Traditions Thursday: WKU Athletics Timeline

11/5/2020 3:13:00 PM | General

WKU Athletics will be highlighting traditions on The Hill on Thursdays throughout the fall as part of a feature series called Traditions Thursday. This week the series highlights the inception of WKU's 16 current sports.

By: Story by: Elliott Wells

Western Kentucky University, one of the eight public universities lodged in the state of Kentucky, was once known as the Western Kentucky State Normal School from 1906-1922. The Normal School began its instruction January 22, 1907, but it wasn’t until the spring of 1910 that collegiate sports began in Bowling Green.

Since the inception of WKU’s athletic program in 1910, it has been one of the most prolific athletic departments in the country. With over 100 years of fielding sports teams on The Hill, WKU now houses 16 athletic teams.

WKU’s First-Ever Sporting Event

The WKU baseball club was founded in 1910 and became the first-ever team to represent Western Kentucky Normal School on May 2, 1910. In the first intercollegiate baseball game, the school posted a 6-0 victory over in-state rival Eastern Kentucky State Normal School. The game played at Ogden Park in Bowling Green was a no-hitter affair. The 1910 baseball team finished their season with a 2-1 overall record, posting their other win against Berea College. WKSNS professors M.A. Leiper, W.J. Craig, J.H. Clagett and Fred Mutchler coached the baseball team during the 1910-11 seasons. Since collegiate athletics began on the Hill in 1910, the WKU baseball team has recorded over 1,800 wins. The program has witnessed four conference tournament championships and celebrated 57 players drafted into Major League Baseball.

The Establishment of WKU Football

Records indicate that WKU fielded its first organized football team in 1908 as part of the Ogden College and Southern Normal school teams. It wasn’t until the fall of 1913 that coaches M.A. Leiper and Roy Manchester fielded WKU’s first-ever varsity team for the record. The Hilltoppers, an undermanned team, only played one game during their inaugural season in 1913, and it was a contest against Elizabethtown High School. WKU outscored the high school team, 20-0, to earn the program’s first victory on the gridiron. WKU Football has compiled over 500 wins in its 102-year history. During that timeframe, the Hilltoppers have earned 10 conference championships and have drafted 35 players to the National Football League.

The Hilltoppers Hit The Hardwood For The First Time

The WKU men’s basketball program showcased its first-ever team against Bethel (Ky.) in 1914. The Hilltoppers, coached by J.L Arthur, routed Bethel with a final score of 38-21. The 1914-15 Hilltopper team documented a 5-1 record, exhibiting victories against Vanderbilt Training, Middle Tennessee and Eastern Kentucky. The team’s only loss during their six-game season came against Middle Tennessee, 30-19. The program enters into its 102nd season in November, and WKU ranks third in NCAA history in regular-season league titles (42), seventh in 20-win seasons (46), eighth in all-time winning percentage (.660) and 15th in all-time wins (1,815). Since the establishment of basketball on The Hill, 35 WKU basketball players have been drafted to the National Basketball Association.

Men’s Track & Cross Country Addition

Along with coaching the baseball team (1914-15), men’s basketball team (1914-15), football team (1915), J.L. Arthur also coached the men’s first-ever track and cross country teams during 1915. Arthur coached the teams for the two years of WKU’s track and cross country existence until the team folded for 13 years. The team returned to campus in 1930 under the direction of Carl “Swede” Anderson. WKU didn’t roster a track & cross country team from 1943-46 due to World War II. But the program returned once again in 1947 with Turner Elrod as the team’s head coach. Since the 1947 track and cross country seasons, the Hilltoppers have rostered a team each year. In cross country, the men’s team dominated the Sun Belt Conference, winning 15 conference championships from 1982-2011. WKU was a member of the Sun Belt for 32 years, and the cross country team displayed its dominance the most from 1982-1987, winning six straight conference meets and having the top runner in each Sun Belt Championship meet. Most recently, the men’s track & field team have won nine conference meets since 2003. WKU’s men's track & field team won back-to-back C-USA Outdoor Championships in 2016 and 2017.

Men’s Golf Comes To The Hill

WKU’s historic golf program was founded in 1935 when Jo T. “Top” Orendorf, a former teacher at Bowling Green Business University, was welcomed as the first men’s golf coach at the university. After the 1935 season, the Hilltoppers didn’t slate a team from 1936-1938. The men’s team returned to The Hill for the 1939 season when Arnold Winkenhofer coached the program until the 1941 season. The Hilltoppers didn’t have a team from 1942-46 because of World War II. Once the team returned to campus in 1946, Frank Griffin coached the team for 33 years, the longest tenure coach in WKU’s golf program. Griffin served in the U.S. Navy from 1941-46 and is also a member of the 1993 WKU Athletic Hall of Fame.

The Addition of Women’s Sports at WKU

Dr. Dero Downing, WKU’s fourth president, gave the go-ahead to allow intercollegiate competition between women on January 29, 1973. The movement started when Betty Langley, the women’s tennis coach from 1973-81, generated more than 700 signatures by women on WKU’s campus to start collegiate sports for women at WKU. The women stated their concerns to the university, noting that the intramural programs on WKU’s campus were inadequate and discriminatory.

WKU Adds Women’s Tennis

Betty Langley, a faculty member at the university, became the first women’s head coach at WKU in 1973. In WKU’s first-ever matchup, Langley guided the Lady Toppers to a victory against Louisville, 8-1. WKU finished the season with a 2-2 record, defeating Centre and dropping matches to Murray State and Eastern Kentucky. Langley coached the tennis team for seven seasons, finishing her coaching career with an overall record of 75-32. The Centertown native also led the Lady Toppers to five conference titles during her tenure on The Hill.

The First Launch of Women’s Basketball at WKU

Before WKU established its first women’s basketball team in 1914, sophomore, junior and senior class women were able to field teams across the university. The three classes played each other but the Lady Toppers played their first-ever competitive game against Logan College in 1914. WKU succeeded in its first-ever basketball game with a final score of 12-8. J.L. Arthur directed the women’s team until the 1916 season. After Arthur’s departure from the team, WKU didn’t slate a team from 1916-21. The Lady Toppers returned to campus from 1921 and then withdrew support for intercollegiate play in 1930.

Women’s Basketball Welcomed Back to The Hill

After not rostering a women’s basketball team for more than 40 years, Pam Dickson, WKU’s women’s basketball coach (1973-74), announced in October 1973 that team tryouts were going to be held. The Lady Toppers made their first appearance on the hardwood on January 19, 1974 when they battled against Bellarmine. The Lady Toppers posted their first win at Kentucky State, winning 40-31. WKU women's basketball has amassed over 1,000 wins in its history, which is the 11th highest win total of all NCAA Division I teams.

Women’s Track & Cross Country Inception

The WKU women’s cross country team didn’t begin its first season on The Hill until the fall of 1974 under the direction of Dr. Shirley Laney, who coached the team for three seasons. WKU won its first Sun Belt Conference Championship in 1985. The Lady Toppers would go on to win 17 SBC crowns from 1985-2011. The women’s track & field program was also dominant in the Sun Belt, winning eight conference championships from 2006-2015.

WKU Women’s Golf Tees Off On The Hill

Betty Langley, a former seven-year WKU women’s tennis coach, took a pair of golfers to a collegiate golf tournament in New England in the spring of 1973. Langley was the main catalyst for bringing women’s sports to The Hill in 1973. She was the first to put into writing the importance of women’s sports at WKU. While Langley coached the women’s tennis team, her colleague, Dr. Shirley Laney, directed WKU’s first women’s golf team in the mid 1970s. The Lady Toppers became one of the first colleges in Kentucky to roster a women’s golf team in 1975. With very few universities able to have a women’s golf program, WKU faced challenges in finding intercollegiate competition. WKU’s first recorded results in women’s golf came in the fall of 1976 when the Lady Toppers performed at the Central Michigan Invitational in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

WKU Volleyball Gets Started

With the demolition of WKU’s gymnastics team in 1981, WKU was able to add volleyball as its newest sport on campus. In order for the volleyball team to begin, head coach Dr. Charlie Daniel requested for 14 women who were athletic, quick and agile. The Lady Toppers began their first-ever tryout for the team on August 25, 1981. Tryouts started that Tuesday and ended Friday. Following WKU’s first season on The Hill, the Lady Toppers improved in 1982 with a 23-23 record and then a year later, WKU posted its first winning season with a 30-17 record. Since WKU’s first winning season in 1983, the Lady Toppers have dominated their competition, recording a total of 30 winning seasons. The program currently controls an overall record of 921-490 (.653).

Hilltopper Softball Welcomed in Bowling Green

The arrival of softball at WKU began in 2000 when Leslie Phelan accepted an invitation to lead the Lady Toppers on November 3, 1998. Phelan, a former standout softball player at Central Michigan (1989-1992), guided WKU to its first-ever softball victory on Feb. 26, 2000 against Eastern Kentucky, 4-2. The Lady Toppers, which consisted of five junior-college transfers and 10 underclassmen, finished their inaugural season with a 32-25-1 record, finishing second in Sun Belt Conference play. Phelan would go on to serve five seasons as head for the Lady Toppers, compiling a 157-139-1 record. Since Phelan’s departure in 2004, WKU has been coached by Rachel Lawson (2005-2007), Tyra Perry (2008-2013) and Amy Tudor (2014-present). Between WKU’s four coaches across 21 seasons on The Hill, the Lady Topper softball team has won over 600 games.

WKU Soccer Kicks Off in 2001

The Lady Toppers began their first season in 2001 under first-time head coach Jason Neidell. Neidell, a 1994 graduate of Yale University, was named the first women’s soccer coach at WKU on Oct. 31, 2000. The WKU Soccer team featured 20 freshmen and two walk-ons on the roster, none of which had ever played collegiate soccer at the Division I level. WKU made its first appearance at Morehead State on Aug. 31, 2001, defeating the Eagles 2-1 in double overtime. After winning their first game in program history, the Lady Toppers hit the pitch for the first time at the WKU Soccer Complex on Sept. 2, 2001 against Fort Wayne. WKU thumped the Mastodons 8-2 in front of nearly 500 fans. The Lady Toppers finished their first ever season on the Hill with a 14-5 overall record. Neidell has served as WKU’s only women’s soccer for 20 years, posting over 200 wins.