Western Kentucky (8-4, 6-2 C-USA) vs. Western Michigan (7-5, 5-3 MAC)
December 30, 2019 • 12:30 pm • ESPN
Dallas, Texas • Gerald J. Ford Stadium (32,000 • FieldTurf)

• Western Michigan plays in its sixth bowl game in the last nine seasons (2011-19) by meeting Western Kentucky in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl on December 30 at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN ... The Broncos had made just four bowl trips in school history prior to 2011.
• The Broncos will make their 10th bowl game appearance and hold an all-time record of 1-8, including an 0-1 ledger under head coach Tim Lester ... Western Michigan also has appeared in the Aviation Bowl (1961 season), California Raisin Bowl (1988), International Bowl (2006), Texas Bowl (2008), Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (2011), Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (2014 & 2018), Popeyes Bahamas Bowl (2015) and Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (2016).
• Against WKU, Lester will participate in the fourth bowl game of his coaching career ... As an assistant coach, he helped Western Michigan to the 2006 International Bowl and Syracuse to the 2013 Texas Bowl; as a head coach, he led WMU to the 2018 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
•  Led by 2019 Mid-American Conference Vern Smith Leadership Award winner RB LeVante Bellamy, 12 Broncos earned a total of 13 All-MAC honors ... Bellamy, a senior, became the fifth MAC MVP for Western Michigan and ninth MAC Offensive Player of the Year ... Junior LB Treshaun Hayward became the eighth MAC Defensive Player of the Year in WMU history.
• Other Bronco All-MAC honorees included C Luke Juriga (1st team), TE Giovanni Ricci (1st), WR Skyy Moore (1st), KR/PR Keith Mixon Jr. (1st & 3rd), OL Mike Caliendo (2nd), OL Jaylon Moore (2nd), DE Ali Fayad (2nd), LB Drake Spears (2nd), QB Jon Wassink (3rd) & CB Patrick Lupro.
• Western Michigan led the league with its six first-team honorees and paces the MAC with 32 all-conference selections since 2017 ... WMU is the first MAC program to have the league's offensive and defensive players of the year since Marshall in 2001 with Byron Leftwich (offensive) and Max Yates (defensive).
•  This year's senior class owns 33 victories, the third most in program history.
• Wassink was one of 12 recipients of the 2019 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award, presented by Fidelity Investments, making him a finalist for the Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda ... Wassink is the third Western Michigan NFF Scholar-Athlete, joining Tim Hiller (2009) and Zach Terrell (2016).
• Wassink became Western Michigan's second Wuerffel Trophy recipient, joining Hiller, who was named the winner in 2009 ... WMU joins Oklahoma as the only schools with multiple Wuerffel Trophy recipients in their histories.
•  Ricci was one of eight semifinalists for the John Mackey Award, presented annually to the top tight end in college football, while Bellamy was one of 10 semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the top running back in college football.

138 — Points by LeVante Bellamy this fall, tied for the second most in the country, tops in the Mid-American Conference and tied for the second most in a year in Bronco history
56.6 — Percent of Western Michigan's receiving yards (287-of-507) by freshman WR Skyy Moore in the last two games
51 — Consecutive games started by senior C Luke Juriga, every game of his career and tied for the longest streak in the country
9 — Touchdown runs of 20+ yards by Bellamy this season
8 — Plays of 60+ yards from scrimmage by Western Michigan's offense, most in the MAC and double the team's 2018 total
4.5 — Career high tackles for loss by junior DE Ali Fayad at Northern Illinois in the regular season finale, the most by a Bronco in a game since Drew Nowak's 5.0 versus Akron on November 25, 2011
6 — Ranking of junior LB Treshaun Hayward among FBS players in tackles per game (11.00) 
3 — NFF Campbell Trophy finalists for WMU since 2009, tied for the third most nationally

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