Western Michigan Broncos | |
---|---|
2024 Western Michigan Broncos baseball team | |
Founded | 1911 |
University | Western Michigan University |
Head coach | Billy Gernon (14th season) |
Conference | Mid–American |
Location | Kalamazoo, Michigan |
Home stadium | Hyames Field |
Nickname | Broncos |
Colors | Brown and gold [1] |
College World Series runner-up | |
1955 | |
College World Series appearances | |
1952, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1963 | |
NCAA Tournament appearances | |
1952, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1989, 2016, 2024 | |
Conference tournament champions | |
2016, 2024 | |
Regular season conference champions | |
1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1989 |
The Western Michigan Broncos baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. [2] The team competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I as a member of the Mid-American Conference West division. The team plays its home games at Hyames Field in Kalamazoo. The Broncos are coached by Billy Gernon, who began his tenure in 2011.
Western Michigan's first baseball team was fielded in 1911. Through the 2016 season, the Broncos have won 14 MAC titles, the most recent being in 1989, and have made 11 appearances in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, with the most recent being in 2016 following their first Mid-American Conference baseball tournament championship. Western Michigan has also made six appearances in the College World Series, the most recent being in 1963. The 1955 team finished as national runner-up, falling to Wake Forest 7–6 in the championship game. The Broncos had a 6–3 lead in the fifth inning of that game before the Demon Deacons tied it in the sixth inning and took the lead in the eighth. The runner-up finish remains tied for the highest national finish for a MAC team, along with Eastern Michigan in 1976. [3]
Year | Record | Pct | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1952 | 2–2 | .500 | College World Series 3rd Place |
1955 | 7–4 | .636 | College World Series 2nd Place, hosted District 4 |
1957 | 1–2 | .333 | Hosted District 4 |
1958 | 5–2 | .714 | College World Series 3rd Place, District 4 Champions |
1959 | 5-3 | .625 | College World Series 5th Place, District 4 Champions |
1961 | 4–2 | .667 | College World Series 5th Place, District 4 Champions |
1962 | 2–2 | .500 | District 4 |
1963 | 3-3 | .500 | College World Series 7th Place, District 4 Champions |
1966 | 2–2 | .500 | District 4 |
1967 | 3–2 | .600 | District 4 |
1989 | 1–2 | .333 | Midwest Regional |
2016 | 0–2 | .000 | Louisville Regional |
2024 | 0–2 | .000 | Lexington Regional |
TOTALS | 35-30 | .538 |
Since the Major League Baseball Draft began in 1965, Western Michigan has had 97 players selected. [4]
The Western Michigan Broncos football program represents Western Michigan University in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Western Michigan has competed in football since 1906, when they played three games in their inaugural season. In 1927, WMU joined four other schools to form the Michigan Collegiate Conference. Western Michigan then moved to its present conference in 1948. Prior to 1939, Western Michigan's athletic teams were known as the Hilltoppers.
The Kent State Golden Flashes are the athletic teams that represent Kent State University. The university fields 19 varsity athletic teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level with football competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Kent State is a full member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and has been part of the MAC East division since it was created in 1998. Official school colors are Kent State Blue and Kent State Gold.
The Western Michigan Broncos are a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I program representing Western Michigan University (WMU) in college athletics. They compete in the Mid-American Conference in men's baseball, basketball, football, 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 and the men's soccer team competes in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Broncos also have a flight team, the SkyBroncos, who have won the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) National Championship award five times.
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The Central Michigan Chippewas are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Central Michigan University (CMU), located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The school fields sixteen men's and women's intercollegiate teams that compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level.
The Akron Zips men's basketball team represents the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. The team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference East division. The Zips are currently coached by John Groce. Prior to becoming members of the MAC in 1992, the Zips were members of the Ohio Valley Conference and the Mid-Continent Conference. They had played in NCAA Division II into the mid 1970s, where they reached the National Championship Game twice, both of which they lost.
The Rider Broncs are the athletic teams of Rider University, a private nonsectarian university in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, United States. The school is a Division I member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and its athletes compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). For wrestling only, Rider is an affiliate member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
The Kent State Golden Flashes baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, United States. The team competes at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Mid-American Conference. The head coach is retired Major League Baseball player Jeff Duncan, who was hired in June 2013.
The Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Western Michigan University. The Broncos are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). They play at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States.
The Santa Clara Broncos baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball team that represents Santa Clara University in NCAA Division I college baseball. Santa Clara Baseball competes in the West Coast Conference, of which the Santa Clara Broncos were a charter member. The Broncos play their home games on campus at Stephen Schott Stadium, which opened in 2005. The Broncos and are led by head coach Rusty Filter, currently in his fifth season.
The Mid-American Conference baseball tournament is the conference baseball championship of the Mid-American Conference, Division I members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2024, the top six finishers participate in the double-elimination tournament, which is played at the home field of the top seed. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. The tournament began in 1981, but was not held from 1984 through 1991. It returned in 1992 and was held annually through 2019. It was scheduled to be played in May 2020, but was cancelled in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. As part of several changes announced in May 2020 related to the pandemic, the tournament was eliminated along with the post-season tournaments of seven other sports, for at least four seasons. The tournament, however, returned in May 2022 after the conference announced in May 2021 that the baseball tournament, along with all other conference tournaments that had been eliminated, would be restored for the 2021–22 athletic season. Kent State has won the most tournament titles with 12, followed by Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan with four each.
The 1975–76 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball team that played in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Broncos, representing Western Michigan University (WMU), finished the season 25–3 overall and 15–1 in the conference, won the MAC championship and reached the Sweet Sixteen of the 1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. They finished the season ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll and No. 19 in the UPI Poll.
Buffalo Bulls baseball represents the University at Buffalo in college baseball at the NCAA Division I level.
The Western Michigan Broncos women's basketball team represents Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, Michigan in women's basketball. The school competes in the Mid-American Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Broncos play home basketball games at the University Arena near the campus in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The 1981 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their seventh and final season under head coach Elliot Uzelac, the Broncos compiled a 6–5 record, finished in a tie for fifth place in the MAC, and outscored their opponents, 206 to 170. The team played its home games at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The 1973 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. In their 10th season under head coach Bill Doolittle, the Broncos compiled a 6–5 record, finished in a tie for fifth place in the MAC, and were outscored by their opponents, 218 to 190. The team played its home games at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The 1966 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. In their third season under head coach Bill Doolittle, the Broncos compiled a 7–3 record, finished in a tie for first place in the MAC, and were outscored by their opponents, 194 to 175. The team played its home games at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The 2017 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University (WMU) in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Tim Lester and played their home games at Waldo Stadium as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. The Broncos finished the season 6–6, 4–4 to finish in fourth place in the West Division. Despite being bowl eligible, the Broncos did not receive an invite to a bowl game.
The 2019–20 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team represented Western Michigan University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Broncos were led by 17th-year head coach Steve Hawkins, and played their home games at University Arena in Kalamazoo, MI as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 13–19, 6–12 in MAC play to finish in a tie for fifth place in the West Division. They lost in the first round of the MAC tournament to Toledo.
The 2020–21 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team represented Western Michigan University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Broncos, led by first-year head coach Clayton Bates, played their home games at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan as members of the Mid-American Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they finished the season 5–16, 4–12 in MAC play to finish in ninth place. As a result, they failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.