Association U Sports Football stadium TD Stadium | Athletic director Therese Quigley | |
University University of Western Ontario Conference Ontario University Athletics Location London, Ontario, Canada | ||
The Western Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent the Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport and, where applicable, in the west division.
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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 and the football team has won 30 provincial championships. Additionally, the cheerleading team has won the national championship 29 times, including 22 straight, and the football team has won six Vanier Cup national championships. They also have one of the largest university marching bands in Canada.
Varsity teams
The University of Western Ontario's Athletics program currently supports 22 varsity programs. Western Ontario Mustangs teams compete in:
Football
The Western Mustangs football team is one of the most decorated in Canadian history. They play out of the TD Stadium, built in 2000, which can seat up to 8000 spectators. The team has appeared in the most Vanier Cup national championships out of all Canadian Universities, having made it to the title game 12 times, most recently in 2008. The program has gone on to win the Cup six of those times, a feat only recently matched in 2010 by the Laval Rouge et Or. The Mustangs have also won the Yates Cup conference championship 29 times in team history; more than any other Canadian University. Former Head Coach Larry Haylor led the team from 1984 until his retirement in 2006, and currently holds the Canadian Interuniversity Sport record for most wins.
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 CIS football as a player for the Mustangs in 1980 and has also coached professional football for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 2004-2006. In the eight seasons that Marshall has served as the Mustangs head coach, the team has won the Yates Cup four times, in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2013 and appeared in the Vanier Cup game in 2008. The Mustangs have been one of the top teams in CIS football as of late, posting a 61-11 regular season record between 2008 and 2016.
Season-by-season record
The following is the record of the University of Western Ontario Mustangs football team since 2003:
Western Ontario Mustangs in the CFL
As of the end of the 2016 CFL season, 16 former Mustangs players were on CFL teams' rosters: