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39-691: WIU's nickname, the Leathernecks , and its mascot, the English bulldog , are taken from the traditions of the United States Marine Corps . The university has had permission to use the official nickname and mascot of the Corps since 1927, when Ray Hanson , then-athletic director and coach of the baseball, basketball and football teams, gained permission to use the symbols as an homage to his service in that military branch during World War I . The university holds

78-479: A synecdoche for Marines began as a term of ridicule by sailors . The dress blue uniform of the US Marines still bears a tribute to that stock collar today, with a stiff cloth tab behind the front of its collar. This stiff leather collar, fastened by two buckles at the back, measured between 2.5 and more than 3 inches tall in front, tapering toward the back. The origin of the leather neck collar, also known as

117-525: A "stock", has to do with early 19th-century military fashion trends in Europe and North America; its use among enlisted men supposedly improved their military bearing and appearance by forcing the chin high and posture straight. The stock was uncomfortable, but Marines would be punished for failure to wear them on duty, so some would have the stock stitched to their coats to ensure it was always on their uniform. General George F. Elliott , recalling its use after

156-736: A collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States . It participates in Division I of the NCAA ; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with the Big South Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS; formerly known as Division I-AA), the lower of two levels of Division I football competition. The OVC has 11 members, seven of which compete in football in

195-403: Is a list of the champions since 2010. For the complete history, see List of Ohio Valley Conference football champions . This is a list of the champions since 2010. For the complete men's history, see List of Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball champions . This is a list of the champions since 2010. This is a list of the champions since 2010. Men's soccer was first sponsored by

234-1121: Is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's Division I Ohio Valley Conference . The team plays its home games at 500-seat MacKenzie Alumni Field and are coached by Dr. Eric Johnson. The team won the 2007 Summit League conference championship. The Western Illinois Leathernecks softball team is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference , which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's Division I . The team plays its home games at 500-seat Mary Ellen McKee Softball Stadium and are coached by Alisa Goler. The team has won ten Summit League championships in 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008, and 2009. The team has appeared in eight Women's College World Series , in 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1980 and 1982 . The team has also made four NCAA Division I softball tournament appearances in 1992 , 2000 , 2001 , and 2008 . The Western Illinois Leathernecks men’s track and field team

273-433: Is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference , which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's Division I . The team competes its home meets at Hanson Field . The team has won two Indoor Track and Field Summit League championships in 2001 and 2002. The team has also won two Outdoor Track and Field Summit League championships in 2001 and 2002. The Western Illinois Leathernecks women’s track and field team

312-554: Is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference , which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's Division I . The team competes its home meets at Hanson Field . The team has won two Outdoor Track and Field Summit League championships in 1996 and 2005. The Western Illinois Leathernecks volleyball team is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference , which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's Division I . The team plays its home games at 5,139-seat Western Hall and are coached by Ben Staupe . The name of

351-748: Is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference , which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's Division I . The team runs at Spring Lake Course . The team won the 1991 Summit League conference championship. The Western Illinois Leathernecks men’s golf team is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference , which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's Division I . The team plays its home meets at Harry Mussatto Golf Course . The team has won eight Summit League championships in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008. They have made four NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship appearances in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008. The Western Illinois Leathernecks football program competes in

390-480: Is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference . The team plays it home games at 5,139-seat Western Hall and are coached by Chad Boudreau . The Western Illinois Leathernecks women's basketball team is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference , which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's Division I . The team plays its home games at 5,139-seat Western Hall and are coached by JD Gravina . The Western Illinois Leathernecks men’s cross country team

429-399: Is generally attributed to the wearing of the leather stock. The use of the term "Bootneck" for British Royal Marines had a similar cause, and also on the alleged habit of cutting a strip of leather from the top of a boot to provide additional protection for the neck, although it is unclear if this was ever common practice. Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference ( OVC ) is

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468-498: Is the live athletics mascot for the Western Illinois Leathernecks. The "Western Illinois Cheerleaders" are the co-ed cheerleading squad for the Western Illinois Leathernecks. Leatherneck Leatherneck is a military slang term in the U.S. for a member of the United States Marine Corps . It is generally believed to originate in the wearing of a "leather stock" that went around the neck. Its original purpose

507-568: The AIAW began sponsoring national championships for women, but seven years before the NCAA was ready to move into the field. Since 2009, the OVC has been led by Commissioner Beth DeBauche, one of only six female commissioners for the thirty-two Division I conferences. Athletic rivalries, really close colleges and especially when competitors are in relatively close proximity, can generate problems with fan behavior, and

546-570: The American Civil War , said the "effect of the stock when buckled around a man's neck was to hold his head high in the air, like geese looking for rain". The stock was dropped as an article of American Marine uniform in 1872, after surviving through the uniform changes of 1833, 1839, and 1859. The stock collar was worn originally to protect the neck from sword cuts, such as cutlass slashes while boarding ships, and to maintain an erect posture. The American Marine Corps nickname "leatherneck"

585-629: The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference or Southwestern Athletic Conference . That distinction changed when both Hampton University and North Carolina A&T State University joined the Big South Conference in 2018 and 2021, respectively; both schools have since joined the Coastal Athletic Association . The OVC has also been a leader in advancement of sports opportunities for women. The conference began adding championship competitions for women in 1977 several years after

624-532: The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference through the 2023 season, after which the program will join the rest of the team's sports in the Ohio Valley Conference . Technically, WIU football will compete in a football-only alliance between the OVC and the Big South Conference that shares a single automatic berth in

663-686: The Ohio Valley Conference starting the 2023-24 season. Prior to Western Illinois joining the Ohio Valley Conference, they were members of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1914–1970 and the Summit League from 1982–2023. Western leaves the Summit League after being the last charter member of the conference since it was founded in 1982. A week later on May 18, 2023 Western Illinois announced

702-695: The Summit League before joining the OVC in 2024. In August 2012, the OVC announced that it had launched the OVC Digital Network as a replacement for and improvement over the conference's former efforts to provide streaming video coverage of many athletic events that had been in place since 2006. This website carried live, student-produced coverage of most conference games and some non-conference games in baseball, men's and women's basketball, football, soccer, softball, and volleyball as well as some coaches' shows, special presentations, and archived game-casts available for later viewing. In its first two years,

741-895: The University of Arkansas at Little Rock , athletically known as Little Rock, and the University of Southern Indiana , which started a transition from NCAA Division II , plus a new football-sponsoring member in Lindenwood University , also transitioning from D-II. According to a report from Matt Brown of the Extra Points college sports blog, the OVC expected to lose Murray State, and was considering multiple expansion candidates, with Southern Indiana among them. Other schools named by Brown's sources as possible candidates were FCS programs Arkansas–Pine Bluff and Western Illinois , plus potential Division II upgraders Grand Valley State , Hillsdale , and Lincoln Memorial . On February 22, 2022,

780-560: The "official" Alma Mater for Western Illinois University is "Western Loyalty". The name of the "official" fight song for Western Illinois University is "We're Marching On". The "Western Illinois University Marching Leathernecks" is the marching band which represents Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois. "Rocky the Bulldog" is the costumed athletics mascot for the Western Illinois Leathernecks. He first appeared in 1959. "Colonel Rock"

819-450: The 2012–13 school year, the twelve member schools were split into two divisions for those sports where all schools competed. In the 2014–15 season, women's sports with twelve teams returned to a single league table, while continuing to play a divisional schedule. Men's basketball moved to an 18-game schedule in 2017–18, and they continued to play home-and-home versus the former divisional rivals, and they play home-and-home versus two teams from

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858-701: The 2021–22 school year. Football-sponsoring Austin Peay left for the ASUN, which ultimately launched its own football league in 2022. Non-football Belmont left for the Missouri Valley Conference . Another football school, founding member Murray State, left for the MVC. When announcing its move to the MVC, Murray State announced that it was seeking membership in the football-only Missouri Valley Football Conference , and also announced that it would continue to house its rifle team in

897-452: The FCS playoffs. The team has made numerous FCS (formerly Division I-AA) playoff appearances. The Leathernecks have been ranked as high as number one and ranked number two numerous times. The team plays its home games at the 16,368 seat Hanson Field and are coached by Jared Elliott. The Western Illinois Leathernecks men's soccer team will play one final Summit League season in 2023 before joining

936-537: The Incarnate Word , and Liberty University . Chicago State was also announced as an incoming men's and women's golf associate on that day. Chicago State's OVC teams left the conference at the end of the 2023–24 school year when the university joined the Northeast Conference , which sponsors all sports that CSU housed in the OVC. On May 12, 2023, it was announced that Western Illinois University would join

975-596: The OVC and the Horizon League jointly announced that they would merge their men's tennis leagues under the Horizon banner, effective immediately. All five OVC members that sponsored men's tennis became Horizon affiliates in that sport. On March 28, 2023, the OVC announced it was adding men's soccer as its 19th championship sport. The four OVC members sponsoring the sport in other conferences were joined by Chicago State University , Houston Christian University , University of

1014-415: The OVC from the Summit League in most non-football sports beginning for the 2023 season. Western Illinois football, which was then a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference , played the 2023 season in that league before joining the university's other sports in the OVC for the 2024 season. Western later announced its men's soccer team would also play the 2023 season in its former all-sports home of

1053-634: The OVC was a pioneer in racial desegregation, with Morehead State signing the conference's first Black athlete, Marshall Banks, in 1958. The rest of the OVC soon followed in Morehead State's wake. From 1986 to 2018, the OVC was unique among NCAA Division I conferences in that it included one historically Black university , Tennessee State University , in a conference that otherwise consists of institutions that are not traditionally Black. During this period, every other HBCU in NCAA Division I belonged to either

1092-519: The OVC. In a separate statement, Murray State's president indicated that the football team would remain in the OVC in the 2022 season, ensuring that the OVC would retain its automatic bid to the FCS playoffs in that season and giving the league more time to add new football members. Murray State would eventually be accepted by the MVFC effective in 2023. Also in July 2022, the OVC added two non-football members in

1131-576: The addition of three more sports for women, this includes beach volleyball, bowling, and STUNT. The Western Illinois Leathernecks baseball team represents the university in NCAA Division I college baseball . The team is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference . It plays its home games at the 500-seat Alfred D. Boyer Stadium and are coached by Andy Pascoe . The Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team competes in NCAA Division I men's college basketball competition. The school's team

1170-444: The conclusion of the war. In 1948, the three schools joined with Louisville , Morehead State , and Evansville to form the Ohio Valley Conference. While many collegiate conferences are struggling today with the question of whether their policies and rules should be determined by the athletic departments or by the institutional heads, from the very beginning, the OVC has been run by the presidents of its member schools. Historically,

1209-563: The conference announced its intent to combine its football membership with the Big South Conference beginning in 2023 and operate as the Big South–OVC Football Association . The alliance follows the model that the ASUN and Western Athletic Conference used in 2021 and 2022 before merging their football leagues in 2023 as the United Athletic Conference . Shortly after the 2022 membership changes took effect,

Western Illinois Leathernecks - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-494: The conference leadership struggled with controlling the issue for many years. When the national debate on the problem reached its apex in the mid-1990s, the OVC unveiled the national first of its kind "Sportsmanship Statement" in 1995, stating the conference's policy on, "... principles of fair play, ethical conduct and respect for one's opponent." Since then, the OVC has also introduced individual, team (for each sport), and institutional sportsmanship awards. Founded by six schools,

1287-420: The conference. Primary source: The Ohio Valley Conference can trace its roots to 1941 when Murray State athletic director Roy Stewart, Eastern Kentucky athletic director Charles "Turkey" Hughes, and Western Kentucky public relations director Kelly Thompson first formulated the idea of establishing a regional athletics conference. The plan was put on hold due to World War II, but it was resurrected after

1326-656: The distinction of being the only non-military institution to officially have its nickname derived from a branch of the military service. Since the fall semester of 2009, the men's and women's teams have been unified under the Leathernecks name; previously, the women's teams and athletes at the school had been known as the Westerwinds. On December 18, 2020 Western Illinois officially discontinued their men’s and women’s swimming programs citing budgetary and COVID-19 concerns. On May 12, 2023 Western Illinois accepted an invitation to join

1365-592: The expansions of 2007 and 2011 brought the Ohio Valley Conference membership to twelve schools, the most in its history. The OVC dropped to 10 members after the 2020–21 school year, when founding member Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State left for the Atlantic Sun Conference (then branded as the ASUN Conference; "ASUN" is still the official abbreviation). At that time, the OVC was searching for teams to replace both. The OVC lost three more members after

1404-636: The network provided well over 600,000 viewings of streamed live video of more than 1,400 events. In the 2018–19 school year, the coverage previously carried on the OVC Digital Network was switched over to ESPN+ . Years listed in this table are calendar years. For schools that play only spring sports (such as beach volleyball) in the OVC, the calendar year of arrival precedes the first season of competition. Full members (all sports)  Full members (non-football)  Associate members (football-only)  Associate members (other)  Other Conference  Other Conference  Starting with

1443-464: The other division, with those opponents on a rotation that sets up different pairs from year-to-year. The OVC returned to a single-table format after Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State left in 2021. The Ohio Valley Conference currently offers championship competition in 19 NCAA sanctioned sports, with eight for men, 10 for women, and rifle for men's, women's, and coed teams. Departing members are displayed in red. Departing members in red. This

1482-630: The rest of the university's sports in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2024. Both conferences are part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's Division I . The team plays its home games at 500-seat MacKenzie Alumni Field and are coached by Dr. Eric Johnson. at Harry Mussatto Golf Course . The team has won nine Summit League championships in 1995, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2014. The team has also made six NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament appearances in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2012. The Western Illinois Leathernecks women's soccer team, like its men's counterpart,

1521-452: Was to protect the neck from slashing blades in battle but it also served to keep the head and the neck erect when the uniform was worn. The term "Leatherneck" was derived from a leather stock once worn around the neck by both American and British Marines and soldiers (British sailors referred to Royal Marines as "Bootnecks"). Beginning in 1798 "one stock of black leather and clasp" was issued to each United States Marine every year. Its use as

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