1986 Western Michigan Broncos football team

The 1986 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth and final season under head coach Jack Harbaugh, the Broncos compiled a 3–8 record (3–5 against MAC opponents), finished in eighth place in the MAC, and were outscored by their opponents, 257 to 183.^[1][2][3] The team played its home games at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan.^[4]

1986 Western Michigan Broncos football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	3–8 (3–5 MAC)
Head coach	Jack Harbaugh (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dan Ferrigno (2nd season)
MVP	Mark Garalczyk
Captain	Chris Conklin, Sam Culbert, Mark Garalczyk
Home stadium	Waldo Stadium
Seasons ← 1985 1987 →

1986 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Miami (OH) $	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Toledo	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Bowling Green	5	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Kent State	5	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Ball State	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Eastern Michigan	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Central Michigan	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Western Michigan	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Ohio	0	–	8	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The team's statistical leaders included Chris Conklin with 1,668 passing yards, Joe Glenn with 602 rushing yards, and Kelly Spielmaker with 575 receiving yards.^[5] Quarterback Chris Conklin, guard Sam Culbert, and defensive tackle Mark Garalczyk were the team captains.^[6] Garalczyk received the team's most outstanding player award;^[7] he was also selected as the MAC defensive player of the year.^[8]

On November 17, 1986, two days after the final game of the season, and despite winning three of the last five games, coach Harbaugh was fired. Harbaugh had compiled a record of 25–27–3. Michigan coach Bo Schembechler called Harbaugh's firing "one of the tragedies of sport", referred to the head coaching job at Western as "the worst job in America", and said that Western had "the worst-administered athletic department, maybe the worst-administered school."^[9]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	L 14–21
September 13	Temple*	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	L 17–49
September 20	Long Beach State*	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	L 13–14	10,089
September 27	at No. 19 Michigan State*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 10–45	65,907
October 4	at Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH	L 3–17
October 11	at Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI (rivalry)	L 10–18
October 18	Miami (OH)	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	W 27–17
October 25	at Ball State	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN	L 10–24
November 1	at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	L 7–28
November 8	Ohio	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	W 45–17
November 15	Kent State	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	W 27–7
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "Football Records: Annual Results". Western Michigan University. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
2. "Football Records: Year-By-Year Results - 1980 - 89". Western Michigan University. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
3. "1986 Western Michigan Broncos Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
4. "Waldo Stadium". Western Michigan University. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
5. "1986 Western Michigan Broncos Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
6. "Football History: All-Time Captains". Western Michigan University. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
7. "Football History: Team Awards". Western Michigan University. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
8. "Football History: Conference Awards". Western Michigan University. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
9. Mick McCabe (November 18, 1986). "WMU coach Harbaugh fired". Detroit Free Press. p. 1D.