Western Michigan Fires Coach Bill Cubit

LARRY LAGE,AP Sports Writer

Western Michigan is looking for a new football coach.

The school fired Bill Cubit with one year left on his contract Saturday night, shortly after the Broncos lost to Eastern Michigan at home.

"Our vision and mission is winning division and conference titles and growing our number of postseason bowls," Western Michigan athletic director Kathy Beauregard said in a statement. "We continue to value student-athlete success academically and expect them to be great citizens in this community."

Western Michigan lost 29-23 to the Eagles, its fifth setback in six games to close the season 4-8 overall and 2-8 in the Mid-American Conference.

The Broncos struggled to recover this season when senior quarterback Alex Carder injured his middle finger on his right hand during a win over Connecticut in September and missed six conference games.

Cubit was 51-47 overall and 36-27 in the MAC over eight seasons. He led the program to three bowl games — all of which were lost — including last year's Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. The Broncos played in just two bowls before Cubit was hired.

Messages seeking comment were left on Cubit's cell phone by The Associated Press on Saturday night.

Cubit led the Broncos to 29 wins from 2005 through 2008, the second best total over a four-season stretch in school history. Six of his players were selected in NFL drafts, including Green Bay Packers receiver Louis Delmas, Detroit safety Louis Delmas and Lions tight end Tony Scheffler.

Western Michigan set new program records for grade-point average four times with Cubit as coach.

"I want to thank Coach Cubit for his years of service and recognize the work he and all of his assistants have done over the years in support of our student-athletes," Beauregard said. "I also want to thank Nancy (his wife) and the entire Cubit family for what they have meant to this community."

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