KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- For the fourth-straight season, Western Michigan University Athletics ranked at the top of the Mid-American Conference and sixth in the nation, according to Helper Helper, after totaling 7,413 hours of community service during the 2025-26 season.

Six teams ranked in the Top 10 in their sport, led by the Cross Country/Track & Field Teams at No. 1. WMU Softball and Hockey both ranked second in their sport, while the Western Michigan Cheer Team was third. Both the men's and women's basketball programs finished sixth in the nation in their respective sports. Softball ranked sixth in the nation among all Division I women's sports, while Cross Country/Track & Field were eighth.

"Our commitment to community impact is grounded in servant leadership," said Senior Associate AD for Broncos Empowered and Championship Culture. "At Western Michigan, we are proud to call ourselves the City of Champions, and being a champion means more than what happens in competition, it means showing up for others, giving back, and making a difference in the communities that support us."

"While we celebrate the record hours, rankings, and accomplishments represented here, what matters most is the impact our student-athletes are creating in the lives of people across our local community. Service is not simply something we do; it is part of our culture, part of our identity, and part of who we are developing our student-athletes to become through Broncos Empowered."

WMU received 100 percent participation from its student-athletes and worked 144 service events. Those events supported a total of 75 organizations. WMU's student-athletes generated an estimated $267,897 of economic impact.

"Community service is an important part of our SAAC mission because it brings us student-athletes the opportunity to connect with our community beyond our campuses and competition venues," said softball student-athlete and Student Athlete Advisory Counsel representative Analeez Niles. As student-athletes, we're fortunate to have a community that shows up to support us. The hours us student-athletes contributed this year reflect a genuine commitment to serving others, building relationships, and representing our university in a meaningful way."

"Community service is a core value of SAAC," said men's tennis student-athlete and SAAC Co-President Drew Evans. "It's important to us that we use our time and our platform to make a positive impact, connect with others, and represent our teams and university in a meaningful way."