Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers
athletic team for Western Kentucky University
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers are the athletic teams that represent Western Kentucky University (WKU), located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, competing in the Conference USA (C-USA) since the 2014–15 academic year. The Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers previously competed in the Sun Belt Conference from 1982–83 to 2013–14; and in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) from 1948–49 to 1981–82.
The men's teams use the name Hilltoppers; however, the women's teams use the name Lady Toppers.
Varsity teams
WKU competes in 16 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball.
Baseball
WKU baseball competes at Nick Denes Field. The team won the Sun Belt Conference championship in 2009, their first Sun Belt title.
First Year: 1910
All-Time Record:1736–1448–17 (.545)
Conference Championships: 3 (1952, 80, 2009)
Tournament Championships: 2 (2004, 08)
NCAA Tournaments:4 (1980, 2004, 08, 09)
Postseason Record:6–8 (.429)
Best Record (1980): 47–13–1 (.779)
Best in NCAA's (2009):.3–2 (.600)
Players Drafted:54 (last, Danny Hudzina)
Basketball
The men's basketball program is nationally recognized, and one of the winningest programs in NCAA history. Hank Plona is the current head coach of the Hilltoppers. The program has over 1,600 victories, forty 20-win seasons, 38 Postseason Tournament Appearances and 28 All-Americans.
During the 1980s, Coach Paul Sanderford built Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball into a national power, appearing in 3 NCAA Final Fours.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers” as athletic team for Western Kentucky University. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the history & society register because the source frames it as athletic team for Western Kentucky University. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3135684. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2014, 1982, 2013 and 1948.
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This entry incorporates text from “Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.