Topic summary
Northern Michigan Wildcats
The Northern Michigan Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northern Michigan University, located in Marquette, Michigan, in NCAA intercollegiate sporting competitions. All teams that play under NCAA governance compete at the Division II level, with three exceptions. The most significant one is the men's ice hockey program, which plays at the Division I level. Two other sports, Nordic skiing (a coeducational sport with separate men's and women's squads) and women's wrestling (part of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program), are de facto Division I sports; The NCAA holds a single skiing championship open to members of all three divisions, and does not currently include women's wrestling in its divisional structure. While NMU's skiing program includes both disciplines contested in the NCAA championships (Alpine and Nordic), only the Nordic program competes within the NCAA structure.
NMU fields three other recognized varsity teams, two of which serve as official U.S. Olympic training centers in non-NCAA sports or disciplines. The Olympic training centers are in weightlifting for both men and women, and the non-NCAA discipline of men's Greco-Roman wrestling.
Northern Michigan University has hosted the National Training Site (NTS) for Greco-Roman wrestling since 1999 as part of its Olympic Training Site. The program has produced multiple Olympians and numerous U.S. World Team members, including Spenser Mango, Alejandro Sancho, Helen Maroulis, Adeline Gray, and Sarah Robles. Most recently, NTS athlete Payton Jacobson was named the 2024 USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year after representing the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Jacobson also won the 2025 U.S. Open and earned berths on the Senior World Team, National Team, and U23 World Team, while head coach Andy Bisek was named the 2024 USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Coach of the Year.
In June 2026, the university announced that it would discontinue the National Training Site program effective June 30, 2027, citing evolving conditions in higher education and resource constraints. Existing athletic scholarship agreements will continue to be honored under their original terms and conditions.
The Wildcats compete as members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for 14 of 20 varsity sports, with the men's hockey team playing in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and the skiing team competing in the Central Collegiate Ski Association. NMU has been a member of the GLIAC since 1987.
Northern Michigan's rivals in sports action are the two other major schools in the upper peninsula: Michigan Technological University, and Lake Superior State University. The winner of the annual football game between NMU and Michigan Tech is awarded the Miner's Cup.The Cappo Cup is awarded each year to the season series winner between NMU and LSSU, given annually since the 1994-95 season.