The unofficial online home for fans of the Western Michigan University Broncos. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Thanks everyone. I'm sure my wife and I will spend a few days this coming June to get a lay of the land of Kalamazoo in order to be better prepared for home game tailgating. Also, assuming Chris travels, we plan on flying out to Los Angeles for game 1. Chris played most of his youth ball in Southern Cali, so we can meet up with old friends and taunt those who cheer for 'SC.

(04-06-2017 01:54 PM)RiddleMeThis Wrote:  Hey Bronco Nation! I'd like to introduce myself, I'm Jon Riddle (yup, Chris is my son). After Chris committed to WMU earlier this week, I started doing some one-off research and ran across this site. First, I know Chris is amp'ed to report in June and to move on to the next chapter of his life. For anyone interested, below is some info to fill-in most of the blanks noted above;

1) Chris is currently 19 and will be till the end of the summer. Unlike many recruits these days, Chris was actually 17 when he graduated high school.

2) Regarding early recruitment, Chris had quite a bit of interest from various schools. Going into his junior year the most significant interest was from programs such as Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, UCF and North Texas. He had additional interest from Georgia and LSU - although he wasn't their tier 1 target.

3) One week before his junior year a scout DE thought he would get overzealous during walk-throughs and horse-collared Chris on a designed roll-out. While he was cutting back in 3/4 speed, the effect was a splinter fracture of his right fibula, resulting in 3 plates and 8 screws to fix. Needless to say this was a season ending injury. Almost all recruitment interest dropped at that point as most programs try and lock their QB recruits in the junior year.

4) Between financial hardship early on for the family in Chris' underclassman years and then my job moving me, Chris endured multiple high school moves. This undoubtedly impacted his recruitment as well.

5) Chris felt that since he sat out the all too critical junior year, he wanted one more opportunity to highlight and refine his skills and opted for one year of prep school. Hind sight, I would have been much more selective with the institution Chris ended up joining. I'll just say that the majority of prep schools just are not worth the investment.

edit: Although his 247 profile hasn't been updated in a while, it does link his senior highlight reel, if you're interested.

http://247sports.com/Player/Chris-Riddle-16496

Anyhow, I wanted to fill in the gaps for you guys as I know these programs are only as strong as their supporters. Now I'm looking forward to sitting back and watching some Bronco football.

Cheers,
Jon

Welcome Jon, good to hear more background.

Hey Jon Riddle, many thanks for the information about Chris. We are really pleased he chose Western and look forward to seeing his skills in the summer.

I'm sure you followed WMU in our great 2016/2017 season. We're losing a great QB in Zach Terrell and WRer in Corey Davis and probably our main challenges for next season will be rebuilding those sectors.

Chris is coming into a good situation with the starting QB battle wide open and the competition will be good for our Program.

Welcome aboard Chris and the Riddle family!

(04-06-2017 01:54 PM)RiddleMeThis Wrote:  Hey Bronco Nation! I'd like to introduce myself, I'm Jon Riddle (yup, Chris is my son). After Chris committed to WMU earlier this week, I started doing some one-off research and ran across this site. First, I know Chris is amp'ed to report in June and to move on to the next chapter of his life. For anyone interested, below is some info to fill-in most of the blanks noted above;

1) Chris is currently 19 and will be till the end of the summer. Unlike many recruits these days, Chris was actually 17 when he graduated high school.

2) Regarding early recruitment, Chris had quite a bit of interest from various schools. Going into his junior year the most significant interest was from programs such as Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, UCF and North Texas. He had additional interest from Georgia and LSU - although he wasn't their tier 1 target.

3) One week before his junior year a scout DE thought he would get overzealous during walk-throughs and horse-collared Chris on a designed roll-out. While he was cutting back in 3/4 speed, the effect was a splinter fracture of his right fibula, resulting in 3 plates and 8 screws to fix. Needless to say this was a season ending injury. Almost all recruitment interest dropped at that point as most programs try and lock their QB recruits in the junior year.

4) Between financial hardship early on for the family in Chris' underclassman years and then my job moving me, Chris endured multiple high school moves. This undoubtedly impacted his recruitment as well.

5) Chris felt that since he sat out the all too critical junior year, he wanted one more opportunity to highlight and refine his skills and opted for one year of prep school. Hind sight, I would have been much more selective with the institution Chris ended up joining. I'll just say that the majority of prep schools just are not worth the investment.

edit: Although his 247 profile hasn't been updated in a while, it does link his senior highlight reel, if you're interested.

http://247sports.com/Player/Chris-Riddle-16496

Anyhow, I wanted to fill in the gaps for you guys as I know these programs are only as strong as their supporters. Now I'm looking forward to sitting back and watching some Bronco football.

Cheers,
Jon

Hi Jon, welcome to WMU! What is Chris planning to study while here?

Quote:Hi Jon, welcome to WMU! What is Chris planning to study while here?

Thanks for the welcome. I "believe" he wants to major in Criminal Justice with a minor in Criminal Psychology.

(04-07-2017 08:40 AM)BroncoPhilly Wrote:  Hey Jon Riddle, many thanks for the information about Chris. We are really pleased he chose Western and look forward to seeing his skills in the summer.

I'm sure you followed WMU in our great 2016/2017 season. We're losing a great QB in Zach Terrell and WRer in Corey Davis and probably our main challenges for next season will be rebuilding those sectors.

Chris is coming into a good situation with the starting QB battle wide open and the competition will be good for our Program.

Welcome aboard Chris and the Riddle family!

Those are definitely big shoes to fill and it will be great to watch and see who rises to the occasion to fill the gaps.

(04-07-2017 12:03 PM)RiddleMeThis Wrote:  

Quote:Hi Jon, welcome to WMU! What is Chris planning to study while here?

Thanks for the welcome. I "believe" he wants to major in Criminal Justice with a minor in Criminal Psychology.

As much as I love WMU, please note that if your son has a moderate/conservative world and political view, it will not mesh well with WMU's Sociology/Criminal Justice faculty.

While good people, they are ideological absolutists. That's fine, however, they are notorious for grading down students who have differing political opinions. That is inexcusable and irresponsible. Diversity of thought is not a value in their department, unfortunately.

One of my finest professors 40 years ago was openly Marxist. Had a framed pic of Marx in his office. He did not demand his students share his opinion, but he made sure they were able to stand-up and defend their opinions with plausible, well-thought, arguments. There was outrageous, respectful and fun point-counter-point in his class. I loved it and learned so much from him.

You won't find that in WMU's Sociology/Criminal Justice program. Agree, or be graded down.

(04-08-2017 09:58 PM)GullLake Wrote:  

(04-07-2017 12:03 PM)RiddleMeThis Wrote:  

Quote:Hi Jon, welcome to WMU! What is Chris planning to study while here?

Thanks for the welcome. I "believe" he wants to major in Criminal Justice with a minor in Criminal Psychology.

As much as I love WMU, please note that if your son has a moderate/conservative world and political view, it will not mesh well with WMU's Sociology/Criminal Justice faculty.

While good people, they are ideological absolutists. That's fine, however, they are notorious for grading down students who have differing political opinions. That is inexcusable and irresponsible. Diversity of thought is not a value in their department, unfortunately.

One of my finest professors 40 years ago was openly Marxist. Had a framed pic of Marx in his office. He did not demand his students share his opinion, but he made sure they were able to stand-up and defend their opinions with plausible, well-thought, arguments. There was outrageous, respectful and fun point-counter-point in his class. I loved it and learned so much from him.

You won't find that in WMU's Sociology/Criminal Justice program. Agree, or be graded down.

WMU profs were WAY out Leftist (like most college profs) even 40 years ago when i was there. It's ok, I still graduated a rock-ribbed conservative. If you're firm in your convictions the profs won't make you waver. They turn off as many folks as they turn on with their bias. And the profs at WMU are no worse than any other school in that regard, and better than most.

(04-08-2017 10:22 PM)BroncoPhilly Wrote:  

(04-08-2017 09:58 PM)GullLake Wrote:  

(04-07-2017 12:03 PM)RiddleMeThis Wrote:  

Quote:Hi Jon, welcome to WMU! What is Chris planning to study while here?

Thanks for the welcome. I "believe" he wants to major in Criminal Justice with a minor in Criminal Psychology.

As much as I love WMU, please note that if your son has a moderate/conservative world and political view, it will not mesh well with WMU's Sociology/Criminal Justice faculty.

While good people, they are ideological absolutists. That's fine, however, they are notorious for grading down students who have differing political opinions. That is inexcusable and irresponsible. Diversity of thought is not a value in their department, unfortunately.

One of my finest professors 40 years ago was openly Marxist. Had a framed pic of Marx in his office. He did not demand his students share his opinion, but he made sure they were able to stand-up and defend their opinions with plausible, well-thought, arguments. There was outrageous, respectful and fun point-counter-point in his class. I loved it and learned so much from him.

You won't find that in WMU's Sociology/Criminal Justice program. Agree, or be graded down.

WMU profs were WAY out Leftist (like most college profs) even 40 years ago when i was there. It's ok, I still graduated a rock-ribbed conservative. If you're firm in your convictions the profs won't make you waver. They turn off as many folks as they turn on with their bias. And the profs at WMU are no worse than any other school in that regard, and better than most.

A college campus is just like any other workplace. You are going to have different viewpoints across the staff. That's a good thing. I was a political science minor in college and almost had enough credits to just make it a double major. I never once felt that professors who obviously felt differently about something would grade me down because of it.

I'm sure that it happens, but it happens on every single college campus in America. Especially now when thinking, communicating, and respecting other people's opinions are a thing of the past.

(04-08-2017 09:58 PM)GullLake Wrote:  

(04-07-2017 12:03 PM)RiddleMeThis Wrote:  

Quote:Hi Jon, welcome to WMU! What is Chris planning to study while here?

Thanks for the welcome. I "believe" he wants to major in Criminal Justice with a minor in Criminal Psychology.

As much as I love WMU, please note that if your son has a moderate/conservative world and political view, it will not mesh well with WMU's Sociology/Criminal Justice faculty.

While good people, they are ideological absolutists. That's fine, however, they are notorious for grading down students who have differing political opinions. That is inexcusable and irresponsible. Diversity of thought is not a value in their department, unfortunately.

One of my finest professors 40 years ago was openly Marxist. Had a framed pic of Marx in his office. He did not demand his students share his opinion, but he made sure they were able to stand-up and defend their opinions with plausible, well-thought, arguments. There was outrageous, respectful and fun point-counter-point in his class. I loved it and learned so much from him.

You won't find that in WMU's Sociology/Criminal Justice program. Agree, or be graded down.

There are a lot of assumptions here. I don't know you, so I don't know if you are involved with the Sociology/Criminal Justice program currently, but you mention you had a professor 40 years ago. Why would you be suggesting to a new student that the department is the same as when you were in college so long ago?

And I know this isn't news to you, but college campuses tend to be liberal in general, unless they are a religiously founded institution. I mean, the University of Michigan is full of students who enter the campus with conservative ideals, yet UM is one of the more liberal colleges around. You may disagree, but I think most colleges provoke thought, not promote ideology. It seems to work for Michigan.

Also, isn't possible that maybe you just hadn't earned a better grade? I'm sure you're an intelligent person. You have to be to go to Western. :) But if I got a lesser grade, I knew that I had earned it. I didn't blame a teacher or department for their opposing political views.

But this is the environment we are in now...it's always the other side of the aisle's fault.

(04-09-2017 09:48 AM)Stampede your face!! Wrote:  

(04-08-2017 09:58 PM)GullLake Wrote:  

(04-07-2017 12:03 PM)RiddleMeThis Wrote:  

Quote:Hi Jon, welcome to WMU! What is Chris planning to study while here?

Thanks for the welcome. I "believe" he wants to major in Criminal Justice with a minor in Criminal Psychology.

As much as I love WMU, please note that if your son has a moderate/conservative world and political view, it will not mesh well with WMU's Sociology/Criminal Justice faculty.

While good people, they are ideological absolutists. That's fine, however, they are notorious for grading down students who have differing political opinions. That is inexcusable and irresponsible. Diversity of thought is not a value in their department, unfortunately.

One of my finest professors 40 years ago was openly Marxist. Had a framed pic of Marx in his office. He did not demand his students share his opinion, but he made sure they were able to stand-up and defend their opinions with plausible, well-thought, arguments. There was outrageous, respectful and fun point-counter-point in his class. I loved it and learned so much from him.

You won't find that in WMU's Sociology/Criminal Justice program. Agree, or be graded down.

There are a lot of assumptions here. I don't know you, so I don't know if you are involved with the Sociology/Criminal Justice program currently, but you mention you had a professor 40 years ago. Why would you be suggesting to a new student that the department is the same as when you were in college so long ago?

And I know this isn't news to you, but college campuses tend to be liberal in general, unless they are a religiously founded institution. I mean, the University of Michigan is full of students who enter the campus with conservative ideals, yet UM is one of the more liberal colleges around. You may disagree, but I think most colleges provoke thought, not promote ideology. It seems to work for Michigan.

Also, isn't possible that maybe you just hadn't earned a better grade? I'm sure you're an intelligent person. You have to be to go to Western. :) But if I got a lesser grade, I knew that I had earned it. I didn't blame a teacher or department for their opposing political views.

But this is the environment we are in now...it's always the other side of the aisle's fault.

You have to be willing to fight for your beliefs. For example, the WMU Herald newspaper has ALWAYS been biased to the political Left. Even 40 years ago when I was on campus. I follow them on Facebook and have been arguing with them that, in a state where 50% of the folks voted for Trump, their one-sided Opinion and Articles are not fair. We argued back and forth for weeks and then-you're going to love this-the Managing Editor contacted the WMU Young Republicans and invited them to write conservative Opinions in the Herald to counter-balance the Leftist bias of their journalists!

All it took was a little persistence on my part, as well as respect for the general talent of some of their journalists, to get them to move in the direction of Fairness. Now Herald readers will get both sides of the debate and make up their minds themselves.

Don't be afraid to go against the grain, I've been doing it all my life and still do it today-at 62 years old. You never stop fighting for your beliefs, NEVER. Just like Chris Riddle never stopped fighting to come back from his injury. That's why I'm glad to see this young man come to WMU-he has something to bring to the program.

Quote:WMU profs were WAY out Leftist (like most college profs) even 40 years ago when i was there.

I don't know where the "even" comes from... In the 60s and 70s, you'd expect more big-leftists. I agree with the POV that in the end, a decent professor isn't going to push you to conform to his/her views -- just that you have to make a valid argument opposed to it. Now, that's not to say that if you get some big-time left-wing passionate prof in a cultural studies class, that you couldn't eek out a better grade or go from shoulda-got-a-C to a pulled-off-a-B by going off on an essay about capitalistic ideals putting down the people in the villages, etc etc.

But in the end, by and large, I don't buy the political position of a prof is going to affect a grade. That's why it makes news stories when it does. Many other things cause issues of resonating good or bad with a prof.

(04-08-2017 09:58 PM)GullLake Wrote:  

(04-07-2017 12:03 PM)RiddleMeThis Wrote:  

Quote:Hi Jon, welcome to WMU! What is Chris planning to study while here?

Thanks for the welcome. I "believe" he wants to major in Criminal Justice with a minor in Criminal Psychology.

As much as I love WMU, please note that if your son has a moderate/conservative world and political view, it will not mesh well with WMU's Sociology/Criminal Justice faculty.

While good people, they are ideological absolutists. That's fine, however, they are notorious for grading down students who have differing political opinions. That is inexcusable and irresponsible. Diversity of thought is not a value in their department, unfortunately.

One of my finest professors 40 years ago was openly Marxist. Had a framed pic of Marx in his office. He did not demand his students share his opinion, but he made sure they were able to stand-up and defend their opinions with plausible, well-thought, arguments. There was outrageous, respectful and fun point-counter-point in his class. I loved it and learned so much from him.

You won't find that in WMU's Sociology/Criminal Justice program. Agree, or be graded down.

Sorry to hear you didn't earn the grades you hoped for.

Wow, this thread devolved from "Welcome to WMU" to "Academic Grudges and the Alumni Who Hold Them" in a hurry.

Gotta love all the excuses and finger pointing though. My life (or grades) didn't end up like I thought. Who can I blame for this? I mean, other than myself of course.

(04-09-2017 08:21 PM)CincoDosAdios Wrote:  Wow, this thread devolved from "Welcome to WMU" to "Academic Grudges and the Alumni Who Hold Them" in a hurry.

Gotta love all the excuses and finger pointing though. My life (or grades) didn't end up like I thought. Who can I blame for this? I mean, other than myself of course.

I blame Robert Spillane and Darius Paul. And Jeff Garcia.

(04-09-2017 01:30 PM)BroncoPhilly Wrote:  

(04-09-2017 09:48 AM)Stampede your face!! Wrote:  

(04-08-2017 09:58 PM)GullLake Wrote:  

(04-07-2017 12:03 PM)RiddleMeThis Wrote:  

Quote:Hi Jon, welcome to WMU! What is Chris planning to study while here?

Thanks for the welcome. I "believe" he wants to major in Criminal Justice with a minor in Criminal Psychology.

As much as I love WMU, please note that if your son has a moderate/conservative world and political view, it will not mesh well with WMU's Sociology/Criminal Justice faculty.

While good people, they are ideological absolutists. That's fine, however, they are notorious for grading down students who have differing political opinions. That is inexcusable and irresponsible. Diversity of thought is not a value in their department, unfortunately.

One of my finest professors 40 years ago was openly Marxist. Had a framed pic of Marx in his office. He did not demand his students share his opinion, but he made sure they were able to stand-up and defend their opinions with plausible, well-thought, arguments. There was outrageous, respectful and fun point-counter-point in his class. I loved it and learned so much from him.

You won't find that in WMU's Sociology/Criminal Justice program. Agree, or be graded down.

There are a lot of assumptions here. I don't know you, so I don't know if you are involved with the Sociology/Criminal Justice program currently, but you mention you had a professor 40 years ago. Why would you be suggesting to a new student that the department is the same as when you were in college so long ago?

And I know this isn't news to you, but college campuses tend to be liberal in general, unless they are a religiously founded institution. I mean, the University of Michigan is full of students who enter the campus with conservative ideals, yet UM is one of the more liberal colleges around. You may disagree, but I think most colleges provoke thought, not promote ideology. It seems to work for Michigan.

Also, isn't possible that maybe you just hadn't earned a better grade? I'm sure you're an intelligent person. You have to be to go to Western. :) But if I got a lesser grade, I knew that I had earned it. I didn't blame a teacher or department for their opposing political views.

But this is the environment we are in now...it's always the other side of the aisle's fault.

You have to be willing to fight for your beliefs. For example, the WMU Herald newspaper has ALWAYS been biased to the political Left. Even 40 years ago when I was on campus. I follow them on Facebook and have been arguing with them that, in a state where 50% of the folks voted for Trump, their one-sided Opinion and Articles are not fair. We argued back and forth for weeks and then-you're going to love this-the Managing Editor contacted the WMU Young Republicans and invited them to write conservative Opinions in the Herald to counter-balance the Leftist bias of their journalists!

All it took was a little persistence on my part, as well as respect for the general talent of some of their journalists, to get them to move in the direction of Fairness. Now Herald readers will get both sides of the debate and make up their minds themselves.

Don't be afraid to go against the grain, I've been doing it all my life and still do it today-at 62 years old. You never stop fighting for your beliefs, NEVER. Just like Chris Riddle never stopped fighting to come back from his injury. That's why I'm glad to see this young man come to WMU-he has something to bring to the program.

I can't believe this thread was turned into politics. I guess you guys aren't getting enough politics in EVERY other place in the world right now. Keep it out of Bronco sports.

No worries. I've come to expect nothing less from our collegiate institutions. On a lighter note, we held a surprise signing day ceremony for Chris. While he worked most of the day, we rounded up friends and family to celebrate Chris and his commitment to the WMU! #LetsRide

Great pics!

I'm sure Chris will love WMU, Dad. As I noted, I'm 62 and in all my time since I graduated from Western I think I've heard from only one person who didn't LOVE their time there-that was a lady who's boyfriend was going to a different school. Everyone else loved the place. Kalamazoo is just a friendly town-just the right size. And the school has a vision for itself that many mid-majors don't, hence our Law School, Medical School, Engineering Campus and the Flight School. What other school WMU's size can boast programs like that?

I think it's outstanding that you put on a signing day party for Chris. I would think it would be devastating for a competitive young athlete garnering attention from some big time schools to suffer such a setback. It speaks highly of his character and the job you and your wife have done for him to adapt and overcome.

The recent past of the baseball and hockey teams prove that the athletic dept of WMU is in good hands and continuing to improve. The football program has just achieved something never seen before in Kalamazoo. But I believe it's the tip of the iceberg. It's no longer good enough to beat up on a Youngstown st. or take on Wyoming or MAC foes. The moral victories of competing with MSU and Ohio St are in the past. We've proven we can go into B1G territory and come away with W's. We want to do the unheard of in college football and slay Goliath. This team is seasoned and poised to go into MSU unafraid. We want to upset USC.

I think there has been no greater time for Western Michigan Football and Chris is in for a great ride. Welcome to WMU. All the best

We're all about biased, but hopefully you will soon discover too that WMU is a very neat place. The bland name and non P5 status often keep it over looked. But WMU is a heck of an institution, with tons of options. The recent football success helped get a few more eyes on us, but for those who have been around we know how special it can be.