page_title: University of Western Ontario
section_title: Athletics
hierarchical_section_title: University of Western Ontario / Student life / Athletics
context_page_description: The University of Western Ontario, corporately branded as Western University as of 2012 and commonly shortened to Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on 455 hectares of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames River bisecting the campus's eastern portion. The university operates twelve academic faculties and schools. It is a member of the U15, a group of research-intensive universities in Canada.
  The university was founded on 7 March 1878 by Bishop Isaac Hellmuth of the Anglican Diocese of Huron as The Western University of London, Ontario. It incorporated Huron College, which had been founded in 1863. The first four faculties were Arts, Divinity, Law and Medicine. The university became non-denominational in 1908. Beginning in 1919, the university had affiliated with several denominational colleges. The university grew substantially in the post-World War II era, and a number of faculties and schools were added.
  Western is a co-educational university, with more than 24,000 students, and over 306,000 living alumni worldwide.
context_section_description: Athletics at Western is managed by Sports & Recreation Services, a division of the Faculty of Health Sciences. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports. The varsity teams are known as the Western Mustangs. As is mandatory for all members of U Sports, Western does not provide full-ride athletic scholarships. Western's varsity teams have been highly successful. In particular, the football team has won 30 provincial championships, appeared in 12 national championship finals and won 6 Vanier Cups as national champions. Basketball has won 24 provincial championships and rowing has won 23 provincial championships.
  The university has a number of athletic facilities open to their varsity teams and their students. The Western Student Recreation Centre, opened in January 2009, is home to Western's group fitness, drop in recreation, registered massage therapy, sport psychology, drop in recreation, intramural sports and clubs. Better known as the WSRC or the Rec Centre, this facility has an 8-lane, 50-metre pool facility. Overlooking the pool is a 3-tiered concrete viewing area. A 1-metre diving board is also available. There is over 19,000 square feet of weight, cardio, and stretching space within the WSRC. There are three gyms on the first floor, and two more on the upper level. Outside the lower gyms is the 1st floor games and activity lounge for table tennis, while outside of the upper gym spaces is cardio space as well as the destination for spin bike programming. Also on the 4th floor are two large studio spaces where the drop in fitness, clubs and dance courses take place.
  TD Stadium has been the university's main stadium since it opened in 2000, with a seating capacity of over 8,000 spectators. The stadium is home to the university's varsity football team, and has hosted a number of events including the World Lacrosse Championships and the Canada Games. The Thompson Recreation & Athletic Centre which houses a number of athletic venues, including an ice rink, tennis facilities and a track, is home to the varsity ice hockey teams and the varsity track and field teams. Another athletic facility at the university is Alumni Hall, which is a multipurpose venue for sports such as basketball, volleyball and other indoor events.
  Many Western students take part in intramural sport leagues and tournaments. Opportunities are offered at multiple skill levels and across a variety of sports. Sports offered include traditional sports like volleyball, basketball and soccer, as well as less traditional events like dodgeball and inner tube water polo. Western also hosts secondary school football games at TD Stadium. Western has several fight songs and school songs that may be heard at varsity games, including the official school song, "Western". Written in 1930, it is most notably played at football games and other athletic events by the Western Mustang Band.
caption: The Western Mustangs compete in a number of sports, including Canadian football.
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