KALAMAZOO, MI (WNWN/WTVB) – Western Michigan University Director of Athletics Dan Bartholomae announced Monday that Tim Lester will not be retained as Head Coach of the Broncos football team.
Lester, who was a quarterback for the Broncos during the late 1990s, was named football Head Coach in January of 2017 when P.J. Fleck departed for the University of Minnesota.
The message boards at Waldo Stadium welcomed Lester home when he was hired by former A.D. Kathy Beauregard. His dismissal almost six years later was announced in a press release issued by the university’s athletic department.
Bartholomae said in a statement, “The upcoming college football playoff expansion and the incredible foundation for success we have within our football program provides an exciting national opportunity for Bronco Football. It is imperative that we seize this opportunity by pursuing a new direction within our football program. Western Michigan University can set the standard for football in the MAC, which in turn will position us for success in the new and evolving college football landscape. We will immediately embark on a search to welcome a leader that shares this aspirational vision.”
Lester had an overall record of 37-32 and was 26-20 in the Mid American Conference. His teams never made it to the M.A.C. Championship Game. The Broncos finished the 2022 campaign at 5-7. Some disgruntled fans have been calling for Lester’s dismissal on various social media platforms.
Lester was given a contract extension through 2025 by Bartholomae last January just weeks after he became the W.M.U. Athletic Director.
Lester said, “First, I am disappointed that I won’t get to lead the Western Michigan football program and these players in the future. I want to thank Al Molde and his staff for recruiting me here in 1995. I want to thank Bill Cubit for hiring me as an assistant in 2005. And finally, I would like to thank Kathy Beauregard and President John Dunn for giving me the opportunity to lead this program six years ago. It has been an honor for me and my family to represent Western Michigan University and be a member of the Kalamazoo Area Community. I am also grateful for the dedicated group of loyal supporters that have been consistently behind our program. Most importantly, I am proud of the resolve shown by our players and staff. To each and every one of them that gave their all for this program in the last 6 years, I love you and will support you in every possible way.”
“Coach Lester is a cherished WMU alumnus who has been a part of some of the most successful football seasons in our history, both as a student-athlete and as a coach,” said Bartholomae. “He has represented Bronco Nation with integrity and with class, and he will always be welcomed in Kalamazoo and in our campus community. I am thankful for our year working together and will be rooting him on in his future successes.”
The search for a new head football coach will start immediately.
