Link: http://footballscoop.com/news/facul...eastern-michigan-to-drop-division-i-football/
Students and faculty at Eastern Michigan University are calling for the school to leave the Mid-American Conference and join the Horizon League in all non-football sports while dropping football to Division II or Division III.
"Culturally and geographically, EMU will never succeed from an attendance and financial standpoint," faculty member Howard Bunsis argued to the EMU Board of Regents on Friday. "It is a losing proposition -- always has been, always will be. We hardly raise any money for football, and our attendance is the lowest in the country. Some of you believe that we are close to succeeding, if we just throw more money at the situation. This proposition is insane."
“This has nothing to do with our performance on the field, or the quality of our coaches. Our coaches are good people and dedicated professionals. They are fighting a losing battle that cannot be won. Each and every one of you needs to reassess why you are here; if you have any sense of what is right for EMU, you will drop EMU from Division I football as soon as possible. How can you sit there and justify throwing millions of dollars away?”
The financial figures at Eastern Michigan do not paint a pretty picture: students pay $917 in fees annually to support EMU athletics, part of a $27 million subsidy the university provides to fund the Eagles' $34 million athletics budget. The subsidy is the largest in the MAC and among the largest in Division I. Eastern Michigan's $34 million athletics budget represents eight percent of the school's overall spending. EMU has increased spending from $25 million in 2005 to $34 million a decade later while revenue has dropped from $10 million to $7 million in that same span. On the field, EMU has won more than five games in a season just once since 1996 and has not appeared in a bowl game since 1987.
Students and faculty at Eastern Michigan University are calling for the school to leave the Mid-American Conference and join the Horizon League in all non-football sports while dropping football to Division II or Division III.
"Culturally and geographically, EMU will never succeed from an attendance and financial standpoint," faculty member Howard Bunsis argued to the EMU Board of Regents on Friday. "It is a losing proposition -- always has been, always will be. We hardly raise any money for football, and our attendance is the lowest in the country. Some of you believe that we are close to succeeding, if we just throw more money at the situation. This proposition is insane."
“This has nothing to do with our performance on the field, or the quality of our coaches. Our coaches are good people and dedicated professionals. They are fighting a losing battle that cannot be won. Each and every one of you needs to reassess why you are here; if you have any sense of what is right for EMU, you will drop EMU from Division I football as soon as possible. How can you sit there and justify throwing millions of dollars away?”
The financial figures at Eastern Michigan do not paint a pretty picture: students pay $917 in fees annually to support EMU athletics, part of a $27 million subsidy the university provides to fund the Eagles' $34 million athletics budget. The subsidy is the largest in the MAC and among the largest in Division I. Eastern Michigan's $34 million athletics budget represents eight percent of the school's overall spending. EMU has increased spending from $25 million in 2005 to $34 million a decade later while revenue has dropped from $10 million to $7 million in that same span. On the field, EMU has won more than five games in a season just once since 1996 and has not appeared in a bowl game since 1987.
