Welcome to a D-I school
If there's one thing that motivates this university, it's athletics.
Sure, academics are important - we've got that too.
But behind every new building, every new on-campus program, there is a driving force that brings us all together. No matter a student's major, Greek status, age, gender, ethnicity or views on American politics, everyone can pull for the Chippewas.
When the football team hosts Eastern Illinois at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Kelly/Shorts Stadium will become a congregation of the fourth-largest student body in Michigan along with faculty, administrators and alumni.
For freshmen, it is quite the way to kick off their first semester at CMU, and a way to get acclimated to the kind of hype that surrounds CMU football these days.
Attendance at Kelly/Shorts has spiked in the last two years as the team rose to the top of the Mid-American Conference.
However, it would be nice to see this kind of enthusiasm and buzz extend to other sports that deserve recognition.
As the football program reaches out to gain exposure even beyond state lines, other sports are grasping at straws trying to receive the smallest bit of attention in Mount Pleasant.
Why not attend a basketball game - men or women's - in the winter? Some of the most exciting games I have witnessed were played at Rose Arena. And the looming renovation of the venue only will make the experience better when it is completed in 2010.
Why not experience coach Jerry Reighard's gymnastics team, one of the best in the Midwest, on a winter night starting in January? They may not be Olympic athletes, but they're not too shabby, either.
Beyond football in the fall, soccer, volleyball, field hockey and cross country also are trying to rise to the top of the MAC.
Athletics are becoming more than just games to the campus community. It gives this place a source of pride, a solid fixture students, faculty and alumni can look to and say, "This is our university."
The coaches and athletes who represent us make an effort to interact with the rest of the university. Almost no one I have met has decided they are too good for the rest of the student body.
This is a Division I school, and it's beginning to look like one. From the Indoor Athletic Complex's football offices, weight room, indoor track and turf bay to a renovated gymnastics room and eventual $21.5 million renovation to Rose Arena, good things are happening.
National appearances have become commonplace. It's not too uncommon to see Dan LeFevour analyzed on ESPN or see Butch Jones on SportsCenter giving his pre-game speech.
Athletics aren't always perfect here, but they give us a break from the daily grind and usually make us proud.
And as the university tries to continue its reach throughout the state and country, one thing is for certain: It will be fun to watch.
sports@cm-life.com
