Western Michigan Broncos
| Western Michigan Broncos | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First season | 2016 |
| Head coach | pskeate 1st season, |
| Stadium | Waldo Stadium (Capacity: 30,200) |
| Year built | 2016 |
| Field surface | FieldTurf |
| Location | Kalamazoo, MI |
| League | NCAA |
| All-time record | 50–26–0 (.658) |
| Bowl record | 2–2–0 (.500) |
| Conference titles | 2 |
| Division titles | 2 |
| Colors | Brown and Gold |
| Rivals | Central Michigan Chippewas Eastern Michigan Eagles Toledo Rockets Michigan MAC Trophy |
The Western Michigan Broncos are a college football team playing in the Mid-American Conference that started playing in the 2016 season. Coached by pskeate, the Broncos play at Waldo Stadium in the MAC's Western Division.
Contents
History
Dacder Era (2016)
2016 Season
Raybaxter2211 Era (2017-2018)
After the 2016 season Head Coach Dacder left the program to take the same position with the University of Colorado. Western Michigan hired Raybaxter2211 as his successor.
2017 Season
Featuring the strong running of MAC Player of the Year Emmanuel Fields, the Broncos made it to their first ever bowl game. Unfortunately they fell short, losing to Hawaii in the Foster Farms Bowl.
2018 Season
After the promising season the Broncos had in 2017, bigger things were expected in 2018. But despite Emmanuel Fields again winning the second of his back-to-back MAC Player of the Year Awards, the Broncos regressed to a 5-7 record. Coach Raybaxter would leave for greener pastures after the season, bolting for the Michigan State coaching job.
Jieret Era (2019-2021)
2019 Season
Before the 2019 season began, Western Michigan hired Jieret as the Broncos' third head coach. With a potent rushing attack headlined by Gabriel Shields and an excellent secondary featuring cornerbacks Sean Taylor and Jaylin McQueen, the Broncos achieved three firsts in WMU history: Their first 10-win season, their first bowl win, and the first time the Michigan MAC Trophy resided in Kalamazoo.
2020 Season
After a spirited spring battle, redshirt freshman DeSean Madison won the starting running back job over Gabriel Shields. Shortly after, Shields transferred to Michigan State. Behind that excellent Bronco defense, Madison's 1000+ yard rushing season, and QB Chase Sims leading a revived passing attack, Western Michigan won 11 regular season games en route to their first-ever MAC West division title. They then defeated the Ohio Bobcats in the MAC Championship game to win their first-ever Conference title, although prior to the game defensive stars Sean Taylor and MLB Kareem Boykin announced their decisions to enter the 2021 NFLHC Draft, forgoing their senior seasons.
The Broncos made the College Football Playoff as the 4-seed, a first for the MAC. Unfortunately, they lost in the quarterfinals to the Pittsburgh Panthers 24-23.
2021 Season
While many expected the Broncos to take a step back after losing Taylor and Boykin early, Western defied expectations throughout most of the season going undefeated through seven games including a 29-19 revenge win against the Duke Blue Devils. Unfortunately the team sputtered and lost back-to-back games to the Akron Zips and Washington Huskies. But the Broncos rallied by beating Toledo and clinching their second straight MAC West division title. They then exacted a measure of revenge by defeating the Zips in the MAC Championship Game 34-24, and ended the season on a high note by defeating the SMU Mustangs in the Frisco Bowl 17-13. Starting strong safety Jaylin Hinds decided to declare for the NFL Draft early shortly afterwards.
Jieret subsequently shocked many when, shortly after season's end, he resigned as coach of the Broncos to take the same position with the Washington Huskies.
pskeate Era (2022-present)
After a lengthy search UNLV coach pskeate was chosen to lead the Broncos, hopefully to a third straight conference championship.
2022 Season
Season-by-Season Records
| Year | Coach(es) | Conference | Record | Bowl | Final CP Ranking | |
| Wins | Losses | |||||
| Western Michigan Broncos | ||||||
| 2016 | Dacder | MAC | 4 | 6 | - | NR |
| 2017 | Raybaxter2211 | 7 | 6 | Lost Foster Farms Bowl vs Hawaii, 3-14 | NR | |
| 2018 | 5 | 7 | - | NR | ||
| 2019 | Jieret | 10 | 3 | Won Bahamas Bowl vs USF, 23-17 | NR | |
| 2020 | 12 | 2 | Lost CFP Quarterfinals, 24-23 | 9 | ||
| 2021 | 12 | 2 | Won Frisco Bowl vs SMU, 17-13 | 14 | ||
| 2022 | pskeate | - | - | - | - | |
| Total | 50 | 26 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Champions | Conference Champions | Bowl game berth |
All-time record vs. MAC opponents
These are the Broncos' football records against current Mid-American Conference opponents through the 2021 season.
| School | Total Games | W | L | T | Pct. | PF | PA | First Year | Last Year | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | .800 | 143 | 95 | 2016 | 2021 | W1 |
| Ball State | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 160 | 128 | 2016 | 2021 | W3 |
| Bowling Green | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 24 | 20 | 2016 | 2016 | W1 |
| Buffalo | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 75 | 60 | 2016 | 2021 | W2 |
| Central Michigan | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .833 | 144 | 84 | 2016 | 2021 | W3 |
| Eastern Michigan | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | .500 | 132 | 114 | 2016 | 2021 | W3 |
| Kent State | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 155 | 106 | 2016 | 2021 | W4 |
| Miami (OH) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 44 | 48 | 2016 | 2019 | W1 |
| Northern Illinois | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 | 99 | 77 | 2017 | 2021 | W3 |
| Ohio | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | 128 | 106 | 2016 | 2020 | W3 |
| Toledo | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | .500 | 139 | 122 | 2016 | 2021 | W2 |
| 11 Opponents | 53 | 33 | 20 | 0 | .623 | 1243 | 960 | 6 Seasons |
Bowl games
The Broncos have appeared in four bowl games, posting a record of 2-2.
| Season | Bowl | Opponent | Result | ||
| 2017 | Foster Farms Bowl | Hawaii | Lost, 3-14 | ||
| 2019 | Bahamas Bowl | USF | Won, 23-17 | ||
| 2020 | CFB Quarterfinals | Pitt | Lost, 23-24 | ||
| 2021 | Frisco Bowl | SMU | Won, 17-13 | ||
| Total | 4 Bowl Games | 2–2 | |||
History and Awards
Head Coaches
| Coach | Years | Seasons | Record | Pct | Cnf. Record | Pct | Cnf. Titles | Bowls | Nat. Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dacder | 2016 | 1 | 4-6 | .400 | 4-6 | .400 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Raybaxter2211 | 2017-2018 | 2 | 12-13 | .480 | 6-8 | .429 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jieret | 2019-2021 | 3 | 34-7 | .829 | 23-2 | .920 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| pskeate | 2022 | 1 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Individual Award Winners
All-Americans
None.
Players
- 2017
- 2020
- MAC Offensive Newcomer of the Year: DeSean Madison, RB.
- 2021
- MAC Offensive Player of the Year: DeSean Madison, RB.
1st Team All-MAC Players
|
|
Coaches
- 2020
- Jieret, AFCA National Coach of the Year, MAC Coach of the Year
- 2021
- Jieret, MAC Coach of the Year
