The Central Washington Wildcats program represents

Central Washington University Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington, United States. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academi ...

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

level. The Wildcats are normally members of the

Great Northwest Athletic Conference The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It has historically operated in the northwestern United States, but a ...

, but when that conference dropped football after the 2021 season, they joined the

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the South Central states, with schools in Texas ...

as football-only members.

Conference affiliations

* 1901–1921: Independent * 1922–1937: Tri-Normal Conference * 1938–1947: Washington Intercollegiate Conference * 1948–1984:

Evergreen Conference The Evergreen Conference (EvCo) was an College athletics, intercollegiate athletic conference composed of member schools located in the states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington (state), Washington and, for a time, the Canadian province of British Col ...

* 1985–1986: Columbia Football League * 1987–2000: Columbia Football Association * 2001–2005:

* 2006–2007: North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference * 2008–2021:

* 2022–present:

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division II

The Wildcats have made eight appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs, with a combined record of 5–8.

Stadium

The Central Washington Wildcats have played their home games at Tomlinson Stadium since its construction in 1959 (Field named to Steve Hertling Field in 2024). The current permanent capacity of the stadium is 4,000.

Rivalries

Western Washington

Notable players

Beau Baldwin Beau Daniel Baldwin (born May 21, 1972) is an American gridiron football, football coach and former player. He most recently served as quarterbacks coach for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Previously, he was also th ...

Jon Kitna Jon Kelly Kitna (born September 21, 1972) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys. He played colleg ...

* Mike Reilly * John Zamberlin * Adam Bighill * Chase DeMoore

References

External links

* American football teams established in 1901 1901 establishments in Washington (state) {{collegefootball-stub