Western Illinois Leathernecks

The Western Illinois Leathernecks are the teams and athletes that represent Western Illinois University, located in Macomb, Illinois, in NCAA Division I sports. The school's primary conference affiliation is with the Summit League; its football team is a member of the Division I FCS (formerly Division I-AA) Missouri Valley Football Conference.

Western Illinois Leathernecks
UniversityWestern Illinois University
ConferenceSummit League
Missouri Valley Football Conference
NCAADivision I / FCS
Athletic directorDanielle Surprenant
LocationMacomb, Illinois
Varsity teams19 (9 men's, 10 women's)
Football stadiumHanson Field
Basketball arenaWestern Hall
Baseball stadiumAlfred D. Boyer Stadium
Softball stadiumMary Ellen McKee Softball Stadium
Soccer stadiumMacKenzie Alumni Field
Other arenasBrophy Hall Pool
Harry Mussatto Golf Course
Spring Lake Course
WIU Tennis Facility
MascotColonel Rock (Live Bulldog), Rocky the Bulldog (Costumed Bulldog)
NicknameLeathernecks
Fight songWe're Marching On
ColorsPurple and Gold[1]
         
Websitewww.goleathernecks.com

Nickname

WIU's nickname, the Leathernecks, and its mascot, the English bulldog, are taken from the traditions of the United States Marine Corps. The university has had permission to use the official nickname and mascot of the Corps since 1927, when Ray Hanson, then-athletic director and coach of the baseball, basketball and football teams, gained permission to use the symbols as an homage to his service in that military branch during World War I.[2] The university holds the distinction of being the only non-military institution to officially have its nickname derived from a branch of the military service.[2] Since the fall semester of 2009, the men's and women's teams have been unified under the Leathernecks name;[3] previously, the women's teams and athletes at the school had been known as the Westerwinds.

Sports sponsored
Men's sports Women's sports
BaseballBasketball
BasketballCross country
Cross countryGolf
FootballSoccer
GolfSoftball
SoccerSwimming and diving
Swimming and divingTennis
Track and field†Track and field†
Volleyball
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor
Summit League logo in Western Illinois' colors

Baseball
Main article: Western Illinois Leathernecks baseball

The Western Illinois Leathernecks baseball team represents the university in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team is a member of the Summit League. It plays its home games at the 500-seat Alfred D. Boyer Stadium and are coached by Ryan Brownlee.

Men's basketball
Main article: Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball

The Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team competes in NCAA Division I men's college basketball competition. The school's team is a member of the Summit League. The team plays it home games at 5,139-seat Western Hall and are coached by Billy Wright.[4]

Women's basketball
Main article: Western Illinois Leathernecks women's basketball

The Western Illinois Leathernecks women's basketball team is a member of the Summit League, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The team plays its home games at 5,139-seat Western Hall and are coached by JD Gravina.

Football
Main article: Western Illinois Leathernecks football

The Western Illinois Leathernecks football program competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The team has made numerous NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) playoff appearances. The Leathernecks have been ranked as high as number one and ranked number two numerous times. The team plays its home games at the 16,368 seat Hanson Field and are coached by Jared Elliott.

Men's soccer

The Western Illinois Leathernecks men's soccer team is a member of the Summit League, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The team plays its home games at 500-seat MacKenzie Alumni Field and are coached by Dr. Eric Johnson.

Women's soccer

The Western Illinois Leathernecks women's soccer team is a member of the Summit League, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The team plays its home games at 500-seat MacKenzie Alumni Field and are coached by Dr. Eric Johnson.

Softball

The Western Illinois Leathernecks softball team is a member of the Summit League, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The team plays its home games at 500-seat Mary Ellen McKee Softball Stadium and are coached by Elizabeth Golitko. The team has appeared in eight Women's College World Series, in 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1980 and 1982.[5]

Volleyball

The Western Illinois Leathernecks volleyball team is a member of the Summit League, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The team plays its home games at 5,139-seat Western Hall and are coached by Ben Staupe.

Athletic facilities
  • Alfred D. Boyer Stadium — Baseball
  • Brophy Hall Pool — Men's and women's swimming and diving
  • Hanson Field — Football, Men's and women's track and field
  • Harry Mussatto Golf Course — Men's and women's golf
  • MacKenzie Alumni Field — Men's and women's soccer
  • Mary Ellen McKee Softball Stadium — Softball
  • Spring Lake Course — Men's and women's cross country
  • Western Hall — Men's and women's basketball, Volleyball
  • WIU Tennis Facility — Women's tennis

Western Illinois Leathernecks traditions

Western Loyalty

The name of the "official" Alma Mater for Western Illinois University is "Western Loyalty".[6]

We're Marching On

The name of the "official" fight song for Western Illinois University is "We're Marching On".[6]

Western Illinois University Marching Leathernecks
Main article: Western Illinois University Marching Leathernecks

The "Western Illinois University Marching Leathernecks" is the marching band which represents Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois.[7]

Rocky the Bulldog

"Rocky the Bulldog" is the costumed athletics mascot for the Western Illinois Leathernecks.[8]

Colonel Rock

"Colonel Rock" is the live athletics mascot for the Western Illinois Leathernecks.[9]

Western Illinois Cheerleaders

The "Western Illinois Cheerleaders" are the co-ed cheerleading squad for the Western Illinois Leathernecks.[10]

Notable former athletes
gollark: Machine learning is somewhat bees in some ways, but it can do really cool stuff which is not currently doable with foolish mortal humans explicitly designing algorithms directly.
gollark: Alternatively, go implement GPT-2-grade text generation or something.
gollark: Okay, go implement a working algorithm to, say, identify if something is "dog" or "cat".
gollark: That isn't much use!
gollark: It can do neat stuff like classify objects!

References
  1. Western Illinois Leathernecks Athletics 2017–18 Branding & Style Guidelines (PDF). July 11, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  2. "The Leatherneck Nickname". Western Illinois Athletics. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  3. University Relations (2009-06-05). "University comes to decision on nickname unification". Western Illinois University. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  4. "Billy Wright". goleathernecks.com. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  5. Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN 978-0-9893007-0-4.
  6. "Traditions". goleathernecks.com. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  7. "WIU Marching Leathernecks". wiu.edu. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  8. "Rocky the Mascot". goleathernecks.com. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  9. "Colonel Rock". goleathernecks.com. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  10. "Cheerleading". goleathernecks.com. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
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