 John Gill, an assistant coach on the football team who later served as head coach, coined the new athletic nickname after approval for the name change was granted by the school's athletic board.In 2011, WMU commissioned artist Revere La Noue to create a 6,500-square-foot building wrap representing the Broncos for the 2011 ArtPrize competition.WMU president John Dunn has said that the work, "Epic Broncos", captures the "history and pride of being a Bronco".