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47-442: The current athletic director is Christine Stapleton, who started at the university in 2017. Her predecessor, Therese Quigley, held the role for 8 years starting in 2009. Many Western varsity programs lead Canadian universities in the number of championships won. The women's volleyball team has won 10 provincial championships, the rowing team has won 23 provincial championships, the basketball teams have won 24 provincial championships,

94-512: A division of the Athletics Department. There are 18 sport clubs and include alternative sports such as martial arts. Each club is a student-led organization, with some additional assistance from the Athletics Department. The clubs are sanctioned under the department and have student executive leadership teams who handle all club operations, financing, activities, and equipment. The sport clubs at Western include: There are

141-637: A field surface for activities such as pole vault and high jump . As of September 2019, the track was re-surfaced and updated. This update was following criticism on the previous track's degrading condition and overuse. The annual Don Wright track meet is hosted in the Thompson Arena. The Western Student Recreation Centre (known as the Rec Centre or Western Rec) is a multi-level gymnasium facility and aquatic centre. It houses multiple basketball courts, volleyball courts, and squash courts, as well as

188-526: A large fitness area with two floors of weight training equipment, treadmills, and fitness studios . The facility was opened in February 2009. It is directly attached to the Thompson Arena . The Western varsity swim team and water polo team uses the 8-lane, 50m pool for training as well as hosting swim meets and competitions. The Athletic Department offices and administration is housed within

235-586: A local junior league and played a small series of games that year. In 1912, the Medical faculty students as well as the Arts faculty students joined and formed one team which played along with the local City of London team in the Junior Ontario Rugby Union. Western joined the intermediate intercollegiate football team in 1920 and with a very rough start, the team persevered with the support of

282-485: A number of gyms, facilities, and rooms that teams use for practicing and games. The TD Stadium was built in 2000 and has a capacity of 8,000. It is the home of the Western Mustangs football team . The field size abides by CFL regulations and features an infill turf playing surface with a 2" rubberized e-layer. Surrounding the field is an eight-lane, 400m outdoor track and long-jump pit. Mustangs Field

329-456: A recreational club, but then joined the OUA as a varsity program in 1973, once the league added the sport. They have also won 8 national titles, with the last one being in 2016. Notable Olympians include Lesley Thompson-Willie , Heather Clarke , Angela Schneider , Silken Laumann , Marnie McBean , Heather Mandoli , Rachelle Viinberg , and Wendy Wiebe . The men's volleyball team first joined

376-412: A team in 1912. Western officially formed a unified Athletic Association and created one central team to represent the university as a whole in 1914. Western's women's basketball team has won 3 conference championships, in 1971–72, 1972–73 and 1973–74. The 1973–74 season became notable as the team was undefeated in league play. The Western Mustangs football team first started in 1929 and has become one of

423-641: Is Greg Marshall and has been with the team since 2007. As of recent years, the team has been posting a 76-11 regular season record between 2008 and 2018. Both the men's and women's team compete in the OUA provincial league as well as a part of the national Canadian University Rowing Association . These teams have become dominating powers in Canadian university rowing, achieving 56 provincial OUA titles and 14 national titles combined. The program has also included over 45 Canadian Olympic team members as athletes, coaching staff and trainers. The teams are based out of

470-534: Is Mike Lumley, a former Detroit Tigers fifth round draft pick. Lumley has been named OUA Coach of the Year in 2001, 2004, 2005, and 2009. The men's basketball team plays its home games in Alumni Hall gymnasium. The Mustangs last won a conference championship in 2001–02, for a total of 25 OUA conference titles since 1908. The men's team has won 1 national championship in the 1990–91 season. The current head coach of

517-542: Is a multi-sport auditorium and gym . It is currently has the playing court for the Western basketball and volleyball teams. It was originally opened in 1968 and is where the John P Metras Sports Museum is located. In addition to the main gymnasium, the lower floors of the building house the gym for the wrestling teams as well as a dance studio. There are several classroom facilities within the building. The Western Mustang Band

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564-417: Is also housed in Alumni Hall. In addition to the gym, the main auditorium has a large stage and is used as the primary location for convocation and other official University ceremonies. The auditorium can seat 1,200 in the mezzanine seats, and 2,274 total if additional chairs are set up on the court. The Thompson Arena was built in 1971 and has an NHL-sized ice rink as well as an indoor track around

611-585: Is the record of the University of Western Ontario Mustangs football team since 2002: Vanier Cup Alberta W 15-14 Vanier Cup Toronto W 19-15 Vanier Cup Acadia W 29-13 Vanier Cup Acadia W 48-15 Vanier Cup Acadia L 12-34 Vanier Cup UBC L 14-39 Vanier Cup Calgary L 6-25 Vanier Cup UBC L 23-25 Vanier Cup Saskatchewan W 35-10 Vanier Cup Canadian University Rowing Association Too Many Requests If you report this error to

658-525: Is the second-largest stadium in the OUA association. There have been three former Western Mustang team members who have participated in the NFL Draft : John Priestner ( Baltimore Colts , 1979), Tyrone Williams ( Phoenix Cardinals , 1992) and Vaughn Martin ( San Diego Chargers , 2009). One of the earliest known football games to have been played at Western was in 1908 by a group of medical students. Known as 'rugby' or 'rugby football', this team joined

705-606: The CP Rail would run special trains to help accommodate getting the team, band , and fans to and from away games. Videotaping, electronic score boards, and radio broadcasting were all brought to the games starting in the 1948 season. Into the 1950s, the Mustangs continued the excellent playing and Metras continued as the head coach. The local newspaper, the London Free Press , was diligently attending and recording all

752-547: The Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 2004 to 2006. In the 12 seasons that Marshall has served as the Mustangs head coach, the team has won the Yates Cup seven times, in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023, and two Vanier Cup in 2017 and 2021 . The Mustangs have been one of the top teams in U Sports football as of late, posting a 90-12 regular season record between 2008 and 2021. The following

799-482: The OUAA badminton championships in 1970–71, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1976–77, and 1977–78 seasons. More recently, former alumni Alex Bruce competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics as well as win a gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games . The OUA adopted baseball into the conference in 2001 and since then, the men's baseball team have won 6 total OUA championships in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2015 and 2016. The current head coach

846-728: The Western Ontario Mustangs ) represents the University of Western Ontario in Canadian university football . The Mustangs compete as a member of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA), under the U Sports association. With their first full season in 1929, the Western Mustangs are one of the most decorated football teams in Canadian university history. The team has had the most Vanier Cup national championship appearances, having made it to

893-465: The 1960s. The first early seasons of the decade saw good highlights, such as an 85-yard touchdown by John Wydareny in 1960 and a 99-yard touchdown by Whit Tucker in 1961. The team lost their steam in 1963 with a 3–3 record. With some disappointing losses, the Mustangs did not win a single Yates Cup during this decade. Metras retired as the football coach in 1969, but stayed on as the director of athletics for Western. Former Head Coach Larry Haylor led

940-491: The COTC Mustangs, they played in both Canada and American service and college teams. Canadian intercollegiate athletics resumed in 1946, and the Mustangs saw another undefeated schedule season that year, winning their third Yates Cup. Some notable players this year were Bob McFarlane , Don McFarlane , George Curtis, and quarterback Herb Ballantyne. By 1948, the team was attracting thousands of fans for every game and

987-531: The Doug Wells Rowing Centre on Fanshawe Lake . In 2019, it was announced that Western will be the hosting university for the 2022 International University Sports Federation (FISU) World University Rowing Championship . The competition will be based out of Fanshawe Lake in London, Ontario . The men's varsity rowing team joined the OUA in 1957 and since then has become a dominating team in

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1034-516: The Mustangs is Brad Campbell, who has been the head coach since 2006. Campbell took over after the previous coach Craig Boydell. Boydell had a 16-year reign and brought the team to their only national title in the 1990–91 season. Men's basketball originally started in 1903 as a team of medical school students. The team entered into the Ontario Amateur Basketball Association in 1911. Western arts students started

1081-512: The Mustangs volleyball team is Jim Sage, who has been coaching the team since 1997. He won the OUA Coach of the Year title in 2003. The women's volleyball team plays in the OUA West division. The team has won 11 provincial OUA conference championships, with the last one being in 2010–11. They have also won three national U Sports championships , in 1971–72, 1974–75, and 1975–76. Prior to

1128-829: The Mustangs. The Western Mustangs went on to win five Yates Cups in the 1950s. By the 1960s, the Senior Intercollegiate league changed its name to the Ontario-Quebec Athletic Association and the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union started to include more Canadian universities. Prior to this, Western only played three other teams in their regular season; Queen's , Toronto , and McGill . With this change, Western also started to play McMaster , Waterloo , Wilfrid Laurier and Windsor in this new group. The Mustangs saw more difficult times in

1175-507: The OUA and U Sports recognizing women's volleyball in 1971–72, Western was known to be successful in the national Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Union . The team joined this league in 1949 and won 13 national titles from 1953 to 1970. Former Western Mustangs athletic director Therese Quigley played on the 1973-74 championship team. The Recreation Sport Clubs at Western are administered by the Western Campus Recreation,

1222-496: The OUA in the league's inaugural 1965-66 volleyball season and are currently part of the West division. They currently play home games in Alumni Hall. The team has won 5 provincial OUA conference championships, in 1967–68, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1975–76, and 1978–79. In 2013–14, the Mustangs won an OUA silver medal, then lost to Alberta in the Canadian U Sports championship final, bringing home a national silver medal. The current coach of

1269-423: The OUA. The team consistently places in the top 3 during OUA championships, and has won 10 OUA championships, with the last one being in 2014. During the 1970s, the team saw much acclaim. Jamie Paulson attended Western at this time and dominated in both singles and doubles at OUAA tournaments in the 1970–71 season, winning 33 out of 36 matches. This streak continued even after Paulson's departure, and Western won

1316-444: The Rec Centre. This large facility comes as a result of a student-led initiative in 2006. Western students held a referendum to fund a majority of the building's $ 35.7-million cost. From this, the undergraduate and graduate students pledged to donate a total of $ 101-million over 30 years for the initial purchase, building maintenance and support, with $ 14.8-million specifically funding undergraduate and graduate student bursaries. This

1363-432: The early 1930s, but had a mixed bag of wins and losses, but did win their first Yates Cup championship in 1931. By 1935, Breen retired as the head coach and Western football got a jumpstart when Bill Storen and John Metras came on as head coach and assistant coach this same year. Both coaches were very knowledgeable and skillful football players and with their guidance, the team gained more and more wins each year. By 1939,

1410-414: The following year on October 19, 1929, and was named after Colonel J.W. Little, a former City of London mayor. Opening day, Western's new senior intermediate team played Queen's University and lost 25–2. Improvements like an electronic scoreboard and a radio booth were added in 1948 and 1949, respectively. By 1960, the stadium expanded seating from the original 5,000 seats to well over 7,200 seats. This

1457-717: The football team during World War II , despite that no decision had been made whether the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union would operate. When intercollegiate football collapsed due to the war, Crocker considered placing the football team in the Ontario Rugby Football Union , but it was impossible to agree on a schedule due to military requirements on the training of physically fit students. Instead of being members of any football league, Crocker invited Ontario Rugby Football Union teams to play exhibition games at

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1504-419: The football team has won 31 provincial championships and the men's squash team has won 45 provincial championships, with 36 being consecutive. The Western Mustangs football team has won eight Vanier Cup national championships, in 1971, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1989, 1994, 2017 and 2021. Additionally, the cheerleading team has won the national championship 33 times, including 24 consecutive. The university also has

1551-549: The games the Mustangs played. Western football became a part of the London community and not just the student body. In 1950, the Mustangs defeated the Toronto Varsity Blues at Varsity Stadium 8–1 with over 27,000 spectators, winning their 6th Yates Cup championship. The next couple of seasons saw players like Don Getty , Murray Henderson, Bill Britton , John Girvin, Frank Cosentino , and Ed Meads all play for

1598-483: The largest university marching band in Canada. The University of Western Ontario's Athletics program currently supports 26 varsity programs. While technically not considered a varsity team, Western has a university ringette team which competes annually in the Canadian national University Challenge Cup . Badminton started in the early 1930s at Western as a club, but transitioned to a varsity sport once recognized in

1645-611: The league. The team has won 29 provincial OUA championships, with the last one being in the 2018–19 season. The team competes nationally as part of the Canadian University Rowing Association and has won 6 national titles since 1997. Over 20 Western rowing athletes and coaching staff have competed in the Olympics . Notable Western rowing Olympians include Roger Jackson , Al Morrow, Mike Murphy, and Phil Monckton . On February 8, 2019, 10 members of

1692-476: The most successful football teams in Canadian university sports. The team has won 8 Vanier Cup national titles and appeared 15 times at the championship, with the last win being in 2021. The Mustangs have also won 33 provincial Yates Cup titles, with 49 appearances. Notable former players include: Joe Krol , Frank Cosentino , Andy Fantuz , Dick Suderman , Bob McFarlane , Frank Turville , Vaughn Martin , Daryl Waud and Tim Tindale . The current coach

1739-405: The rink. The men's and women's ice hockey teams use the arena alongside the ringette and figure skating teams, while the track and field team use the 200m Mondo indoor track surface. The arena seating capacity is 3,615. The indoor track is used primarily by sprinters, distance runners, throwers, and jumpers. During indoor track and field meets , the ice surface is covered and the inner rink becomes

1786-432: The team accomplished their first undefeated season, notably with Joe Krol as a member of this historic team. During 1938, J. Howard Crocker felt that it was unfair to the students and faculty to lengthen the football season beyond intercollegiate competition, and declared that the football team would not compete for the national championship in 1938, if it won the intercollegiate title. Crocker went ahead with plans for

1833-580: The team from 1984 until his retirement in 2006, and held the Canadian Interuniversity Sport record for most wins as head coach. The team is currently coached by Greg Marshall , who took over for Haylor in 2007 after his aforementioned retirement. Marshall won the Hec Crighton Trophy for most outstanding player in U Sports football as a player for the Mustangs in 1980 and has also coached professional football for

1880-472: The team won a rowing world record for the fastest time to row 1 million meters. This group rowed on an indoor erg machine for 62 hours, 27 minutes and 7 seconds, with an average pace of 1:52.4. The record category was for men's 19-and-under age group. The women's rowing team is the most decorated team in the OUA women's rowing league and has won 27 provincial titles, with the longest consecutive win-streak of 6 from 2013 to 2019. The team first started in 1969 as

1927-475: The title game 15 times (most recently in 2021 ). The Mustangs have won eight Vanier Cups, second only to the Laval Rouge et Or . The Mustangs have also won the Yates Cup conference championship 35 times in team history; more than any other Canadian University. The Western Mustangs play their home games at Western Alumni Stadium , located on the south side of campus. With 8,000 seats, Western Alumni Stadium

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1974-400: The university for the next couple of seasons. With improved coaching from 1923 to 1926, the team went on to win their first intermediate intercollegiate championship in 1927 with Art Wilson as the head coach. In 1928, construction began on the first stadium on campus. With the help of Fielding Yost , the stadium was built to proper football guidelines. The J.W. Little Memorial Stadium opened

2021-402: The university. Metras took over as head coach in 1940, but with the beginning of World War II, the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union had suspended all athletic activities from 1940 to 1945. This decision was met with mixed reviews. It was at this time that Metras chose to play the Western senior team under the organization of Western's Canadian Officers' Training Corps (COTC). Known as

2068-530: Was announced as the largest contribution ever from a student body to a Canadian university. Thames Hall was completed in 1949, led by planning and fundraising efforts of J. Howard Crocker , the director of the university's physical education department. Before the Western Rec Centre was completed in 2009, Thames Hall was the facility used for athletic department and had a pool, gymnasium, and athletic training facilities. After completion, Thames Hall

2115-502: Was opened in 2013 and acts as the playing surface for the soccer and lacrosse teams. The field can seat up to 600 people in the stand-alone bleachers . Alumni Field was opened in 2013 and is the primary field for the men's and women's rugby teams. It is one of a few fields in Canada that is certified through the International Rugby Board . The field can seat up to 600 people in stand-alone bleachers . Alumni Hall

2162-490: Was refurbished to convert the pool into classrooms. As of 2019, Thames Hall is undergoing major renovations and they are set to be complete June 2021. The newly renovated building will house Student Health and Psychological Services, Sports and Recreation, and Student Learning and Engagement, as well as house the Kinesiology department. Western Mustangs football The Western Mustangs football team (also known as

2209-549: Was then expanded to 8,000 in future years. The stadium held its last game in 1999, and the new TD Stadium was built in 2000. The entry into the senior intercollegiate league in 1929 brought Western into the spotlight. Joe Breen became the head coach for the Senior Intermediate Team this year, with assistant coach Mitt Burt and Paul Hauch as captain. 1929 was the first year Western played senior football. The Mustangs continued to play in league throughout

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