Small market teams bring MAC crowns
CMU has a top contender to win a Mid-American Conference title in one of its sports this fall.
The men’s cross country team has won the MAC crown the past three years, yet the sport remains overlooked by most CMU students and fans.
The team lost some solid talent, but coach Craig Fuller is confident a talented recruiting class and returning runners will propel his team to another MAC title.
“We’re definitely going for a title; we’re expecting to win,” Fuller said. “I’m sure Eastern Michigan and Miami are going to think we’re dead in the water because we lost so many seniors, but we don’t mind that; we're running to win.”
Another team showing promise for the 2005 season is the soccer team.
The Chippewas are coming off an impressive 2004 season, going 10-7-3, but lost in the MAC title game.
Second-year coach Tony DiTucci hopes this season will culminate in a MAC championship.
“I always stress that this is (the players) team; it’s up to them to take us as far as they want to take us,” DiTucci said. “We have two blue-collared seniors and six very good juniors that are really going to help with the leadership of this team.”
CMU’s other fall sports are in transition phases and have the talent in place to contend for MAC titles.
The field hockey team took a step back last season, finishing the season 8-10.
Coach Cristy Freese is preparing her team for a potential MAC title, and is happy the team will play all its games at home this year.
The volleyball team finished a disappointing 7-23 last season.
Coach Erik Olson will begin his second season at the helm, and is hopeful his team will show much improvement.
“I feel the talent level we have is much improved, really night and day compared to last year,” Olson said in a press release. The women’s cross country team, coached by Karen Lutzke, also experienced a rough season last year, finishing 12 out of 13 MAC teams.
However, CMU has a solid base of runners returning, and the Chippewas are ready to contend in the MAC.
Most of the time these small-market sports win more games and MAC titles than the revenue sports, yet they don’t get much attention for those feats.
The football team has not had a winning season since 1998.
Brian Kelly enters his second season as CMU’s coach, and he wants to give fans something to cheer about.
“We’re definitely going in the right direction, and we’re much further along than we were last year,” he said. “But that still has to be validated on the field. We are much more conditioned and our strength is increased, but can they translate that on the field? They have to show me that they can go out and be productive as a team.”
A winning season for the football team or not, fans can take comfort in knowing they have other championship caliber fall sports to root for.
