Eastern Michigan Students and Faculty: Drop Football
By Ty Duffy
Eastern Michigan students and faculty gave a report to the school’s board of regents about the University Budget. They want EMU to drop Division I football and drop out of the MAC.
"“Culturally and geographically, EMU football will simply never succeed from an attendance and financial standpoint,” faculty member Howard Bunsis, who helped prepare the report, said in a presentation to the Board of Regents on Friday. “It is a losing proposition – always has been, and 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?”"
Eastern Michigan’s athletic department lost $52 million over the past two years. The report estimates students are each paying $917 per year out of pocket to support the athletic department. EMU football drew fewer than 30,000 fans, total, in 2015.