Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball
men's college basketball team
The Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team represents Western Illinois University of Macomb, Illinois, in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college basketball competition. As of the 2023–24 NCAA season, the Leathernecks compete in the Ohio Valley Conference.
History
Western Illinois' first men's basketball team was fielded in 1904. The Leathernecks men's basketball program made the transition from Division II to Division I beginning in the 1981–82 season. They were selected to play in the College Basketball Invitational tournament following the 2011–12 regular season, the first Division I postseason appearance in school history. The Leathernecks were selected again to play in the College Basketball Invitational tournament after the 2012–13 season. The Leathernecks have never appeared in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
Prior to moving to Western Hall in 1964, the men's basketball team played at Hewitt Gymnasium and Peoria Armory from the early 1900s through the 1930s. They also played select home games at Robertson Memorial Field House during the 1970s.
Season results
Western Illinois' records season by season since joining Division I in 1981.
The public source identifies “Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball” as men's college basketball team. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Western, Illinois and Leathernecks.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball”, the useful work is to connect “men's college basketball team” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7987944. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2023, 1904, 1981 and 2011.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball primary sources, Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball archive and Western research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball” 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.