Western Kentucky University Athletic Director Todd Stewart (Miranda Pederson/photo@bgdailynews.com)

Todd Stewart told his Western Kentucky athletic department two years ago that, “You only have one chance to make a first impression.”

The WKU athletic program has made a solid first impression in its first two seasons as a Conference USA member.

Hilltopper and Lady Topper programs have combined to win 14 C-USA titles over the last two seasons. That’s double the seven won over that time by the league program next on that list, Rice.

In Year 2 of C-USA membership, WKU finished the football and volleyball seasons with national rankings, saw the women’s basketball team make a deep WNIT run after an impressive regular season and enjoyed both indoor and outdoor men’s track and field titles.

Daily News sports reporter Brad Stephens sat down Friday with WKU athletic director Todd Stewart and talked about how the Toppers performed in Year 2 of C-USA.

Questions and answers have been edited for clarity and space.

(For Stewart’s thoughts on men’s basketball and new coach Rick Stansbury, see Monday’s Daily News).

BS: How special was the Hilltopper football team’s 2015 season?

TS: “The football year was really pretty historic. To go 12-2 and win a conference championship, I think the most special part of that was actually being ranked. I believe you’re known by the company you keep. For the final top 25 college football poll to come out and you see Western Kentucky on there and you see the other programs that are in the mix, that’s pretty special.

“I even look at who wasn’t ranked – like Southern Cal, UCLA, Texas, Texas A&M, Auburn, Penn State. Programs that have won national championships weren’t ranked and Western Kentucky was. When you look at where we were back in 2008, ’09 and 10, to be having this conversation is really special.”

BS: How has football coach Jeff Brohm built on the success predecessors Willie Taggart and Bobby Petrino started with this program?

TS: “I think he deserves tremendous credit. Everyone’s played a role in it. Willie turned the ship, I think, and established a winning culture. When Bobby came in I really feel like he took it to another higher level. He got us recognition as a program way beyond south-central Kentucky. In his one year here we had quality wins. … But probably what he did that impacted our program as much as anything was the coaching staff he hired. That’s what I hoped would happen.

“… I knew that he probably wouldn’t be here very long, but what I hoped would happen is that he’d raise the bar while he was here, he’d hire a high-level coaching staff and then if and when he did leave, our next coach would already be here and we’d keep the continuity going. Fortunately that’s what happened.

“Jeff has just seized the moment and has really taken it to an all-time high level. When you talk about at this level, as competitive as it is, to have such a dominating year last year – yeah, we were 12-2, which is awesome. But 10 of those 12 wins were by double digits. The only two losses were on the road to a Big Ten team and an SEC team. Then to beat a really good South Florida team in a bowl game and finish ranked and to have six guys sign NFL contracts – our pro day here was like a mini-NFL combine. Thirty of the 32 teams had somebody here. It’s just been remarkable growth. Jeff’s been a huge reason for that.”

BS: What’s next for this football program? Obviously it’ll be hard to top the 2015 season.

TS: “The good news is each of the last five years have been better than the previous year. We went from 7-5 and not making a bowl game to winning seven games and going to a bowl game. Then we won eight games, and won eight games including winning a bowl game, and then we won 12 games. It will be hard to exceed that. When you go 12-2 and you’re ranked in the top 25, the bar’s pretty high.

“But that’s a good problem to have. When it becomes very difficult to surpass a previous year’s achievements, that’s a great problem to have. That’s kind of the challenge, I think, now is just to maintain it, to be as good as we can. It’s very competitive out there but Jeff’s recruited very well and we still have a lot of players coming back this year that were a big part of last season’s success. Every year’s a new year and I know these guys are excited about trying to put their own stamp on things for 2016.”

BS: How appreciative are you as an AD of the successes of volleyball coach Travis Hudson and women’s basketball coach Michelle Clark-Heard?

TS: “I think Travis and Michelle both get an A-plus. I tease Travis all the time but I sincerely mean it and believe it: I tell him that, ‘You don’t rebuild, you just reload.’ And it’s true. I hope people don’t take it for granted but they win 30 games every year. It seems like they win a conference championship every year. He’s just done a terrific job. Last year’s team finished No. 22 in the nation and swept Arizona in the NCAA Tournament to advance to the second round. It was just another terrific year. We lost some good players off that team but I don’t have any doubt at all that we’ll totally be reloaded and ready to go this year.

“With women’s basketball, winning 27 games last year after losing Chastity Gooch and Alexis Govan and then Micah Jones goes down in the second game of the year, I think just speaks volumes about Michelle and her whole staff and what they’ve done. The 57 wins that they’ve had over the last two years, that’s the second-best two-year stretch in program history. You’re talking about a program that’s been to three Final Fours. I just feel great about those two programs and where they are and where they’ll continue to be.”

BS: WKU baseball showed signs of improvement for much of this season under first-year coach John Pawlowski but ultimately faded at the end of the year and missed the C-USA Tournament. Where do you see that program headed?

TS: “I think again it comes down to players and we just need to recruit at a higher level. I think if you look at John’s history and where he’s been, he’s done that. I feel really good about him and his staff and the players they’ve identified right now that they’re on to bring in to be part of next year’s team.

“When you look at our season, Conference USA had four teams to go to the NCAA Tournament. We went 1-11 against those four. We’re not an NCAA Tournament team and we knew that going in. But if you take that out, we were very competitive with everyone else. We’re not where those other four are and we’ve got to take that next step and that’s a hard step to make. But I think you just need to go through a year in Conference USA to really get a feel for the conference and every school. I think he’s learned a lot from that about the league and about us. I think you’ll see a much-improved team next year.”

– Follow Daily News sports reporter Brad Stephens on Twitter @Stephens_Brad or visit bgdailynews.com.