Eastern Michigan Eagles
Encyclopedia
The Eastern Michigan Eagles, formerly known as the Eastern Michigan Hurons, are the athletic teams for Eastern Michigan University
. Altogether, they have won three NCAA Division II national championships and 13 NAIA
Division I national championships in five different sports (baseball, men's cross country, men's swimming and diving, men's indoor track and field, and men's outdoor track and field); moreover, EMU has been NCAA Division I national runner-up twice. In 1940, the men's cross country team finished second to Indiana University
at the national meet hosted by Michigan State University
.
The Eagles have also won the Reese Trophy, given to the best overall men's athletic program in the Mid-American Conference
(MAC), four times, most recently in 2008. EMU was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
from 1950–1961, and has been a member of the MAC since 1972.
EMU began investigating the appropriateness of its Huron Indian logo after the Michigan Department of Civil Rights issued a report in October 1988 suggesting that all schools using such logos drop them. The report indicated that the use of Native American names, logos and mascots for athletic teams promoted racial stereotypes. At that time, four colleges, 62 high schools and 33 junior high/middle schools in Michigan used Native American logos or names, including Mid-American Conference
rival Central Michigan University
. CMU did not, however, change their nickname from the Chippewas. The EMU Board of Regents voted to replace the Huron name with Eagles, taken from three recommendations from a committee charged with supplying a new nickname. The other two final names submitted were Green Hornets and Express. The Eagles name was officially adopted on May 22, 1991, when the EMU Board of Regents voted to replace the existing Huron nickname and logo with the new one. During the 1991 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
, announcer Brent Musburger
talked about the controversy and referred to the team on-air as the "No-Names."
The controversy over the nickname continues to this day, as many former students and faculty were angered that a unique name like Hurons was replaced by a common name like Eagles, especially for reasons of political correctness
concerning inappropriate logos or mascots. Also of some controversy is the confused etymology of the word Huron. Early French explorers referred to the Wyandot people as the Huron, either from the French huron ("ruffian", "rustic"), or from hure ("boar's head"). According to tradition, French sailors thought that the bristly hairstyle of Wendat warriors resembled that of a boar.
But these negative etymological meanings conflict with the "bon Iroquois" attitude held by the French fur traders and explorers. An alternate etymology is from the Algonquin words ronon ("nation"), or Irri-ronon ("Erie" or "Cat Nation"). It was pronounced Hirri-ronon by the French, eventually shortened to Hirr-on, and finally spelled in its present form, Huron. Some alumni have even refused to donate money to the school until the name Hurons is restored. An official chapter of the EMU Alumni Association, the Huron Restoration Chapter, seeks to bring back the name and claims to have the support of Chief Leaford Bearskin of the Wyandot Tribe of Oklahoma and former Grand Chief Max Gros-Louis of the Huron-Wendat Nation
of Quebec.
. Before the 1991 season, Eastern Michigan University went by the "Hurons." After 1991 Eastern has gone by the "Eagles." Even though the school adopted the name "Eagles" it was not until 1994 when "Swoop" was adopted as the official mascot for the university. Swoop is depicted as an American Bald Eagle wearing an Eastern Michigan University jersey, displaying the numbers "00" on the front and "Swoop" on the back. Swoop's gender is undefined. At the Eastern Michigan University bookstore a stuffed animal pair can be purchased, one wearing a jersey, the other wearing a cheerleader outfit.
in the final game of the College World Series
at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium
in Omaha
, Nebraska
. Under the leadership of Coach Ron Oestrike and assistant Roger Coryell, the Hurons defeated Maine, Clemson, and Arizona State (with its 13 future Major Leaguers) before losing its last two games to Arizona. EMU was led by stars Bob Owchinko
, Bob Welch
, Dan Schmitz, Jerry Keller, Glenn Gulliver, Glen Ambrose, Mike Lauerman, Thom Boutin and John Martin (baseball)
.
in the first round of the 1996 tournament.
One of the great highlights in team history came after the victory over Duke in 1996 when the Blue Devils' Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski stated, "Eastern Michigan is very well coached, much deeper than we are and, today, much quicker than we were."
EMU reached the Final Four of the 1972 NCAA College Division National Championship, led by All-American George Gervin
, an NBA Hall of Famer selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
Championships in a single sport, 25, for Men's Swimming and Diving, which they won in 1979, 1981–1996, 1998, and 2000–2005.
in downtown Detroit annually since 2004 in the "Collegiate Clash". They have hosted Central Michigan University
(2004), Western Michigan University
(2005), the United States Naval Academy
(2006), and Northwestern University
(2007). Since winning the first Ford Field game over CMU in triple overtime 61-58, they have lost three in a row. Traditionally, the program has problems attracting fans to their football games each season. NCAA rules state that in order to stay in Division I-A for football, each team must attract an average of 15,000 fans per game. During a 1-11 season, Eastern's EMU Foundation purchased 5,000 tickets for local high school students to curb this threat to their status. The annual game at Ford Field also boosts their average attendance.
The greatest football victory in EMU history occurred in December 1987. The MAC Champion Hurons defeated 17½ point favorite San Jose State in the California Bowl. The victory culminated a 10-2 season and improbable rise from the depths of Division I-A college football. Only two years previous the team was in serious jeopardy of losing Division 1-A status. Head Coach Jim Harkema was instrumental in resurrecting the program. The two losses in 1987 were both on the road, and were by a total of 11 points.
The 1988 and 1989 teams each finished in second place in the conference and ended the most successful stretch of football in school history with its fourth straight winning season. EMU has achieved only one winning season ('95) since.
. The men's cross country team has won fourteen team championships. Its current head coach, John Goodridge, has won five MAC championships in his nine years as head coach. The cross country team at the school started in 1911.
program. Home meets are held in Bowen Field House
. Warner Gymnasium is the current home of the EMU Gymnastics Program.
.Eastern Michigan adopted the sport of wrestling in 1956. In 1996, wrestling won its first Mid-American conference Championship.
(1964–1977), Max Plank (1979–2001) , Scott Boerma
(2002–2006), and John Zastoupil (2007-2009. The marching band is presently directed by Dr. Amy Knopps (since 2010). The band plays both Go Green and the Eagles Fight Song for pregame at football games, and after every game and rehearsal the marching band sings Our Pledge. Other major parts of the pregame performance include the tunnel entrance and "Floating E".
The EMU Marching Band also provides a wide variety of half time entertainment throughout the season. In recent years, The EMUMB has traveled with the football team to The University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Ford Field
in Detroit. The EMU Marching Band has also performed at venues such as the Pontiac Silverdome
and Rich Stadium in Buffalo, NY. In 2008, The EMUMB performed in America's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit, MI.
The Eastern Michigan University Basketball Band is directed by the two graduate assistants of the band. Unlike the marching band which is made up of all brass and woodwinds, the Basketball Band's instrumentation is strictly "Brass and Sax." The Basketball Band travels with the basketball teams during the MAC tournament or the NCAA tournament.
The school song "Our Pledge" was written by Edward Bowles and was arranged for the marching band
by Thomas Tyra
. The melody of "Eagles Fight Song" was written by Larry Livingston and arranged for marching band by Thomas Tyra. The percussion parts were written by Whitney Prince. "Go Green" was written by Thomas Tyra.
National Championships (16)
National Runners-up (6)
Club Team National Championships (1)
Club Team National Runners-up (2)
Recent MAC championships
NCAA bowl games
NCAA individual champions
Men's Cross Country:
Men's Track and Field:
Women's Track and Field:
Olympians
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...
. Altogether, they have won three NCAA Division II national championships and 13 NAIA
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
Division I national championships in five different sports (baseball, men's cross country, men's swimming and diving, men's indoor track and field, and men's outdoor track and field); moreover, EMU has been NCAA Division I national runner-up twice. In 1940, the men's cross country team finished second to Indiana University
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
at the national meet hosted by Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
.
The Eagles have also won the Reese Trophy, given to the best overall men's athletic program in the Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
(MAC), four times, most recently in 2008. EMU was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was a college athletic conference that existed from 1908 to 1970 in the United States.-History:...
from 1950–1961, and has been a member of the MAC since 1972.
Team name history
Since the 1991 season, Eastern Michigan University athletic teams have gone by the nickname "Eagles." The school's first nicknames (then Michigan State Normal College), were the "Normalites" and "Men from Ypsi" and various other titles down through the years before "Hurons" was adopted in 1929. The "Hurons" first came into being as the result of a contest sponsored by the Men's Union in 1929. On Oct. 31 of that year, a three-person committee, composed of Dr. Clyde Ford, Dr. Elmer Lyman and Professor Bert Peet, selected the name "Hurons" from the many entries in the contest. The name was submitted by two students, Gretchen Borst and George Hanner. The runner-up name in that contest was Pioneers.EMU began investigating the appropriateness of its Huron Indian logo after the Michigan Department of Civil Rights issued a report in October 1988 suggesting that all schools using such logos drop them. The report indicated that the use of Native American names, logos and mascots for athletic teams promoted racial stereotypes. At that time, four colleges, 62 high schools and 33 junior high/middle schools in Michigan used Native American logos or names, including Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
rival Central Michigan University
Central Michigan University
Central Michigan University is a public research university located in Mount Pleasant in the U.S. state of Michigan...
. CMU did not, however, change their nickname from the Chippewas. The EMU Board of Regents voted to replace the Huron name with Eagles, taken from three recommendations from a committee charged with supplying a new nickname. The other two final names submitted were Green Hornets and Express. The Eagles name was officially adopted on May 22, 1991, when the EMU Board of Regents voted to replace the existing Huron nickname and logo with the new one. During the 1991 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
1991 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1991 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 14, 1991, and ended with the championship game on April 1 in Indianapolis, Indiana...
, announcer Brent Musburger
Brent Musburger
Brent Woody Musburger is an American sportscaster for the ESPN and ABC television networks. Formerly with CBS Sports and one of the original members of their legendary program The NFL Today, Musburger has covered NASCAR, NBA, MLB, NCAA football and basketball games. Musburger has also served as a...
talked about the controversy and referred to the team on-air as the "No-Names."
The controversy over the nickname continues to this day, as many former students and faculty were angered that a unique name like Hurons was replaced by a common name like Eagles, especially for reasons of political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
concerning inappropriate logos or mascots. Also of some controversy is the confused etymology of the word Huron. Early French explorers referred to the Wyandot people as the Huron, either from the French huron ("ruffian", "rustic"), or from hure ("boar's head"). According to tradition, French sailors thought that the bristly hairstyle of Wendat warriors resembled that of a boar.
But these negative etymological meanings conflict with the "bon Iroquois" attitude held by the French fur traders and explorers. An alternate etymology is from the Algonquin words ronon ("nation"), or Irri-ronon ("Erie" or "Cat Nation"). It was pronounced Hirri-ronon by the French, eventually shortened to Hirr-on, and finally spelled in its present form, Huron. Some alumni have even refused to donate money to the school until the name Hurons is restored. An official chapter of the EMU Alumni Association, the Huron Restoration Chapter, seeks to bring back the name and claims to have the support of Chief Leaford Bearskin of the Wyandot Tribe of Oklahoma and former Grand Chief Max Gros-Louis of the Huron-Wendat Nation
Huron-Wendat Nation
The Huron-Wendat Nation is a Huron-Wendat First Nation whose community and reserve is at Wendake, Quebec, a municipality now enclosed within Quebec City in Canada. In the French language, used by most members of the First Nation, they are known as the Nation Huronne-Wendat.In 2006, historical...
of Quebec.
Mascot
Swoop is the mascot for Eastern Michigan UniversityEastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...
. Before the 1991 season, Eastern Michigan University went by the "Hurons." After 1991 Eastern has gone by the "Eagles." Even though the school adopted the name "Eagles" it was not until 1994 when "Swoop" was adopted as the official mascot for the university. Swoop is depicted as an American Bald Eagle wearing an Eastern Michigan University jersey, displaying the numbers "00" on the front and "Swoop" on the back. Swoop's gender is undefined. At the Eastern Michigan University bookstore a stuffed animal pair can be purchased, one wearing a jersey, the other wearing a cheerleader outfit.
Baseball
On June 19, 1976, after finishing in sixth place the year before, the baseball team was defeated by the University of ArizonaUniversity of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in the final game of the College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium
Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium
Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium is a baseball stadium in Omaha, Nebraska, the former home to the annual NCAA Division I College World Series and the minor league Omaha Royals, now known as the Omaha Storm Chasers...
in Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
. Under the leadership of Coach Ron Oestrike and assistant Roger Coryell, the Hurons defeated Maine, Clemson, and Arizona State (with its 13 future Major Leaguers) before losing its last two games to Arizona. EMU was led by stars Bob Owchinko
Bob Owchinko
Robert Dennis Owchinko is a former professional baseball pitcher. A left-handed pitcher, he played all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball, between 1976 and 1986, for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and Montreal...
, Bob Welch
Bob Welch (baseball player)
Robert Lynn "Bob" Welch is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics . He played in college for Eastern Michigan. Welch was best known for his blazing fastball, and he is the last pitcher to win 27 games in a single season...
, Dan Schmitz, Jerry Keller, Glenn Gulliver, Glen Ambrose, Mike Lauerman, Thom Boutin and John Martin (baseball)
John Martin (baseball)
John Robert Martin is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who attended Eastern Michigan University. After appearing in nine games, starting five, in his rookie year of 1980, Martin recorded his best year in 1981, recording eight wins against five losses, four complete games, and a 3.42 ERA...
.
Basketball
Eastern's men's basketball team has appeared in four NCAA Division I tournaments, and have a 3-4 record, tied for third best among Michigan colleges. They reached the Sweet Sixteen in the 1991 tournament (their first ever appearance) and defeated Duke UniversityDuke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
in the first round of the 1996 tournament.
One of the great highlights in team history came after the victory over Duke in 1996 when the Blue Devils' Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski stated, "Eastern Michigan is very well coached, much deeper than we are and, today, much quicker than we were."
EMU reached the Final Four of the 1972 NCAA College Division National Championship, led by All-American George Gervin
George Gervin
George "The Iceman" Gervin is a retired American professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association and National Basketball Association for the Virginia Squires, San Antonio Spurs, and Chicago Bulls...
, an NBA Hall of Famer selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
Swimming and Diving
The Eagles hold the record for the most MACMid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
Championships in a single sport, 25, for Men's Swimming and Diving, which they won in 1979, 1981–1996, 1998, and 2000–2005.
Football
The football team plays one home game a year at Ford FieldFord Field
Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for...
in downtown Detroit annually since 2004 in the "Collegiate Clash". They have hosted Central Michigan University
Central Michigan University
Central Michigan University is a public research university located in Mount Pleasant in the U.S. state of Michigan...
(2004), Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....
(2005), the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
(2006), and Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
(2007). Since winning the first Ford Field game over CMU in triple overtime 61-58, they have lost three in a row. Traditionally, the program has problems attracting fans to their football games each season. NCAA rules state that in order to stay in Division I-A for football, each team must attract an average of 15,000 fans per game. During a 1-11 season, Eastern's EMU Foundation purchased 5,000 tickets for local high school students to curb this threat to their status. The annual game at Ford Field also boosts their average attendance.
The greatest football victory in EMU history occurred in December 1987. The MAC Champion Hurons defeated 17½ point favorite San Jose State in the California Bowl. The victory culminated a 10-2 season and improbable rise from the depths of Division I-A college football. Only two years previous the team was in serious jeopardy of losing Division 1-A status. Head Coach Jim Harkema was instrumental in resurrecting the program. The two losses in 1987 were both on the road, and were by a total of 11 points.
The 1988 and 1989 teams each finished in second place in the conference and ended the most successful stretch of football in school history with its fourth straight winning season. EMU has achieved only one winning season ('95) since.
Cross country
Eastern Michigan Eagles men's cross country is a varsity level sport. The Eagles compete at the Division I level in the NCAANational Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
. The men's cross country team has won fourteen team championships. Its current head coach, John Goodridge, has won five MAC championships in his nine years as head coach. The cross country team at the school started in 1911.
Gymnastics
Eastern Michigan Eagles gymnastics is a collegiate women's gymnasticsNCAA Women's Gymnastics championship
The NCAA introduced Women's Gymnastics as a championship sport in 1982. Since then, only four universities have claimed the overall Division I championship; Division II competition was discontinued in 1987. During the early years of competition, the University of Utah under the leadership of head...
program. Home meets are held in Bowen Field House
Bowen Field House
Bowen Field House is a 5,400 seat multi-purpose arena in Ypsilanti, Michigan on the Eastern Michigan University campus. It opened in 1955 and was home to the Eastern Michigan Eagles men's and women's basketball teams until the Convocation Center opened in 1997...
. Warner Gymnasium is the current home of the EMU Gymnastics Program.
Wrestling
Eastern Michigan Eagles wrestling team is a men's athletic program. Home meets are held in Bowen Field HouseBowen Field House
Bowen Field House is a 5,400 seat multi-purpose arena in Ypsilanti, Michigan on the Eastern Michigan University campus. It opened in 1955 and was home to the Eastern Michigan Eagles men's and women's basketball teams until the Convocation Center opened in 1997...
.Eastern Michigan adopted the sport of wrestling in 1956. In 1996, wrestling won its first Mid-American conference Championship.
Athletic Bands
The Eastern Michigan University Marching Band, nicknamed "The Pride of the Peninsula," was first formed in 1924. Notable past leaders of the EMU marching band include Mitch Osadchuk (1956–1964), Thomas TyraThomas Tyra
Thomas Tyra was an American composer, arranger, bandmaster, and music educator.-Early life and education:...
(1964–1977), Max Plank (1979–2001) , Scott Boerma
Scott Boerma
Scott M. Boerma is a composer of contemporary classical music as well as the current Associate Director of Bands, Director of the Michigan Marching Band, and the Donald R. Shepherd Associate Professor of Conducting at the University of Michigan...
(2002–2006), and John Zastoupil (2007-2009. The marching band is presently directed by Dr. Amy Knopps (since 2010). The band plays both Go Green and the Eagles Fight Song for pregame at football games, and after every game and rehearsal the marching band sings Our Pledge. Other major parts of the pregame performance include the tunnel entrance and "Floating E".
The EMU Marching Band also provides a wide variety of half time entertainment throughout the season. In recent years, The EMUMB has traveled with the football team to The University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Ford Field
Ford Field
Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for...
in Detroit. The EMU Marching Band has also performed at venues such as the Pontiac Silverdome
Pontiac Silverdome
The Silverdome is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, USA, which sits on . It was the largest stadium in the National Football League until FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C...
and Rich Stadium in Buffalo, NY. In 2008, The EMUMB performed in America's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit, MI.
The Eastern Michigan University Basketball Band is directed by the two graduate assistants of the band. Unlike the marching band which is made up of all brass and woodwinds, the Basketball Band's instrumentation is strictly "Brass and Sax." The Basketball Band travels with the basketball teams during the MAC tournament or the NCAA tournament.
The school song "Our Pledge" was written by Edward Bowles and was arranged for the marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
by Thomas Tyra
Thomas Tyra
Thomas Tyra was an American composer, arranger, bandmaster, and music educator.-Early life and education:...
. The melody of "Eagles Fight Song" was written by Larry Livingston and arranged for marching band by Thomas Tyra. The percussion parts were written by Whitney Prince. "Go Green" was written by Thomas Tyra.
Athletic facts
- Conference: Mid-American (MACMid-American ConferenceThe Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
) - Nickname: Eagles (were known as the Hurons from 1929–1991)
- Colors: Green and White
- Affiliation: NCAANational Collegiate Athletic AssociationThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division I (previously NAIA and NCAA Division II) - Number of sports at EMU: 21
National Championships (16)
- 1972: Men's Swimming and Diving - NCAA Division II
- 1972: Men's Outdoor Track and Field - NCAA Division II
- 1971: Men's Swimming and Diving - NAIA
- 1971: Men's Indoor Track and Field - NAIA
- 1971: Men's Outdoor Track and Field - NAIA
- 1970: Baseball - NAIA
- 1970: Men's Cross Country - NCAA Division II
- 1970: Men's Cross Country - NAIA
- 1970: Men's Swimming and Diving - NAIA
- 1970: Men's Indoor Track and Field - NAIA
- 1970: Men's Outdoor Track and Field - NAIA
- 1969: Men's Swimming and Diving - NAIA
- 1969: Men's Indoor Track and Field - NAIA
- 1968: Men's Swimming and Diving - NAIA
- 1967: Men's Cross Country - NAIA
- 1966: Men's Cross Country - NAIA
National Runners-up (6)
- 1976: Baseball - NCAA Division I
- 1971: Men's Basketball - NAIA Division I
- 1969: Men's Cross Country - NCAA Division II
- 1969: Men's Cross Country - NAIA
- 1965: Men's Cross Country - NCAA Division II
- 1940: Men's Cross Country - NCAA
Club Team National Championships (1)
- 2001: Roller Hockey - NCRHA Division II
Club Team National Runners-up (2)
- 2000: Men's Ice Hockey - ACHA Division I
- 1994: Men's Ice Hockey - ACHA Division I
Recent MAC championships
- 2008: Men's Baseball
- 2007: Men's Baseball
- 2007: Men's Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- 2007: Woman's Softball
- 2007: Men's Outdoor Track and Field
- 2007: Men's Golf
- 2007: Women's Gymnastics
- 2007: Men's Indoor Track and Field
- 2007: Men's Swimming and Diving
- 2007: Women's Swimming and Diving
- 2006: Men's Cross Country
- 2006: Women's Swimming and Diving
- 2005: Men's Cross Country
- 2000–2005: Men's swimmingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and divingDivingDiving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one... - 2004: Women's Basketball
- 2003: Men's baseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
- 2003: Women's soccer
- 2003: Women's outdoor track
- 1995–2003: Men's trackTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
- 2001: Women's tennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- 2000: Women's indoor track
NCAA bowl games
- 1971 Pioneer BowlPioneer BowlThe Pioneer Bowl is a bowl game between football teams from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and 2007 and is one of two bowl games between historically black colleges and universities...
Appearance - 1987 California BowlCalifornia BowlThe California Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game played annually at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, California, from 1981 to 1991. The games matched the championship teams from the Big West Conference with teams from the Mid-American Conference...
Champions
NCAA individual champions
Men's Cross Country:
- 2001 Boaz Cheboiywo
Men's Track and Field:
- 2004 Jordan Desilets, 3000-meter steeplechase
- 2002 Boaz Cheboiywo, 10,000 meters outdoor track
- 1999 Clement ChukwuClement ChukwuClement Chukwu is a former Nigerian athlete who specialised in the 200 and 400 metres.Chukwu attended Eastern Michigan University....
, 400 meters - 1985 Earl JonesEarl Jones (athlete)Earl Jones is an American former middle distance runner who won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games In Los Angeles 1984 over 800m. He finished third behind Joaquim Cruz and Sebastian Coe in a time of 1:43.83 min. Earlier that summer at the U.S...
, 800 meters - 1975 Halsey Crawford, 100 yards
- 1959 Hayes JonesHayes JonesHayes Wendell Jones is a former American athlete, winner of 110 m hurdles at the 1964 Summer Olympics.Born in Pontiac, Michigan, Hayes Jones was quite short for a hurdler , but his outstanding speed, great start, and nearly perfect technique won him many championship titles.Jones burst onto the...
, 120- & 220-yard hurdles - 1932 Eugene Beatty, 400-meter hurdles
Women's Track and Field:
- 2005 Lela Nelson, heptathlon
- 1995 Savatheda Fynes, 200 meters
Olympians
- 2004 Athens Games: USA- Jamie NietoJamie NietoJamie Nieto in Seattle, Washington is an American high jumper and Actor who resides in Chula Vista, California. Nieto is currently training at the Olympic Training Center....
(High Jump, 4th) - 2000 Sydney Games: Nigeria- Nduka Awazie (4x400 meter relay, Silver), Nigeria - Clement Chukwu (200 & 400 meters)
- 1996 Atlanta Games: USA- Paul McMullen (1500 meters, 9th), Suriname - Tommy Asinga (800 meters), British West Indies - Greg Rhymer (1500 meters), Nigeria - Clement Chukwu (200 & 400 meters), Bahamas - Savatheda Fynes (100 & 200 meters, 400M Relay)
- 1992 Barcelona Games: Suriname - Tommy AsingaTommy AsingaTommy Asinga is a track star from Moengo, Suriname.Asinga trained in the United States, attending Eastern Michigan University from 1991–1994, where he won All-American honors five times....
(800 meters) - 1988 Seoul Games: Suriname - Tommy AsingaTommy AsingaTommy Asinga is a track star from Moengo, Suriname.Asinga trained in the United States, attending Eastern Michigan University from 1991–1994, where he won All-American honors five times....
(800 meters) - 1984 Los Angeles Games: USA- Earl JonesEarl Jones (athlete)Earl Jones is an American former middle distance runner who won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games In Los Angeles 1984 over 800m. He finished third behind Joaquim Cruz and Sebastian Coe in a time of 1:43.83 min. Earlier that summer at the U.S...
(800 meters, Bronze), Trinidad and Tobago- Hasely Crawford (100 meters) - 1980 Moscow Games: Trinidad and Tobago- Hasely Crawford (100 meters)
- 1976 Montreal Games: Trinidad and Tobago- Hasely Crawford (100 meters, Gold, 200 meters)
- 1972 Munich Games: Trinidad and Tobago- Hasely Crawford (100 meters)
- 1968 Mexico City Games: Canada - Dave Ellis (10,000 meters)
- 1964 Tokyo Games: USA- Hayes JonesHayes JonesHayes Wendell Jones is a former American athlete, winner of 110 m hurdles at the 1964 Summer Olympics.Born in Pontiac, Michigan, Hayes Jones was quite short for a hurdler , but his outstanding speed, great start, and nearly perfect technique won him many championship titles.Jones burst onto the...
(110 High Hurdles, Gold), USA - Dean RockwellDean RockwellDean Ladrath Rockwell was a decorated World War II group commander in the D-Day invasion, an Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling coach, and a college football coach....
, Manager of the Greco Roman Wrestling Squad - 1960 Rome Games: USA- Hayes JonesHayes JonesHayes Wendell Jones is a former American athlete, winner of 110 m hurdles at the 1964 Summer Olympics.Born in Pontiac, Michigan, Hayes Jones was quite short for a hurdler , but his outstanding speed, great start, and nearly perfect technique won him many championship titles.Jones burst onto the...
(110 High Hurdles, Bronze) - 1948 London Games: USA - George Marshall, Manager, Men's Track and Field
- 1932 Los Angeles Games: USA - Lloyd Olds, Assistant Coach, Track and Field