Western Washington Vikings

Western Washington Vikings
University Western Washington University
Conference Great Northwest Athletic Conference
Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference (rowing only)
NCAA Division II
Athletic director Steve Card
Location Bellingham, Washington
Varsity teams 15
Basketball arena Sam Carver Gymnasium
Baseball stadium Viking Field
Mascot Victor E. Viking
Nickname Vikings
Colors Navy Blue, White, Slate Blue, and Silver[1]
                   
Website www.wwuvikings.com

The Western Washington Vikings represent Western Washington University in intercollegiate sports in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference of the NCAA Division II with the exception of the women's rowing team which is a member of the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference. WWU has been an official member of NCAA Division II since September 1998.

Western Washington sponsors six sports for men and nine sports for women with approximately 350 student athletes.

Student athletes

The 2010 NCAA graduation rate study showed that 69 percent of Western student-athletes receive their degrees in six years or less based on the Federal Graduation Rate formula, a rate the same as that of the full student body. This is 13 percentage points higher than the average for NCAA Division II schools nationally and 15 points higher than the average for the nine U.S. schools in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Using the NCAA Academic Success Rate, which includes all freshman student-athletes from the fall of 2003 and also accounts for student-athletes who transfer into or out of the institution, Western posted an 85 percent success rate, compared to the NCAA II national number of 73 percent. The average ASR of the nine U.S. GNAC schools was 77 percent.

Sports

Varsity Teams

National championships

Western Washington University is credited with 11 official team National Championship. 1 at the NAIA level and 10 NCAA Championships.

Association Division Sport Year Opponent/Runner-Up Score
NAIA Division 1 Softball 1998 Simon Fraser 5-1
NCAA Division II Women's Rowing[2] 2005 Mercyhurst 20–12
2006 Barry 20–15
2007 UC San Diego 20–15
2008 UC San Diego 20–15
2009 Mercyhurst 18–13
2010 Seattle Pacific 20–11
2011 Mercyhurst 20–13
Men's Basketball 2012 Montevallo 72-65
Women's Soccer 2016 Grand Valley State 3-2
Women's Rowing 2017 Central Oklahoma 17-16

Additionally, Western's club sports have won the following championships:

Sport Division Year
Road Cycling Division II 2007
CycloCross Division II 2007
CycloCross Division II 2009
Women's Handball Division II 2014
Water Skiing Division II 2015

Individual teams

Basketball

WWU won the 2011-12 NCAA Division II men’s basketball national championship, just the second collegiate crown in that sport in state of Washington history and the first since 1976. WWU reached the national semifinals in men's basketball in 2001 and women's basketball in 2000. WWU ranks among the top 15 in women’s basketball victories among all four-year schools with that program making 12 NCAA tournament appearances in 13 years.

Wade King Student Recreation Center

Others

In 2010-11, WWU placed seventh among 310 NCAA Division II schools in the Sports Director’s Cup national all-sports standings, the second-highest finish in school history. The Vikings were sixth in 2009-10 and 10th in 2008-09. WWU has had eight straight Top 50 finishes and been among the Top 100 in each of its first 13 seasons as a NCAA II member. In 2010-11, Western won its third straight and seventh overall Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Sports championship, taking league titles in volleyball, men’s golf and women’s golf, and the regular-season crown in women’s basketball. The Vikings, who won the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference championship, placed second in men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s outdoor track, men’s indoor track and softball.

Other accomplishments include:

Sport clubs teams

  • Baseball
  • Men’s Crew
  • Climbing
  • Cycling
  • Equestrian
  • Fencing
  • Figure Skating
  • Ice Hockey
  • Judo
  • Men’s Lacrosse
  • Women’s Lacrosse
  • Men’s Rugby
  • Women’s Rugby
  • Sailing
  • Swimming
  • Tennis
  • Men’s Ultimate
  • Women’s Ultimate
  • Men's Volleyball
  • Women’s Volleyball
  • Men’s Water Polo
  • Women’s Water Polo
  • Water Skiing
  • Wrestling

References

  1. Western Washington University Logo Sheet (PDF). Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  2. "Division II Rowing Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
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