little margin for error during the season's home stretch as they faced in-state rivals Eastern Michigan University and Central Michigan University in back-to-back contests. In the 31-24 win over EMU, the Bronco defense managed a goal line stand, stopping EMU on the 1 yard line on the last play of the game, to preserve the win. The following week against CMU, a then-record crowd of more than 32,000 jammed Waldo Stadium to see WMU rout the rival Chippewas 42-24, which stopped an 11 game winless streak in the heated rivalry dating back to 1976. That win set up a winner-take-all showdown in Muncie against Ball State University the following week. The winner would claim the outright MAC title and a birth in the California Bowl to face Big West champion Fresno State University. The game was played in soggy conditions and was a defensive struggle. Three field goals by John Creek along with an opportunistic defense carried WMU to the 16-13 win, locking up the school's first, and only, outright MAC football championship. In the locker room after the game, Molde credited his players, coaches and the Kalamazoo community for playing a part in helping to turn one of the MAC's worst programs into a champion in two short seasons. With the MAC title in hand, WMU played two more meaningless regular season games (losing at Northern Illinois University and winning the home finale against Ohio University) before heading to California for the bowl game.

On December 10, 1988, WMU faced Fresno State in the California Bowl (the game was played at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, which provided a huge home field advantage for Jim Sweeney's team). The Broncos entered as significant underdogs, and after falling behind 14-0 early. it appeared that WMU was outgunned. However, WMU reeled off 17 straight points to take a 17-14 lead at halftime and the game remained close throughout as Fresno State held on for a 35-30 win. WMU wrapped up the 1988 season at 9-3, and the 1988 team remains the only outright MAC champion in WMU history. Several members of the 1988 team went on to play professionally at some level, including quarterback Tony Kimbrough, offensive lineman Kevin Haverdink, defensive lineman Joel Smeenge, wide receiver Robert Oliver and running back Robert Davis.

Graduation losses hit the 1989 team hard, and the team was one of the youngest in the MAC. WMU set an NCAA record with four losses by a single point (to Eastern Michigan, Ball State, Toledo and Bowling Green), and finished the 1989 season at 3-5 in the MAC and 5-6 overall.

The 1990 team bounced back to post a solid 7-4 campaign (5-3 in the MAC), and paved the way for a series of winning seasons in years to come. The 1991 and 1992 teams finished 6-5 and 7-3-1 respectively, setting the stage for two of the best teams Molde produced during his tenure.

The 1993 season started off with a humiliating home loss to I-AA Youngstown State University. It was followed by a tough road loss to Purdue University, which left WMU at 0-2 and facing the prospect of a long season. However, the Broncos righted the ship and reeled off wins in 7 in their last 9 games (with one tie) to finish the year at 7-3-1 (6-1-1 in the MAC). Following the 1993 loss to Purdue, WMU embarked on its most successful run during the Molde era. In its next 14 games, a stretch that covered the remainder of the 1993 season and the first half of 1994, WMU posted a 12-1-1 mark and firmly established itself as one of the MAC's best programs. Due to a quirk in the MAC schedule, WMU and Ball State did not play head-to-head in 1993 which denied Molde's Broncos the chance to earn a second outright MAC title. Instead, Ball State, which finished 7-0-1 in the conference, won the title and received the subsequent automatic birth in the Las Vegas Bowl. Following his team's 14-14 tie with WMU, then-Bowling Green head coach Gary Blackney (who's team had played both WMU and Ball State during the season), remarked, "Western Michigan is by far the best team we've played in the conference."

With nearly all of the starters returning from the 1993 team, the 1994 Broncos entered the season as MAC favorites. Early on, they did nothing to disappoint as they raced to a 5-0 mark with wins over Miami, Western Illinois University, Iowa State University, the University of Akron and Kent State University. In October, WMU traveled to Mt Pleasant to face arch nemesis Central Michigan. This game was a turning point for the WMU program, and many believe that this game was the first step in what turned out to be a controversial ending to the Molde era a few years later. WMU jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but CMU fought back and eventually held off the Broncos in a 35-28 win. The loss crushed WMU's momentum, as they had been knocking on the door of the Top 25 national rankings, and highlighted the one glaring weakness on Molde's resume. This loss dropped his record vs. CMU to 2-6, and he would end his career 3-7 vs. CMU. The following week, WMU's hopes of a MAC title ended with a 16-13 loss to Ball State. Around this time, team chemistry problems became public, providing a distraction to the team and putting additional stress on the already lukewarm relationship between Molde and WMU's administration , most notably then-WMU president Diether Haenicke. WMU finished up the 1994 season a disappointing 7-4 (5-3 in the MAC).

The 1995 season provided a fresh start after many of the disgruntled players from the 1994 team were kicked off the team or graduated. Following a 1-3 start, WMU rebounded to win 6 of its last 7 games, with the lone loss at #16 Auburn University. The seson was highlighted by a 48-31 demolition of CMU. Following the 1995 season, Molde was promised a contract extension by the WMU administration. By this point, Molde was working for his 4th different athletic director since coming to WMU.

Molde entered the 1996 campaign with an overall record of 60-38-2 but still no contract extension. After a loss to a nationally-ranked University of Wyoming team (led by current Purdue head coach Joe Tiller) dropped the young WMU team to 0-7, the WMU administration announced that Molde's contract would not be renewed following the season. The announcement ignited a controversy among many Bronco fans who were unhappy with the way Molde was treated by WMU, particularly Haenicke who was ultimately responsible for making the decision. The Broncos closed out the season with back-to-back wins over Bowling Green and Kent State (with the players making a statement against Kent State by winning 76-27) to finish 2-9 (2-6 in the MAC).

Molde finished his WMU career with an overall mark of 62-47-2, having won WMU's only outright MAC title and finishing in the top 4 in the MAC in 6 of his 10 seasons. At the time of his departure, he was among the top 10 in wins for active NCAA I-A coaches with nearly 200. Molde remains WMU's all-time leader in wins, tied with Bill Doolittle.

[edit] Up and down under Darnell (1997-2004)

[edit] Coaching staff

Bill Cubit (Head Coach)
- Coaching Experience (through 2005): 30 seasons
- Career WMU Head Coaching Record (2005): 7-4
- Career MAC Head Coaching Record (2005): 5-3
- Career Division I-A Head Coaching Record (2005): 7-4
George McDonald (Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach)
Scott Shafer (Defensive Coordinator)
Tim Daoust (Defensive Line Coach)
Tim Lester (Quarterbacks Coach)
Jake Moreland (Tight Ends Coach)
Steve Morrison (Linebackers Coach)
Mike Sullivan (Offensive Line Coach)
Chris Tabor (Running Backs/Special Teams Coach)
Clayton White (Secondary Coach)
Tim Knox (Director of Football Operations)
Joe Adam (Defensive Graduate Assistant)
A.J. Ricker (Offensive Graduate Assistant)

[edit] Media

Live coverage of Western Michigan University athletics are covered mostly by Bronco Insider through the schools athletics website http://www.wmubroncos.com or occasionally on http://www.mac-sports.com the MAC official website. Video is provided online for most WMU home football, basketball (men's and women's), baseball and hockey games, as well as some away games.

The Bronco Radio Network (BRN) covers football, hockey and men's and women's basketball on the following affiliates. In addition to video, the BRN radio feed is also available through the Bronco Insider service offered by WMU athletics.

96.5 FM WFAT Kalamazoo (flagship station, football and men's basketball)
100.9 FM WQXC Kalamazoo (flagship station, hockey, women's basketball)
92.3 FM WZUU Allegan (football, men's basketball)
104.9 FM WRCC Battle Creek (football, men's basketball)
1590 AM WTVB Coldwater (football, basketball, hockey)
1230 AM WTKG Grand Rapids (football, men's basketball)
100.1 FM WBCH Hastings (football, men's basketball)
1220 AM WBCH Hastings (football, men's basketball)

ESPN also offers coverage of some MAC football and basketball games, as well as Comcast Local which is a regional network available to Comcast cable subscribers in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio which is where most MAC schools are located.

Print media coverage is offered by the Kalamazoo Gazette and Grand Rapids Press, as well as the school's daily newspaper and mlive.com.