The Western Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. The school's athletic program supports 46 varsity teams. Their mascot is a Mustang named J.W. and the school colours are purple and white. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference and the national U Sports organization. Western University offers 21 varsity sports for men and 19 for women which compete in the OUA conference. The university also offers cheerleading (co-ed and all-girls), women's ringette, women's softball, table tennis (men's and women's) and ultimate frisbee (open-class and women's), which compete outside the OUA conference, in sport-specific conferences and divisions.
The current athletic director is Christine Stapleton, who started at the university in 2017. Her predecessor, Therese Quigley, held the role for 8 years starting in 2009.
Many Western varsity programs lead Canadian universities in the number of championships won. The women's volleyball team has won 10 provincial championships, the rowing team has won 23 provincial championships, the basketball teams have won 24 provincial championships, the football team has won 31 provincial championships and the men's squash team has won 45 provincial championships, with 36 being consecutive. The Western Mustangs football team has won eight Vanier Cup national championships, in 1971, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1989, 1994, 2017 and 2021.
Additionally, the cheerleading team has won the national championship 33 times, including 24 consecutive. The university also has the largest university marching band in Canada.
Varsity teams
The University of Western Ontario's Athletics program currently supports 26 varsity programs.
While technically not considered a varsity team, Western has a university ringette team which competes annually in the Canadian national University Challenge Cup.
Badminton
Badminton started in the early 1930s at Western as a club, but transitioned to a varsity sport once recognized in the OUA. The team consistently places in the top 3 during OUA championships, and has won 10 OUA championships, with the last one being in 2014.
During the 1970s, the team saw much acclaim. Jamie Paulson attended Western at this time and dominated in both singles and doubles at OUAA tournaments in the 1970–71 season, winning 33 out of 36 matches. This streak continued even after Paulson's departure, and Western won the OUAA badminton championships in 1970–71, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1976–77, and 1977–78 seasons. More recently, former alumni Alex Bruce competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics as well as win a gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games.
Baseball
The OUA adopted baseball into the conference in 2001 and since then, the men's baseball team have won 6 total OUA championships in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2015 and 2016. The current head coach is Mike Lumley, a former Detroit Tigers fifth round draft pick. Lumley has been named OUA Coach of the Year in 2001, 2004, 2005, and 2009.
Basketball
Men's basketball
The men's basketball team plays its home games in Alumni Hall gymnasium. The Mustangs last won a conference championship in 2001–02, for a total of 25 OUA conference titles since 1908. The men's team has won 1 national championship in the 1990–91 season. The current head coach of the Mustangs is Brad Campbell, who has been the head coach since 2006. Campbell took over after the previous coach Craig Boydell. Boydell had a 16-year reign and brought the team to their only national title in the 1990–91 season.
Men's basketball originally started in 1903 as a team of medical school students. The team entered into the Ontario Amateur Basketball Association in 1911. Western arts students started a team in 1912. Western officially formed a unified Athletic Association and created one central team to represent the university as a whole in 1914.
Women's basketball
Western's women's basketball team has won 3 conference championships, in 1971–72, 1972–73 and 1973–74. The 1973–74 season became notable as the team was undefeated in league play.
Football
The Western Mustangs football team first started in 1929 and has become one of the most successful football teams in Canadian university sports. The team has won 8 Vanier Cup national titles and appeared 15 times at the championship, with the last win being in 2021. The Mustangs have also won 33 provincial Yates Cup titles, with 49 appearances.
Notable former players include: Joe Krol, Frank Cosentino, Andy Fantuz, Dick Suderman, Bob McFarlane, Frank Turville, Vaughn Martin, Daryl Waud and Tim Tindale.