Dear Bronco Friends and Family,
Two years ago, I was so fortunate to be selected as your Athletic Director at Western Michigan University. When I met with you all, I confidently stated that in WMU I saw an opportunity for Comprehensive Excellence – that this was an institution that can be GREAT in everything we do, that we can challenge the status quo and not accept mediocrity. In striving for that, I shared that we would do so through Clear Vision, Collaboration, Transparency and a defined PLAN.
STRATEGIC PLAN
You will recall we immediately embarked on a planning process to define our priorities and outline a path towards Comprehensive Excellence. Our planning process sought feedback from several hundreds of WMU staff, students, student-athletes, community members and alumni. In defining our vision, we agreed that every Bronco Student-Athlete that commits to WMU for 4-5 years would graduate holistically prepared to pursue their passions in life; make a high quality connection with our community that would extend beyond graduation; and would win a conference championship. Our plan – completed just one year ago – supported that vision with 6 strategic goals complete with five years' worth of measurable objectives and strategies that would define our success.
CALENDAR YEAR 2023 LOOK-IN
In one full year of implementing that plan, calendar year 2023 stands as one of the best in our history by any measure. Our student-athletes broke academic records at every turn – with the highest term GPA in their history and 8 programs with a perfect 1000 Academic Progress Rate. For the first time, our men's and women's programs swept the Mid-American Conference Faculty Athletic Representative Awards – awarded to the program that retains and graduates student-athletes at the highest academic level in the league. After finishing 10th in the country in Spring 2023 in community impact, our student-athletes completed over 4800 hours of community service with 100% participation over the course of 2023. Finally, we won 9 conference championships in 6 sports, sent 4 teams to the NCAA post-season and advanced 3 of those teams beyond the NCAA first round.
These accomplishments don't come without expanded resources and community support, and 2023 also saw record breaking numbers in both. In 2023, every ticketed event saw an increased attendance figure, with football recently recognized as 13th in the FBS in year-over-year growth and hockey breaking several attendance marks. I want to specifically commend our students – the best support group in the country. Our student attendance in football grew 52% and the Lawson Lunatic crowd grew 20% while breaking the single game record for student attendance in October.
Our revenue bases grew across the board, and thanks to the generosity of our donors we experienced significant growth in giving, including record breaking funds to support the construction of a new women's basketball locker room and the receipt of the largest gift to a women's sports program in our history in support of the Jeff and Stephanie Bergeron Golf Performance Center.
THE ROAD AHEAD
While I write to you today to join us all together in celebrating those accomplishments, I want to be clear that the we are not done yet. We have turned the page to 2024, are aware of the areas in which we must improve and seek your continued support as we strive for greater things. Our ambition far exceeds what we celebrate today.
We will stay centered on our vision. We must stay ahead of industry trends in supporting our student athletes medically, academically and in their holistic personal growth. We must embrace new opportunities to expand their access to benefits – financial and otherwise – via Name, Image & Likeness opportunities and through the NCAA's holistic benefit model. We must be more strategic and intentional in creating a pathway for continuous and meaningful engagements with our alumni community and our BAF donors. Our events should be a welcoming source of pride within our communities and should be an economic driver in the continued growth of Southwest Michigan. While we progress on a partnership to unveil the finest hockey and basketball facility in all of intercollegiate athletics, our Facility Master Plan has identified several other projects for which we will seek funding and will serve to place us at the top of our conferences. Finally, we must propel all of our programs towards the championship ambitions we all share, and win championships at the highest rate within our conferences.
There will be challenges. There are still significant competitive and other gaps that must be closed. Our ambitions require us to continue to seek new ways to grow our resource base. The evolving NCAA and legal landscape has already changed our model and it is certain that polarizing change is still ahead within our framework. But our plan prepares us for whatever obstacles come next, and we feel confident in our ability to execute. While there are national conversations occurring that we cannot always control, I believe our position within our conferences – leagues that have always embraced their identity as blue-collar and regional entities that can punch above their weight – is a competitive advantage. And there is no question that sponsoring a Division I athletics program that competes at the highest level is of great significance to the University and Southwest Michigan. There is no force on campus that unifies its community, students, and alumni quite like Athletics.
This plan is for all of us. If you are one of the many that have supported these efforts from day one, thank you. If we have recently inspired your interest in what our athletic programs are doing, we will continue to do more to make you proud. And if you haven't had a chance to connect with us in some time, I hope this message gives you a reason to join in. We are ready for 2024!
BRONCOS REIGN!
