1981 Western Michigan Broncos football team

{{short description|American college football season}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox college sports team season

| year = 1981

| team = Western Michigan Broncos

| sport = football

| image =

| image_size =

| conference = Mid-American Conference

| short_conf = MAC

| record = 6–5

| conf_record = 5–4

| head_coach = Elliot Uzelac

| hc_year = 7th

| off_coach =

| oc_year =

| off_scheme =

| def_coach =

| dc_year =

| def_scheme =

| mvp = Bob Phillips

| captain = Reggie Hinton

| captain2 = John Schuster

| stadium = Waldo Stadium

}}

{{1981 Mid-American Conference football standings}}

The 1981 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their seventh and final season under head coach Elliot Uzelac, the Broncos compiled a 6–5 record (5–4 against MAC opponents), finished in a tie for fifth place in the MAC, and outscored their opponents, 206 to 170.{{cite web|title=Football Records: Annual Results|publisher=Western Michigan University|accessdate=July 5, 2016|url=http://www.wmubroncos.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4600&ATCLID=204948424}}{{cite web|title=Football Records: Year-By-Year Results - 1980 - 89|publisher=Western Michigan University|accessdate=July 5, 2016|url=http://www.wmubroncos.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4600&ATCLID=204948168}}{{cite web|title=1981 Western Michigan Broncos Schedule and Results|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=SR/College Football|accessdate=July 5, 2016|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/western-michigan/1981.html}} The team played its home games at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan.{{cite web|title=Waldo Stadium |publisher=Western Michigan University |accessdate=July 5, 2016 |url=http://www.wmubroncos.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=120527 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165153/http://www.wmubroncos.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=120527 |archivedate=March 3, 2016 }}

The team's statistical leaders included Tom George with 1,419 passing yards, Shawn Faulkner with 701 rushing yards, and Bob Phillips with 809 receiving yards.{{cite web|title=1981 Western Michigan Broncos Stats|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=SR/College Football|accessdate=July 5, 2016|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/western-michigan/1981.html}} Reggie Hinton and linebacker John Schuster were the team captains.{{cite web|title=Football History: All-Time Captains|publisher=Western Michigan University|accessdate=July 5, 2016|url=http://www.wmubroncos.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4600&ATCLID=204948804}} Split end Bob Phillips received the team's most outstanding player award.{{cite web|title=Football History: Team Awards|publisher=Western Michigan University|accessdate=July 5, 2016|url=http://www.wmubroncos.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4600&ATCLID=204950513}}

On November 24, 1981, coach Uzelac was fired as the Broncos' head football coach. Athletic director Tom Wonderling said at the time: "The program has progressed tremendously under Elliot, but I think at the present time we need a change."{{cite news|title=WMU fires grid coach Uzelac after seven years|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|author=Mick McCabe|date=November 25, 1981|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5796696/wmu_fires_grid_coach_uzelac_after_seven/}} Wonderling was also critical of Uzelac's conservative offense, saying: "We're not like the Big Ten; we have to have something more." In seven years at Western, Uzelac compiled a 38–39 record.