Northern Michigan Wildcats

Northern Michigan Wildcats
University	Northern Michigan University
Conference	Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (primary) Central Collegiate Hockey Association (ice hockey) CCSA (nordic skiing)
NCAA	Division II Division I (ice hockey)
Athletic director	Rick Comley
Location	Marquette, Michigan
Varsity teams	20
Football stadium	Superior Dome
Basketball arena	Vandament Arena
Ice hockey arena	Berry Events Center
Soccer stadium	NMU Outdoor Fields
Aquatics center	Physical Education and Instructional Facility
Lacrosse stadium	Superior Dome
Other venues	Vandament Arena
Mascot	Wildcat Willy
Nickname	Wildcats
Colors	Green and gold[1]
Website	www.nmuwildcats.com

The Northern Michigan Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northern Michigan University, located in Marquette, Michigan, in NCAA intercollegiate sporting competitions. All teams that play under NCAA governance compete at the Division II level, with three exceptions. The most significant one is the men's ice hockey program, which plays at the Division I level. Two other sports, Nordic skiing (a coeducational sport with separate men's and women's squads) and women's wrestling (part of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program), are de facto Division I sports; the NCAA holds a single skiing championship open to members of all three divisions, and does not currently include women's wrestling in its divisional structure. While NMU's skiing program includes both disciplines contested in the NCAA championships (Alpine and Nordic), only the Nordic program competes within the NCAA structure.

NMU fields three other recognized varsity teams, two of which serve as official U.S. Olympic training centers in non-NCAA sports or disciplines. The Olympic training centers are in weightlifting for both men and women, and the non-NCAA discipline of men's Greco-Roman wrestling.

The Wildcats compete as members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for 14 of 20 varsity sports, with the men's hockey team playing in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and the skiing team competes in the Central Collegiate Ski Association. NMU has been a member of the GLIAC since 1987.

Northern Michigan's rivals in sports action are the two other major schools in the upper peninsula: Michigan Technological University, and Lake Superior State University.^[2] The winner of the annual football game between NMU and Michigan Tech is awarded the Miner's Cup.