I'm going to ask this question in it's own thread since no has answered it when I have asked it within my response in a different thread.
Here goes . . . .
Why do WMU and CMU not have the financial issues that EMU does? Why are they able to upgrade facilities/coaches to make their football teams better/competetive and EMU is unable to do so? Don't we all get about the same amount of financial support from the State? Aren't we all suffering from the same economy? Or is this just another excuse that EMU and its supporters use to explain why our programs sucks?
HuronRob Wrote:I'm going to ask this question in it's own thread since no has answered it when I have asked it within my response in a different thread.
Here goes . . . .
Why do WMU and CMU not have the financial issues that EMU does? Why are they able to upgrade facilities/coaches to make their football teams better/competetive and EMU is unable to do so? Don't we all get about the same amount of financial support from the State? Aren't we all suffering from the same economy? Or is this just another excuse that EMU and its supporters use to explain why our programs sucks?
Alumni support has got to be a big part of it. CMU/WMU are also not as close to UM or MSU and they've got their own media coverage. More coverage and more winning equals more interest equals higher attendance equals more money.
EMU has many more commuter students, transfers from two year colleges an more students who return home each weekend in my opinion. They may not have the same ties to the school as those who are residents most of the year and hence not as hm excited about contributing. Just a theory.
I'd like to add 'Tradition.'
But like money (you have to have money to make money), "you got to have tradition to have tradition".
Like money, it doesn't grow on trees.
I'm starting to hope that the MAC's success will help teams like EMU, Kent, etc. (in other words, 'a rising tide raises all boats').
CMU and WMU only have the NCAA minimum of 16 sports, while we insist on having 21 or 22, in addition to the smallest athletic budget. In the case of WMU some of the facility upgrades were tied to classroom facilities which allowed the republican state legislature to fund some athletic facilities which is a big loop hole. In addition, CMU and WMU are looked at differently because of their geographic locations. They are no longer educational institutions per se, but rather economic engines for their respective areas.
Interesting conversation. I've also wondered about the average income of EMU graduates vs. the other schools.....due to the undergrad and graduate programs offered....Is there a gap vs. WMU and EMU???
Mostly, it's a function of the marketplace. EMU suffers from greater competition for students and for the entertainment dollar. A student in Wayne or Oakland county who is staying nearby for school and going to a 4-year college has the following choices:
Eastern Michigan
UM-Ann Arbor
Wayne St.
Detroit Mercy
Oakland
Madonna
Marygrove
Concordia
Adrian
Siena Heights
UM-Dearborn
Kettering (no sports)
UM-Flint (no sports)
Cleary (no sports)
Davenport (Livonia) (no sports)
Baker (Flint & Jackson) (no sports)
The same student in Isabella County (Mt. Pleasant) and environs has the following choices:
Central Michigan
Alma
Ferris State
Saginaw Valley State
Michigan State
Davenport (Lansing)(no sports)
The same student in Kalamazoo County and environs has the following choices:
Western Michigan
Kalamazoo College
Grand Valley State
Calvin
Aquinas
Kuyper
Davenport
Cornerstone
Detroit, being less that 40 miles away offers many more entertainment opportunities than either Mt. Pleasant or Kalamazoo.
Also remember, the disastrous Kirkpatrick/president's house debacle cost EMU capital improvement money from the state for years. Fallon mended relations with the legislature and I'm sure the new president will continue to maintain good relations with Lansing. Funding for the Pray Harold renovation has come through and I understand that the expansion of Mark Jefferson is going to happen.
And, many alumni, my wife among them, are still smarting at the treatment they received from the Sheldon administration during the nickname change. WMU never faced that problem and CMU handled it much more skillfully.
Good points. I would think, however, that when you are talking about the number of choices, population is a huge factor. I mean, Kazoo county is what, maybe 150,000? vs. 1,000,000 in detroit plus another 1+ million in the surrounding area...