Last season Western Michigan was the team that went on the road to open the 2006 season at Indiana. This year, the Hoosiers come to Kalamazoo on CommUniverCity Night to open the 2007 home campaign for the Broncos. A packed house welcomes the first Big Ten opponent to Waldo Stadium for the first time in program history. Game time is 8 p.m., and all of the action will air live ESPNU and as always can be heard on the Bronco Radio Network (Flagship: WZUU - 92.5 FM).
THE GAME ? Western Michigan opens its 102nd season with a ranked oppnent for the fifth time in program history. West Virginia is ranked third in the Associated Press preseason poll, while the Mountaineers are in the sixth spot on the USA Today/Coaches preseason poll.
TELEVISION ? The Bronco football program continues to gain regional and national notoriety through television exposre. Western Michigan is scheduled to play on live television at least five times this season. WMU will air on the ESPN family networks twice at home in 2007. The first comes in the season opener against Indiana, airing on ESPNU. Dave Armstrong will handle play-by-play and Mike Gottfried will provide analysis.
RADIO ? This and all Western Michigan football games will be broadcast live on the Bronco Radio Network and its new flagship station, WZUU - 92.5 FM. Robin Hook (play-by-play) and Monty Porter (analysis) will have the call as they have together for the past nine seasons.
WEB SITE ? WMU home football games (not televised by the ESPN family of networks) can be seen live via the official athletics web site (www.wmubroncos.com) by subscribing to Bronco Insider, which can be found on the home page of the site. You are able to listen to each Bronco football game on the Internet by signing up with Yahoo Sports through the link at the bottom of the home page. Live Stats are available for FREE for all Bronco home games by clicking the link atop the home football page.
SERIES IN BRIEF ? The Western Michigan/Indiana series consists of just three games with the Hoosiers having taken all three meetings. The two teams first met in 1995 and last met in the 2006 season opener. All games have been played at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. This game will not only mark the first time Indiana will play a road game in this series, it also marks the first time any team from the Big Ten will play at Waldo Stadium. Last season, WMU fell to IU 39-20 at Memorial Stadium. Jamarko Simmons led the aerial attack with seven catches for 99 yards, all coming in the first half. THE
COACHES ? Bill Cubit (Delaware, 1975) begins his third season as the head coach of Western Michigan. He is 15-9 overall at Western Michigan and led the Broncos to their first bowl game since 1988 last season. Bill Lynch takes over the Indiana football program after the tragic passing of former head coach Terry Hoeppner. Lynch has a 82-67-3 career mark in 14 years on the sidelines and is 1-0 with the Hoosiers.
UP NEXT ? Western Michigan will head back on the road for a showdown with its first Big 12 opponent since 1999. The opponent on that day will be the same on Sept. 15, Missouri. The Tigers took the only meeting between these two programs, 48-34.
