The Western Illinois Leathernecks are the teams and athletes that represent Western Illinois University, located in Macomb, Illinois, in NCAADivision I sports. The school's primary conference affiliation is with the Ohio Valley Conference; its football team is a member of the Division I FCS (formerly Division I-AA) Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) and its men's soccer team plays in the Summit League, in which the school had been a member since that conference's formation in 1982. Western Illinois announced on May 12, 2023 its departure from the Summit League to become a full member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in most sports beginning seven weeks subsequent on July 1. Two Leathernecks teams will play outside the OVC in the fall 2023 season before joining the rest of the school's teams in the OVC in 2024—the football team in the MVFC,[2] and the men's soccer team in the Summit League.[3]
History and 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.[4] 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.[4] Since the fall semester of 2009, the men's and women's teams have been unified under the Leathernecks name;[5] previously, the women's teams and athletes at the school had been known as the Westerwinds. On December 18, 2020 Western Illinois officially discontinued their men’s and women’s swimming programs citing budgetary and COVID-19 concerns.[6]
On May 12, 2023 Western Illinois accepted an invitation to join the Ohio Valley Conference starting the 2023-24 season. Prior to Western Illinois joining the Ohio Valley Conference, they were members of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1914–1970 and the Summit League from 1982–2023. Western leaves the Summit League after being the last charter member of the conference since it was founded in 1982.[7] A week later on May 18, 2023 Western Illinois announced the addition of three more sports for women, this includes beach volleyball, bowling, and STUNT.[8]
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 through the 2023 season, after which the program will join the rest of the team's sports in the Ohio Valley Conference. Technically, WIU football will compete in a football-only alliance between the OVC and the Big South Conference that shares a single automatic berth in the FCS playoffs. The team has made numerous FCS (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.
^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. ISBN978-0-9893007-0-4.
