Hopefully, you have had a great summer! The beginning of each school year always brings new energy and excitement to The Hill, and we are certainly experiencing this with the beginning of the 2024-25 athletics year.
We announced our 2024 Hall of Fame Class earlier this week, which includes Travis Hudson (volleyball head coach), Beth Lane (women's basketball), Mel Mitchell (football) and our 1974 National Runner-Up Cross Country team. We will officially welcome them as the 33rd Hall of Fame Class at the induction ceremonies on Saturday, Nov. 16.
Sadly, another WKU Hall of Famer, the legendary Bobby Rascoe, passed away over the weekend. It was an honor to know him, and his family and friends are in our thoughts and prayers.
This weekend, Football kicks off the 2024 season with an exciting showdown at No. 5 Alabama. A primetime kick off (6 p.m.) on ESPN enables Coach Helton and our players to compete on the national stage while also shining a bright light on our university.
Our Football program has won three consecutive bowl games and has seven bowl wins over the last 10 seasons. Only Georgia, Alabama and Wisconsin have more bowl wins than WKU in that stretch. I look forward to seeing everyone at Houchens-Smith Stadium for our home opener on Sept. 7 vs. Eastern Kentucky (6 p.m.). Our new press box looks phenomenal, as does the new playing surface, and we need a big crowd to help us kick off the home schedule.
Coach Hudson, who is entering his 30th season as our head volleyball coach, is incredibly deserving of being inducted into our Athletics Hall of Fame. We appreciate the W-Club Alumni Board making an exception to their bylaws to honor his undeniable Hall of Fame legacy while he is still an active coach.
Our Volleyball program opens the season this weekend in Lexington with a tournament hosted by No. 9 Kentucky. We open vs. Morehead State on Friday before taking on Northern Kentucky and Kentucky on Saturday.
After a trip to East Lansing the following weekend, Volleyball opens up their home schedule with a matchup inside Diddle Arena against No. 15 Tennessee on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 6 p.m. In fact, the Hilltoppers' first three home matches are against opponents ranked in the preseason Top 25, a seemingly annual challenge our program relishes.
Coach Hudson's program is the model of consistency and success on The Hill. WKU is one of only 12 volleyball programs in the nation (out of 344 total) to have won an NCAA Tournament match in each of the last five seasons AND also finish the season ranked in the final Top 25.
Women's Soccer opened their season a few weeks ago and had two nice wins last weekend at home. Cross Country starts their season on Friday morning at the Belmont Opener. Women's Golf tees off their season on Sunday at Purdue, and our men's golf program opens the following week.
Before too long, it'll be basketball season again. While the Lady Topper non-conference schedule should be announced within the next few weeks, Coach Plona announced his Hilltoppers' non-conference schedule last week. I am looking forward to a great home slate and we need each of you in Diddle Arena, starting on Nov. 4 when we take on Wichita State. You created a championship vibe down the stretch last season especially for our three tournament games in Huntsville, and we need to continue that from day one this season!
Hilltopper Nation, now more than ever before, we need your support. We need Bowling Green, Warren County, and our great alumni base to step up and help us continue to reach greater heights in the future. In the 10 years since we joined Conference USA in 2014-15, we have 40 total championships won by nine different programs. The success we've achieved together has been remarkable. Your support – to the Hilltopper Athletic Foundation, our sport programs, NIL, and vital facility projects – truly impacts the lives of our student-athletes. Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you at a game soon!
Go Tops!
Todd Stewart
Director of Athletics
