Story co-written with Nicole Azar and Thalia Richardson
The 2023 season of football has come to a close at Western. After beating East Tennessee State University, Western Carolina was heading off to play their final game against VMI, looking to end the season on a good note. However, the season did not end how they wanted it to, coming up short against VMI in a loss of 27-24. Despite recent losses, WCU fans are still enthusiastic about the Catamounts and all they have accomplished this season.
Taylor Wells, a WCU football fan, had some positive feedback on the season stating,
“I think they had a really good season, they seemed to work well together this year over past years, and I’m excited for next year”.
Catamount football fan, Reagan Trumm is excited for next season as well, after following along for the entire 2023 season.
“This team had so much potential. They had a great season and I hate to see it come to an end.”
Overall the Catamounts were 7 wins and 4 losses this season, 3-2 at home and 4-2 away. It was an improvement from previous years of 6-5 and 4-7. The Catamounts didn’t finish the season the way they wanted to, but they are proud of all that was accomplished and using it as fuel for next season.
“We know how it feels to be so close to what we wanted and we know what it’s like now. We’re going to come back better than ever with the guys that want it more than ever. We have high standards now and know what we want to achieve,” sophomore Quarterback Cole Gonzales said.
Gonzales had an incredible year, finishing the season as a finalist for the Walter Payton Award.
Other star players with big roles in the team’s success were senior kicker, Richard Muccolm and senior linebacker, Va Lealaimatafao playing their last season before graduation.
Fans had especially great things to say about Coach Kerwin Bell, as he has coached the Catamounts through a winning season this year.
“The team has definitely gotten better since last year, and I hope to see them prosper next season,” WCU student and fan, Rachel Wiles said.
Coach Kerwin Bell has changed the Western Carolina football program around. Bell is going into his third season coaching the Catamounts, and the future is looking bright for him. He was hired during the Covid outbreak, winning only four games that season. However, the following year, the Catamounts defeated a ranked opponent, The Chattanooga Mocs. It was clear he was turning the program around quickly. He has made a tremendous impact thus far, and WCU fans expect him to keep building off of the incredible season that they had this year.
“This year was different because we knew what type of team we would be, and sky was the limit for us. I feel like a lot of previous years before, Western didn’t expect to be good at football, but we brought in a new expectation and an even better mindset,” Va Lealaimatafao said.
Lealaimatafao transferred to WCU from Cisco College, for Coach Kerwin’s second year leading the team.
Lealaimatafao commented on his experiences these past two seasons, saying that it was much more than just football in this program.
“The football program at Western didn’t only give me great teammates, but it gave me friends that I now have for life.”
Photo by: Nicole Azar
Kyle Piefer, deputy assistant director for WCU Athletics, says this season has brought in a lot of attention from donors, as they are excited about the future and the plans to build a new facility. The biggest challenge the athletic department has faced this season was the $14 million budget. It is a small increase from last year’s budget but still doesn’t meet the many needs of the department. Piefer explained that it is hard to give athletes the experience they want, and is hoping to improve the food for the next season by providing full nutritional meals on and away from campus.
When asked about next year and the future, Piefer said he hopes the team makes it into the playoffs. WCU was only one win short this year from the FCS playoffs, which would be their first return in 41 years. As for the future, the Athletics department plans to raise $30millions in student fees and donors to build a new facility, weight room, and new tracks.
See video and story WCJ published last year on athletics’ fee increase.
The future is bright for Western Carolina University Athletics. With the uprise of the football program, along came WCU women’s soccer with a 2023 Southern Conference Championship, and men’s basketball productive 2023-2024 season so far.
