Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, and Owensboro. The main campus, which has been undergoing expansion and renovation since the 1990s, sits atop a hill overlooking the Barren River valley.
Darrin McKinley Horn is an American college basketball head coach at Northern Kentucky, having previously served as an assistant coach at the University of Texas and a head coach for the Division I (NCAA) programs at Western Kentucky University and at the University of South Carolina.
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football program is a college football team that represents Western Kentucky University. The team competes at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level and represents the university as a member of Conference USA in the Eastern division. The 2002 team was the FCS national champion. The program has 13 conference championships and 6 FBS-level bowl game victories. The Hilltoppers play their home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky and the team's head football coach is Tyson Helton.
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers are the athletic teams that represent Western Kentucky University (WKU), located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, competing in the Conference USA (C-USA) since the 2014–15 academic year. The Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers previously competed in the Sun Belt Conference from 1982–83 to 2013–14; and in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) from 1948–49 to 1981–82.
John Oldham was an American college and professional basketball player, college basketball coach and athletic director. Oldham interrupted his studies at Western Kentucky University (WKU) to serve in the US Navy during World War II. He was on the university's basketball team and after graduation in 1949 played for the Fort Wayne Pistons. Oldham went into coaching in 1952 at College High School in Bowling Green, Kentucky. In 1955 he became coach of the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men's basketball and led the team to three conference championships. He returned to WKU in 1964 to coach the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team, leading them to four NCAA tournaments, one NIT, and winning four Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) championships. In 1971 Oldham was promoted to athletic director at WKU, a position he held until 1986. During his tenure the university won six OVC and one Sun Belt Conference All-Sports Championship. After retirement he was elected to the Bowling Green City Commission.
Filip Mihaljević is a Croatian discus thrower and shot putter. He became European champion in shot put in 2022. He also won bronze medals at the 2016 World Indoor Championships and 2021 European Indoor Championships.
The 2015 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University (WKU) in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season as members of the East Division of Conference USA. Led by second year head coach Jeff Brohm, they played their home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They finished the season 12–2, 8–0 in C-USA play to be champions of the East Division. They represented the East Division in the Conference USA Football Championship Game where they defeated Southern Miss to win their first ever C-USA championship. They were invited to the Miami Beach Bowl where they defeated South Florida. They led the NCAA in Passing Efficiency, tied the school record for victories and were also ranked in the FBS AP Top 25 for the first time in program history.
The Hilltopper Sports Network is the regional sports radio network for the Western Kentucky University's Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers. Headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the network provides coverage of WKU's athletic teams football, men's and women's basketball. Some select affiliates also clears WKU Men's Baseball games. The network boasts the second-largest radio network in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, behind only their main competitor, the UK IMG Sports Network.
Shelbi JoDae Vaughan is an American track and field athlete whose specialty is the discus throw.
DeAnna Marie Price is an American track and field athlete competing primarily in the hammer throw. Price's personal best in the hammer is 80.31 m (263 ft 5 in), the American record, set at the 2021 US Olympic trials. The throw ranked her as the #2 women's thrower in history.
Darrell Hill is an American track and field athlete known for the shot put. On July 1, 2016, at the 2016 Olympic Trials, Hill threw a new personal best of 21.63 m to finish third and qualify for the 2016 Olympics. His previous personal best of 21.16m was set just two weeks earlier at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California.
Andrew Evans is an American track and field athlete who competes in the discus throw.
Itohan Aikhionbare is a Belize-American athlete who competes in Shot put and Discus throw.
Maggie Ewen is an American shot putter. Maggie Ewen earned bronze medal when she threw the discus 59.00 m in Toronto at 2018 NACAC Championships, placed fourth in the shot put at 2019 World Athletics Championships and competed in the women's hammer throw at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics. Ewen set collegiate outdoor records in shot put and hammer.
The 2017–18 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by head coach Rick Stansbury in his second season and played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky as fourth-year members of Conference USA.
Janeah Stewart is a student-athlete on the University of Mississippi women's track and field team. The four event thrower from Illinois, was awarded All-American status her first three years of college. Janeah Stewart's winning weight throw of 23.18m/76-0.75 broke the SEC meet record that had stood since 2004 and moved her up to No. 1 in the nation this year and No. 6 in NCAA history.
Chase Foster Ealey is an American track and field athlete specializing in throwing events. She won the gold medal at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in women’s shot put, which made her the first American woman to win a shot put world title at the World Athletics Championships. She won on the first attempt which, according to Olympic historian Bill Mallon, made her the first woman’s shot put world champion to win on the first attempt.
Jasmine Moore is an American athlete. In 2022, she became the first American woman to qualify for the World Athletics Championships in both the long jump and the triple jump.
United States 
