The 1976 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

in the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great L ...

(MAC) during the

1976 NCAA Division I football season The 1976 NCAA Division I football season ended with a championship for the Panthers of the University of Pittsburgh. Led by head coach Johnny Majors (voted the AFCA Coach of the Year), the Pitt Panthers brought a college football championship to ...

. In their second season under head coach

Elliot Uzelac Elliot Uzelac (born July 24, 1941) is an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Western Michigan University from 1975 to 1981 and the United States Naval Academy from 1987 to 1989, compiling a career college football c ...

, the Broncos compiled a 7–4 record (6–3 against MAC opponents), finished in fourth place in the MAC, and outscored their opponents, 270 to 202. The team played its home games at

Waldo Stadium Waldo Stadium is a stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It is primarily used for football, and has been the home of Western Michigan University Broncos football in rudimentary form since 1914, and as a complete stadium since 1939. It currently has ...

in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The team's statistical leaders included Pepper Powers with 571 passing yards, Jerome Persell with 1,505 rushing yards, and Tom Henry with 225 receiving yards. Defensive back Dave Gapinski and quarterback Pepper Powers were the team captains. Tailback Jerome Persell received the team's most outstanding player award. Persell was also named MAC offensive player of the year for the first of what would be three consecutive years. Elliot Uzelac was named the MAC coach of the year.

Schedule

References

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...

Western Michigan Broncos football seasons

Western Michigan Broncos football The Western Michigan Broncos football program represents Western Michigan University in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Western Michigan has competed in football since 1906, when they played t ...

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