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Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers | |
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University | Kentucky Wesleyan College |
Conference | G-MAC (primary) |
NCAA | Division II |
Athletic director | Rob Mallory |
Location | Owensboro, Kentucky |
Varsity teams | 22 |
Football stadium | Robert "Bullet" Wilson Field at Steele Stadium |
Basketball arena | Owensboro Sports Center |
Baseball stadium | Panther Park |
Softball stadium | Foster Field |
Soccer stadium | Panther Field |
Mascot | Wesley N. Panther |
Colors | Wesleyan purple and medium gray [1] |
Website | www |
The Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers are the athletic teams that represent Kentucky Wesleyan College, located in Owensboro, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). [2]
KWU competes in 22 intercollegiate varsity sports, listed below: [3]
Men | Women | Co-ed |
---|---|---|
Baseball | Basketball | Cheerleading |
Basketball | Bowling | |
Bowling | Cross country | |
Cross country | Golf | |
Football | Soccer | |
Golf | Softball | |
Soccer | Tennis | |
Tennis | Track & field (I/O) | |
Track & field (I/O) | Volleyball | |
Wrestling |
The men's basketball team advanced to the Division II championship game six consecutive years (1998–2003), winning in 1999 and 2001. In addition to these most recent successes, they also won six other championships (1966, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1987, and 1990) and were runners-up in 1957. Overall, Kentucky Wesleyan has won eight NCAA Division II National Men's Basketball Championships, [4] which is the most by any NCAA Division II School.
Kentucky Wesleyan has an American football team, which competes in the Division II Great Midwest Athletic Conference. [5]
The Panthers primarily compete in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), as a founding member since the 2013–14 academic year. [6] The Panthers previously competed as a charter member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) from 1978–79 to 2011–12 (but was fulfilling its commitments to the final year of competition for its other sports in the GLVC as a full member for the 2012–13 school year; before beginning competition as a full G-MAC member). They also competed in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC; now currently known as the River States Conference (RSC) since the 2016–17 school year) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1916–17 to 1954–55.
Kentucky Wesleyan's athletic teams have won eighteen (18) Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) championships. The KWC softball team won as total of four GLVC Championships, three in the 1980s (1984, 1986, and 1989) and one in 1994. The KWC men's golf team won its only GLVC championship in 1983. The KWC men's basketball team has won 13 GLVC championships.
The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) is a college athletic conference whose member schools compete in men's volleyball. The conference footprint is centered in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Missouri in the west to Ohio in the east, and also extends into North Carolina and will expand into Kentucky in the spring 2026 season. Many of the conference's schools also participate in the similarly named Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association in men's volleyball at the club level.
The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its fifteen member institutions are located in the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri. There are also four associate members who participate in sports not sponsored by their home conference.
Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students.
The NCAA men's volleyball tournament, officially titled the NCAA national collegiate men's volleyball championship, is an annual competition that determines the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship in American college men's volleyball. It had been the only NCAA championship in the sport from 1970 until 2012, when the NCAA launched a Division III championship.
The Great Lakes Football Conference (GLFC) was a football-only conference that competed in NCAA Division II for six seasons. Bill Massoels, Athletic Director at St. Joseph's College, served as its commissioner, and the league was headquartered at the college in Rensselaer, Indiana. St. Joseph's was also the catalyst of a previous failed attempt to form a conference of the same name in the late 1990s.
The American Midwest Conference (AMC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with 12 member institutions located in Arkansas and Missouri in the United States.
The Missouri S&T Miners are the athletic teams that represent the Missouri University of Science and Technology, located in Rolla, Missouri, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) for most of its sports since the 2005–06 academic year; its men's swimming team competed in the New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference (NSISC) before the GLVC began to sponsor swimming as a championship sport. Men's volleyball, added in 2022–23, competes as an independent through the 2025 season, after which the GLVC will start sponsoring that sport.
The Kentucky Wesleyan College Panthers men's basketball team represents Kentucky Wesleyan College, a private college located in Owensboro, Kentucky. The Panthers compete in the NCAA Division II as a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), They have won the NCAA Division II tournament eight times, most recently in the year 2001.
The Hillsdale Chargers are the athletic teams that represent Hillsdale College, located in Hillsdale, Michigan, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Chargers are currently members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference as of 2017. The Chargers had been members of the GLIAC since 1975.
The Davenport Panthers are the athletic teams that represent Davenport University, located in Caledonia Township, Michigan, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) for most of its sports as a provisional member since the 2017–18 academic year. The Panthers previously competed in the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 2005–06 to 2016–17.
The Heartland Collegiate Conference (HCC) was an NCAA Division II athletic conference that operated from 1978 to 1990. It was formed in June 1978 as the successor to the Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC), after the ICC made up for membership losses by adding institutions from Ohio and Kentucky.
The Lewis Flyers are the athletic teams that represent Lewis University, located in Romeoville, Illinois, United States, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) for most of its sports since the 1980–81 academic year; while its men's volleyball team competes in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA). Since it is not a sponsored sport at the Division II level, the men's volleyball team is the only program that plays in Division I.
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It was named the 24th NCAA Division II conference and operates in the Great Lakes and East South Central States regions of the United States. The G-MAC began conference play in the 2012–13 academic year hosting 12 championships and continued to work through the educational assessment program. The conference received approval and became an active Division II conference in 2013–14, hosting 17 championships.
The Bellarmine Knights are the teams representing Bellarmine University, located in Louisville, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) for most sports, as of the 2020–21 academic year. The Knights previously competed in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) of the NCAA Division II ranks from 1978–79 to 2019–20.
The McKendree Bearcats are the intercollegiate athletic programs that represent McKendree University, located in Lebanon, Illinois, United States, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) as a provisional member since the 2012–13 academic year.
The Quincy Hawks are the athletic teams that represent Quincy University, located in Quincy, Illinois, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Hawks, members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) since 1994, compete in that league in all but three sports. Men's volleyball plays in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association through the 2025 season, after which the GLVC will begin sponsoring that sport. Since there is no men's volleyball at the Division II level, the men's volleyball team is the only program that plays at the Division I level. Sprint football, a weight-restricted form of American football governed outside the NCAA structure, competes in the Midwest Sprint Football League. Men's bowling is also governed outside of the NCAA ; QU competes as an independent.
The Drury Panthers are the athletic teams that represent Drury University, located in Springfield, Missouri, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Panthers compete as members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference for all 21 varsity sports. Drury has been a member of the GLVC since 2005.
The UIS Prairie Stars are the athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Springfield, located in Springfield, Illinois, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) since the 2009–10 academic year, which they became a full-fledged Division II member on Aug. 1, 2010. The Prairie Stars previously competed in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 2003–04 to 2008–09.
The Kentucky State Thorobreds and Thorobrettes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kentucky State University, located in Frankfort, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Thorobreds and Thorobrettes are members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), which they have competed since the 1997–98 academic year. Kentucky State previously competed in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) from 1989–90 to 1993–94. KSU's main rivals are Tennessee State University, West Virginia State University, and Central State University.