In 2022, Wayne State had three new assistant coaches and only returned nine starters from the 2021 season. The team went on to finish the year at 1-9 overall and 0-6 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which was good for last place in the conference standings.

Things will change again for the 2023 campaign, as longtime head coach Paul Winters is no longer with the program. Winters is a three-time GLIAC Coach of the Year who coached the Warriors from 2004-2022.

In steps Tyrone Wheatley, who was introduced in January as the new head coach. He brought in six new assistant coaches. The team also returns 12 starters – nine on offense and three on defense. 

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WSU’s last winning season was 2019. The Warriors were 8-3 overall that year and 7-1 in GLIAC play.

The GLIAC again includes seven teams and returns three programs that finished with winning records in 2022. That includes Grand Valley State, which went 12-1 overall and claimed the GLIAC title with a 6-0 record.

GLIAC football action will be streamed live on FloFootball and the FloSports app, including all of Wayne State’s GLIAC games.

Here’s What To Know About Wayne State Football:

What Year Did Wayne State Start Playing Football?

Wayne State University’s first football season was an undefeated 1918 campaign (4-0) under David Holmes, who coached the team through the 1928 season. 

In their debut year, the Warriors outscored their opponents 100-0. The following year, it took WSU until its fifth game to score a point. Their second game of the year was an 88-0 loss to Western Michigan. 

All-time, Wayne State is 390-517-29.

In What Division Of College Football Does Wayne State Play? 

The Wayne State University football team plays at the NCAA Division II level.

How Many Times Has Wayne State Football Made It To The Playoffs?

Wayne State University has one memorable playoff run to its credit.

In 2011, the Warriors finished second in the GLIAC South Division standings (behind Hillsdale) and in a three-way tie for second place in the overall conference standings, but managed to earn a berth in the 24-team field for the NCAA Division II Playoffs. They were the No. 6 seed in Super Region 3. Hillsdale and Saginaw Valley State also advanced from the GLIAC that year.

Wayne State’s run through the bracket included wins over St. Cloud State (48-38), Nebraska-Kearney (38-14), Minnesota-Duluth (31-25) and Winston-Salem State (21-14). The dream season came to an end in the national championship game, a 35-21 loss to Pittsburg State.

When Did Wayne State Football Join The GLIAC?

Wayne State University joined the GLIAC in 1975, alongside the Saginaw Valley State football team, which was new to the collegiate football scene, while the school’s other sports had been part of the conference since its creation in 1972.

Hillsdale College and Northern Michigan also joined the GLIAC in 1975.

After the 1989 season, the GLIAC dropped football, sending teams on to the new Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (including Wayne State), along with members of the Heartland Football Conference for the 1990 season.

The MIFC merged with the GLIAC in 1999, and the conference resumed its sponsorship of football that fall.

The first conference Wayne State was a part of was the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, formed in 1955 by the presidents of several schools, with the expectation that the presidents would run the conference, not the athletic directors.

Though the conference still exists, Wayne State departed following the 1966-1967 academic year. 

Has Wayne State Football Ever Won The GLIAC title?

Wayne State wasted no time making its presence known in the GLIAC. The Warriors went 3-1 in conference play during their debut season of 1975 and claimed the title—their only one. The performance earned head coach Dick Lowry the GLIAC Coach of the Year honor.

The Warriors made a run at another title in 2010. They finished 8-2 in conference play and shared the top spot in the GLIAC’s South Division standings with Hillsdale, but North Division leader, Grand Valley State, ultimately took the title with a 9-1 conference record.

Prior to joining the GLIAC, Wayne State picked up a pair of conference titles in the PAC (1956 and 1964).

Who Is The Wayne State Football Head Coach?

In January 2023, Tyrone Wheatley was announced as the 20th head football coach in Wayne State’s century-long history. 

Wheatley’s coaching experience spans nearly two decades, including a recent five-year stint as the running backs coach for the Denver Broncos. Before that, he spent three years as the head coach at Morgan State, which included the canceled 2020 season (COVID-19).

Other coaching stops for Wheatley came with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, his alma mater (the University of Michigan), the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, Ohio Northern, Eastern Michigan and Syracuse. His coaching career began at Robichaud High School in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, in 2007.

As a player, Wheatley was a three-time All-Big Ten selection (1992-1994). He rushed for more than 4,100 yards at Michigan. He also was an All-American track & field standout for the Wolverines. 

Wheatley was drafted into the NFL by the New York Giants in 1995 and played 10 seasons in the NFL. The last six were with the Oakland Raiders. 

Paul Winters was the previous head football coach at Wayne State. The three-time GLIAC Coach of the Year (2006, 2008 and 2019) won nearly 200 games in his 19 years on the field for the Warriors. His departure was announced in December 2022 after a 1-9 season—the team’s fourth losing record in five seasons.

Who Is Wayne State Football’s Biggest Rival? 

Wayne State considers GLIAC powerhouse Grand Valley State to be a rival. GVSU holds a 37-6 all-time advantage in the series.

Grand Valley topped the Warriors in 2021 and 2022, but Wayne State’s win in 2019 ended a 30-meeting losing streak that started in 1985.

Wayne State has played Hillsdale 58 times, Ferris State 54 times, Saginaw Valley State 43 times and Northwood 41 times.

Where Is Wayne State University?

Wayne State University is in Detroit. The school was founded in 1868 as the Detroit Medical College by a group of Civil War doctors looking to help the world through better medicine. 

The school now offers almost 350 degrees and certificates and features 13 schools and colleges.

In 1885, the school merged with its competitor, the Michigan College of Medicine.

After the addition of colleges for education, liberal arts, pharmacy, engineering and graduate studies, everything was united by the Detroit Board of Education and called the Colleges of the City of Detroit (1933). In 1934, the name was changed to Wayne University.

After the addition of public affairs and social work, a law school, nursing, doctoral programs and business administration, the name of the school was changed to Wayne State University (1956).

Notable Wayne State Alums

Late radio host Casey Kasem, journalists Hugh Downs and Helen Thomas, actress Lily Tomlin, actor Ernie Hudson, singer Della Reese, astronaut Jerry Linenger and Pulitzer Prize winner Phillip Levine.

The first former Wayne State football player to play professionally was Tom Kennedy, a WSU letterwinner in 1941. He played two games for the Detroit Lions in 1944.

Seven Warriors have been taken in the NFL Draft, while 14 have played in the NFL. Dozens have played or coached in the professional ranks in some capacity.

Wayne State Football Schedule 2023

• Sept. 2: at Slippery Rock, 6 p.m. ET
• Sept. 9: Missouri S&T, 1 p.m. ET
• Sept. 16: at Indianapolis, 6 p.m. ET
• Sept. 23: Truman State, 1 p.m. ET
• Sept. 30: Concordia-Ann Arbor, 6 p.m. ET
• Oct. 7: Michigan Tech, 1 p.m. ET
• Oct. 14: Davenport, 6 p.m. ET
• Oct. 21: at Saginaw Valley State, 2 p.m. ET
• Oct. 28: at Northern Michigan, 1 p.m. ET
• Nov. 4: Grand Valley State, 1 p.m. ET
• Nov. 11: at Ferris State, 1 p.m. ET