KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Following a historic year that featured a school-record nine programs earning postseason appearances—headlined by men's ice hockey capturing the program's first-ever NCAA Championship—Western Michigan Athletics has once again finished atop the Mid-American Conference in the 2024–25 Learfield Directors' Cup standings. This marks the second consecutive year the Broncos have led the MAC, after finishing first in 2023-24 for the first time in school history. WMU totaled 225.00 points, placing 88th nationally and third among all Group of Five programs.
"We should all take great pride in the extraordinary success represented by these unprecedented place finishes in the Learfield Directors' Cup," said Vice President/Director of Athletics
Dan Bartholomae.
"This past year not only set new records within our own conference, but also signaled that Western Michigan is a destination Group of Five program – finishing 3rd overall. Please join me in congratulating our student-athletes, coaches and support staff for this historic season."
The Bronco hockey program had a complete season of firsts. After leading for the majority of the regular season, Western Michigan secured its first National Collegiate Hockey Conference Regular Season Championship. WMU followed it up by claiming its first NCHC Tournament Championship and finishing off the post-season with a 6-2 win over No. 3 Boston University in the NCAA Frozen Four Championship game in St. Louis.
In addition to hockey's national title run, Western Michigan women's soccer earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament after going undefeated in Mid-American Conference play and capturing both the MAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships. The Bronco volleyball team also secured its second consecutive MAC Tournament title, earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament, where they faced Purdue in the first round.
In only its second year under Coach
Lance Taylor, the Bronco Football program scored Directors Cup points by securing only its 11th bowl bid in program history and first appearance since 2021, as the Broncos competed against South Alabama in the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl.
The Bronco men's soccer program earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, opening with an impressive 5-1 victory over SIUE before falling to No. 1 Ohio State in the second round.
Rounding out the fall sports, freshman
Lillian Zelasko from the Cross-Country team competed at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships - turning in a Top-25 finish, and men's tennis standout Anton Arzhankin qualified for the NCAA Men's Individual Championship—becoming the first Bronco to do so since 1977.
Student-athletes from Western Michigan's winter and spring seasons continued the momentum with standout individual performances. In gymnastics, three Broncos qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships:
Halle Faulkner on vault,
Cassie St. Clair on floor, and
Reese Samuelson on bars, each proudly representing the program on the national stage.
On the track, the outdoor season featured two MAC Champions.
Mabinty Kebe repeated as the 400-meter hurdles champion, setting a new MAC Championship record, while
Sandra Ferrari captured the conference title in the long jump. Kebe, Ferrari, and teammate
Bri'Yanna Robinson all advanced to compete at the NCAA Outdoor East Preliminary Qualifiers.
The Learfield Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships.
Each institution is awarded points in a pre-determined number of sports for men and women. The overall champion is the institution that records the highest number of points in their division's Directors' Cup standings. In Division I, 19 sports are counted. Four must be baseball, men's/women's basketball, and women's volleyball. The next highest 15, regardless of gender, are used in the standings.
