Bowling Green State University Falcons: A Legacy of Athletic Excellence

Bowling Green State University (BGSU), located in Bowling Green, Ohio, boasts a rich tradition of athletic competition and achievement. As a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, the Bowling Green Falcons represent the university with distinction in a variety of sports. With a commitment to academic excellence and athletic prowess, BGSU provides its student-athletes with the resources and support they need to succeed both on and off the field. The Wall Street Journal has ranked BGSU as the No. 1 public university in the Midwest that students would choose again for five years running, and also recognizes it as the No. 1 public university in Ohio for student experience. BGSU research and creative activities address significant issues facing society - from water quality, to the opioid epidemic to plastic alternatives. BGSU is everywhere, impacting our economy, our workforce and our future.

Athletic Affiliations

The Falcons primarily compete in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division. However, due to conference realignments, the men's ice hockey team participates in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), and men's soccer competes in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) following the MAC shutting down its men's soccer league at the end of the 2022 season.

Sports Offered

Bowling Green sponsors teams in seven men's and 11 women's NCAA-sanctioned sports. The football team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level for college football.

Men's Sports:

Baseball (program was cut in 2020 but reinstated)
Basketball
Football
Ice Hockey
Golf
Soccer
Cross Country

Women's Sports:

Basketball
Cross Country
Golf
Gymnastics
Soccer
Softball
Swimming & Diving
Tennis
Track & Field
Volleyball

Rivalries

The Falcons' main rivals are the Toledo Rockets from the University of Toledo, separated by 20 miles (32 km) of Interstate 75 in northwestern Ohio. This rivalry is contested in several sports, with the annual football game, known as the Battle of I-75, being the most prominent. The winner of the game was originally awarded the Peace Pipe, a Native American peace pipe placed upon a wood tablet. The Falcons and Kent State also compete for the Anniversary Award which commemorates the two institutions' founding in 1910 with the passing of the Lowry bill.

Notable Teams and Achievements

Baseball: Founded in 1915 as one of the university's first varsity sports, the baseball program has a storied history, winning five MAC championships and making four NCAA regional appearances. The program has also produced 49 Major League Baseball draft picks. The Falcons have appeared in four NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 1-5.

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Women's Basketball: The Bowling Green Falcons women's basketball team has had a history of success, rivaling the school's football team as the most prominent athletic team at the university. The team has won ten conference tournaments, eleven regular season championships and five division championships. The women's basketball team has made the NCAA tournament nine times and the AIAW tournament (the predecessor to the NCAA tournament) twice, posting an overall tournament record of 6-12. The current head coach of the Falcons is Jennifer Roos. In her first full season as head coach, Roos led the team to the third round of the WNIT. Roos served on the staff of previous BGSU Women's Basketball head coach Curt Miller, who had over 200 wins record in 10 season as head coach.

Football: The Bowling Green Falcons football team plays at Doyt Perry Stadium on the east end of the BGSU campus. The Falcons are a historical MAC powerhouse winning ten conference championships, second only to rival Miami (Ohio) (13). Famous Falcon football players include Kory Lichtensteiger, Shaun Suisham and Don Nehlen (who would also become head football coach at Bowling Green).

Gymnastics: The Bowling Green Gymnastics team trains and competes in Anderson Arena located within Memorial Hall on campus. Head coach Kerrie Turner is assisted by coaches Sunny Marchand and Juliana Belar. The team is managed by sophomore Alyssa Page and the trainer is graduate assistant Annie Rastovski.

Men's Ice Hockey: The Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey team is the only athletic program at Bowling Green State University to win a national title, coming during the 1984 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament in Lake Placid, New York. The Falcons defeated Minnesota-Duluth 5-4 in the fourth overtime. The game is the longest NCAA men's ice hockey game ever played. The game was broadcast on WBGU, called by John Bowers. John is now with the Cleveland Guardians. In 1984 the Bowling Green Hockey Team won the National Championship in one of the longest games in college hockey history. Gino Cavallini scored at 7:11 in the 4th overtime to give the Falcons their first college hockey national championship.

Electric Falcon Motorsports Team: In 1993 students at the College of Technology began constructing the Electric Falcon electric race car, and finished it by 1994. The Electric Falcon Motorsports Team won championships in 2001 and 2003.

Read also: A Look at BGSU Football

Athletic Facilities

BGSU boasts a range of athletic facilities that provide student-athletes with state-of-the-art training and competition venues.

Doyt Perry Stadium: Home to the football team, Doyt Perry Stadium opened in 1966 and was named in honor of former football coach Doyt Perry. The stadium has a seating capacity of 30,599 and underwent a renovation in 1982 to expand its seating capacity from 23,272. The stadium and MAC attendance record was set in 1983 when 33,527 fans saw Toledo defeat Bowling Green 6-3 in the annual Battle of I-75. The Doyt hosted its first Big Ten opponent on September 6, 2008, as the Falcons were defeated by Minnesota 42-17.
Sebo Athletic Center: Opened in 2007, the 33,500 sq. ft. Sebo Athletic Center is located at the north end of Doyt Perry Stadium. The center was named after J.
Stroh Center: The basketball and volleyball teams moved into the Stroh Center in 2011, replacing the aging Anderson Arena.
Slater Family Ice Arena: Home to the men's hockey team, Slater Family Ice Arena opened in 1967 and is located on the east end of campus.
Warren E. Steller Field: Warren E. Steller Field was the home to the Falcons baseball team from 1964 to 2020. The field is named in honor of Warren E. Steller, a former instructor at the school who coached the school's football team from 1924 to 1934 and the baseball team in 1925 and again from 1928 to 1959.
Mickey Cochrane Stadium: Home to the men's and women's soccer teams, Mickey Cochrane Stadium opened in 1966 and was renamed in honor of Bowling Green's first men's soccer coach on October 11, 1980. The stadium was renovated in 1993 and 1994, which included the installation of a permanent grandstand that seats 1,500.
Cooper Pool: Cooper Pool is home to Bowling Green's women's swimming and diving team.
Whittaker Track: Whittaker Track is home to Bowling Green's women's track and field team.
College Park Rugby Field: College Park Rugby Field is home to the Bowling Green State University Rugby Football Club. Located on the northwest corner of campus at the corners of North College and Poe Road, it is one of the few dedicated collegiate rugby pitches in the United States.

Notable Athletes

Bowling Green has produced a number of notable athletes who have gone on to achieve success at the professional level.

Nate Thurmond: A basketball player who played professional basketball in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Thurmond, whose number 42 is the only basketball number retired by the university, graduated in 1963 before eventually being named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
Chuck Share: One of the NBA's first ever draft picks, Share was selected by the Boston Celtics in the 1950 NBA Draft.
Antonio Daniels and Keith McLeod: Former NBA players who also played at BGSU.
Ken Morrow and Mark Wells: Members of the 1980 Winter Olympics gold medal-winning U.S. hockey team.
Rob Blake: Captured a gold medal for Canada during the 2002 Winter Olympics.
George McPhee (1982) and Brian Holzinger (1995): Hobey Baker Award winners, given to the top collegiate men's hockey player each season.
Omar Jacobs: The starting quarterback for Bowling Green in 2004 and 2005. In 2004, he passed for 4,002 yards and set the NCAA record for TD to INT rate, at 41 touchdowns to 4 interceptions.
Don Nehlen: Played quarterback for BG during his playing days before coaching the Falcons for nine seasons from 1968 to 1976. Nehlen went on to coach West Virginia University where he would receive national attention. The coach joined the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
Doyt Perry: A Hall of Fame coach who led the Falcons from 1955 through 1964. The university's football stadium is now named in his honor.
Urban Meyer: Coached the Falcons for two seasons in 2001 and 2002 before leaving for the University of Utah.
Phil Villapiano: An integral part of the Oakland Raiders in their glory days during the 1970s as a 4-time Pro-Bowler.
Shaun Suisham: Notable football player.
Dave Wottle: Was an NCAA champion and All-American at Bowling Green before graduating in 1973.

Club Sports

In addition to its varsity athletic programs, BGSU offers students the opportunity to participate in a variety of sports at the club level. The Bowling Green State University Rugby Football Club has been one of the more successful college rugby clubs in the United States. Established in 1968, the club has over 80 members and fields five teams. The club has been embraced by the university as a quasi-varsity sport, with a home game fan attendance that makes it the fourth most watched sport on campus. The club averages nine wins for every loss with an all-time record of 2672-420-88. BGSU RFC became the first Bowling Green athletic program (varsity or club) to compete outside of North America, touring England (1987, 1995, 2012, 2014), Wales (2000), South Africa (2002, 2007), and Ireland (2005). Bowling Green finished ninth at the 2010 Collegiate Rugby Championship, a tournament broadcast live on NBC. Bowling Green's Rocco Mauer was the leading try scorer and the MVP of the tournament. Mauer signed a professional contract in 2012 to play full-time for the US national team. Bowling Green finished second at the 2016 USA Rugby Fall National Championship losing to Notre Dame College (Ohio) 39-17. Bowling Green's center Adam Regini and Scrumhalf Mitch Sora were named as a D1AA Fall Top 50 Backs. Bowling Green won the Fall D1AA Rugby National Championship in 2018, beating Saint Joseph’s University 26-7.

Traditions and Spirit

The spirit of BGSU is embodied by its traditions and mascots.

Nickname: Before 1927, BG teams were called the Normals or Teachers. Ivan Lake suggested the nickname after reading an article on falconry.
Colors: The historical story behind how BGSU began using brown and orange as its school colors dates back to 1914. Homer B. Williams, the university's first President, gathered a group of people which included a L.L. Winslow from Industrial Arts as a selection committee for the school's new colors. While on a trolley to Toledo, Dr. Winslow sat behind a woman wearing a large hat adorned with beautiful brown and orange feathers. Dr.
Songs: Bowling Green State University has three common songs that can be heard being played by the Falcon Marching Band at various athletic and academic events.
Mascots: Freddie and Frieda Falcon are the mascots for Falcons athletics. The pair are anthropomorphized peregrine falcons. They are somewhat of a rarity among collegiate mascots, being one of the few male-female mascot pairs in existence. In 2006 they were both named "Best Collegiate Mascot" at the 2006 NCA Cheer Camp in Nashville, Tennessee at Vanderbilt University. Freddie first appeared at Bowling Green sporting events in 1950.
SICSIC: SICSIC are a six-member, anonymous pep squad and the official spirit crew for BGSU, which began in 1946.
BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame: Any former BG student-athlete out of school for at least 10 years, a coach, or a contributor to BGSU athletics is eligible for induction into the BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame.

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