Monday, December 8, 2025
The Herald Newsletter will be sent on Monday, Wednesday and Friday during finals week
WKU Football lands New Orleans Bowl bid
WKU Football will face Southern Mississippi in theNew Orleans Bowl Dec 23
The Hilltoppers fell short of the Conference USA championship game with a loss to Jacksonville State, finishing 8-4, third in conference. With its overtime win over LA Tech, WKU became bowl eligible.
WKU Volleyball eliminated by Marquette
WKU Volleyball’s season comes to an end, falling to the Marquette Golden Eagles 3-0 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday afternoon.
Despite the Hilltoppers hitting 320 on the night, the offensive firepower from the Marquette Golden Eagles was too much for the Hilltopper defense.
“We knew both schools were powerhouses offensively, and so we knew that we had to defend, and we definitely came up short in that area,” senior defensive specialist Abby Schaefer
WKU mascot Big Red greets Hilltoppers fans on Saturday, Nov 1, 2025 during WKU’s homecoming game against New Mexico State University (Sam Huffman)
Read more by Nathan Mueller
The team celebrates after scoring a point during WKU’s game against Delaware in E A Diddle Arena on Saturday, Nov 8, 2025 (Jonah Savage)
WKU Alumnus leaves a lasting legacy
Charles Raymond Hayes, a WKU alumnus and longtime business leader in western Kentucky, died Nov. 24 and left behind a legacy of education, compassion and community service.
Hayes was born in 1927 in Gilbertsville, Kentucky, but grew up in Louisville. He graduated from high school in 1943 and went on to WKU with an athletic scholarship in basketball and baseball.
Hayes served in World War II for two years and later used his GI Bill, a U.S. law that provides educational and other benefits to military veterans, to finish school and play baseball. He also met his wife, Juanita McIntosh, during his time at WKU.
Myers, Hilltoppers take down Evansville by 1
Read more by Peyton Reid
Photo provided by Lexi Curtis
Read more by Coumba Cisse
WKU guard Ryan Myers (4) is guarded by Tennessee State guard Khalil London (3) during WKU’s basketball game against Tennessee State on Sunday, Nov 16, 2025 in E A Diddle Arena (Jonah Savage)
Graduate guard Ryan Myers’ 19 first-half points gave WKU Men’s Basketball a four-point halftime lead, which they took to the final buzzer to defeat Evansville 80-79
Already down 10 with 13 minutes to play in the first half, the Hilltoppers pulled it back to a one-point game before giving up four turnovers in two minutes, powering a 7-0 Evansville run. Down 27-19, WKU found a rhythm, proceeding to finish the period outscoring the aces 17-5.
Myers put up eight of those 17 points, posting 19 before halftime and finishing the game with 27 points, shooting 9-16 from the floor and 7-10 from beyond the arc.
Read more by Nathan Mueller
WKU Women’s Basketball falls to RedHawks on the road
WKU Women’s Basketball could not shake Miami (OH)’s shooting masterclass in its 80-53 road loss Sunday afternoon.
The RedHawks shot 57.7% from the floor and 50% from beyond the arc. The Lady Toppers’ lack of consistent perimeter shooting came back to bite them. WKU’s 39.2% field-goal and 27.3% three-point shooting on 22 attempts came up short.
“Defensively, we worked on making sure we covered those three-point shooters, and we were just late,” Collins said. “We were watching, and we weren’t moving fast enough to get out there.”
Read more by Adrianna Lein
Head Coach Greg Collins speaks to his team on Friday, Nov 14 2025 during WKU’s basketball game against Indiana State in E A Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky (Natasha Gomez)
Tisdale, Maynard earn postseason conference honors
Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers quarterback Rodney Tisdale Jr (16) fights off the Aggies defense during WKU’s game against NMSU on Nov 1, 2025 in Houchens Industries-L T Smith Stadium (Jacob Sebastian)
Two Hilltoppers are walking away this season with some hardware.
On Thursday, redshirt freshman quarterback Rodney Tisdale Jr. was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year, and senior punter Cole Maynard was named Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Year.
Tisdale Jr., after stepping in during WKU’s Oct. 14 loss to FIU, started the remaining five games of the season. He racked up 1,367 yards, nine touchdowns, and six interceptions, as well as running for 105 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. He threw 300 yards in two games and was named CUSA Freshman of the Week twice.
Top of the Week: Update on repairs to Normal and Regents Halls, Bowling Green light up celebration
Read more by Michael Givner Jr
Graphic by Shelbi Bale
This week, Coumba Cisse talks about the annual Bowling Green light up celebration, WKU Student Government Association’s Winter Welcome event, Staff Senate awarding three people with the Staff Star Award, the Student Life Foundations updates on Normal and Regents Hall, and the Evergreen Commons breaking ground in Bowling Green.
Listen here
The College Heights Herald is the independent, student-run news organization operating on the campus of Western Kentucky University, emphasizing accuracy and truth while being a public forum for the fair display of diverse opinions and viewpoints The Herald works to be steadfast and unwavering in its pursuit of truth while being true to the tenets of the WKU Student Publications mission to grow exceptional journalists and innovative leaders through real-world experiences and a strong educational and ethical foundation centered on principled journalism All creative and editorial decisions are made by the Herald’s student leadership, and all consequences of those decisions are the sole responsibility of these student leaders While editorially and operationally independent from the university, the Herald participates in the mission of WKU to prepare students of all backgrounds to be productive, engaged and socially responsible citizen-leaders of a global society, both within and outside of its newsroom Views expressed are diverse and, as an independent publication, should not be taken as representative of views of WKU and any of its administration, faculty, staff, student body or other constituency
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