Can Eagles Be Hurons & Hurons Be Eagles At EMU?

Editor's Note: This is the second of a two-part post relating to Eastern Michigan University's former Huron nickname, the aftermath and possible solution to a decision that's haunted the Ypsilanti campus since the day it was announced.

In the handful of years that followed the 1991 decision to shed the Huron identity at Eastern Michigan University, a noticeable lull enveloped the Ypsilanti campus as it related to energy and spirit surrounding the varsity sports program. To understand this, one must first understand the summer of 1984 for the the things it represented at EMU not relating to George Orwell or the 'Bless You Boys' Tigers.

The Mid-American Conference membership was concerned the NCAA would strip the conference of its' Division-I status because a football attendance audit for the '84 season loomed. That meant that at least half or the conference schools had to make a minimum number in average attendance per game of the league would slip into I-AA status. Back then the MAC comprised nine schools, and only four schools were locks to make that minimum number: CMU, Toledo, Bowling Green State and Miami. Four schools were locks to miss the mark: Ball State, Kent State, Ohio and EMU. The bubble school was Western Michigan, and this greatly concerned the MAC athletic directors and presidents. If WMU failed, the entire conference would tumble, too. A secret vote was scheduled; Eastern would be sacrificed.

EMU football had been in shambles since coach Mike Stock took over in 1978, mirroring the school. Buildings were boarded up on Cross Street, leading discussion of shuttering EMU altogether. Stock inherited an 8-3 team from Ed Chlebek and floundered by going 3-7 in '78 and 2-8-1 in'79, but that was tame compared to the next three seasons. After beating BGSU 18-16 on September 13, 1980, Eastern lost 27 games consecutively. It took a 9-7 triumph over Kent State at Rynearson to snap a nationally-known streak on November 6, 1982. EMU students stormed the field and snapped the goalposts in half after the game in celebration. Only six I-A or I-AA programs have suffered more (I-A: Northwestern 34, Virginia & Kansas State 28; I-AA: Prairie View 80, Columbia University 44, St. Francis, PA 30).

The Hurons had been a powerhouse in football, basketball and baseball in the late 1960s and early 1970s, allowing the NAIA school to go Division-I. A school making the leap from NAIA to major college Division-I status would be laughable today but Eastern, and two years later Central, were that good. To fast forward ten years later and see EMU teetering on expulsion and extinction broke more than a few hearts.

The solution's deciding vote was cast by CMU and it took a court injunction to save Eastern. Coach Jim Harkema rallied his players and their parents to the largest EMU lecture hall, Pray-Harold, in the summer of '84 and laid it out: Either stay, fight and survive -- unanimously -- or EMU would grant every player a release and shutter the program. The Hurons decided to fight and the CMU game, scheduled for October 6th at EMU, was circled in blood.

In '83 Harkema was hired from Grand Valley State and after beating Marshall 7-3, his Hurons lost 14-straight games...until CMU in '84. The Chippewas came calling and the revival of a school was at stake. In front of a sold-out Rynearson Stadium, Central motored to a 16-0 lead, but Harkema and his Hurons would go down fighting. In the second half, EMU was beyond determined, much like the Eastern-Central game a week ago. On the game's final play, Eastern booted a long field goal to tie the Chippewas 16-16.

The message had been delivered: The Hurons would not die quietly. Eastern made the attendance mark and from '85-'89 EMU went 33-20-2, including a staggering 23-8-2 from '87-'89. The '87 team went 10-2 as MAC champions and won the California Bowl over the heavily-favored Spartans of San Jose State. EMU quarterback Ron Adams sent every Chippewa player a postcard from California to back up his guarantee that EMU would win the league after CMU had defeated EMU 16-6. Adams, the Taylor product and toughest EMU quarterback ever, made good on that bet with an exclamation point second to none.

So when the Huron identity was unceremoniously ditched in '90-91, that unique pride, spirit and determination that EMU students and student-athletes alike had come to rally behind died, too. The football team hasn't posted a winning record in the MAC since 1989 but more importantly, EMU struggles to gain a strong foothold with their older alumni. They earn a large gift sporadically, but the annual fund-raising efforts resemble a trickle instead of an open tap, and often the bigger gifts are from the same, repeat donors. The school hasn't made enough inroads with the larger alumni base and money talks with more authority than any coach or school president ever will.

So what's the solution? Bring the Huron back alongside the Eagle and mirror Auburn University as an institution with two recognized nicknames. If Auburn can be both Eagles and Tigers, why can't Eastern Michigan be Hurons and Eagles?

First and foremost, EMU can accomplish this without being Indians, because the word Huron encapsulates so much of southeastern Michigan's footprint without being an exclusive reference to a Native American tribesman. This is the easiest solution to make peace with the 70,000+ alumni that believes Eastern alienated their loyal constituency for no good reason other than PC-surrender. I completely agree with those who argue that some Native American symbols foster and encourage negative stereotyping. EMU could be the first school to embrace a history in a new, positive light by rectifying images of years past without running from it's history altogether.

Second, could EMU embrace the old with the new? Maybe a return of the school's discontinued Circle-E with a feather draping of each side downward, encapsulating the phrase: "Our Huron Spirit Soars With Eagles". The school took a sacred symbol of the Native American and turned it into a cartoon caricature. Could a more dignified approach be the right approach in retrospect?

Certainly true is the fact that so many EMU alums have heard the phrase, "Until they bring back the Huron, I'm not giving any money." Facing headstrong into the teeth of an potential economic storm not seen in a generation, EMU might be smart to consider a option that could win over some hearts and pocketbooks simultaneously.

It's ironic to see one institution's Huron decision nearly 20 years ago (EMU) be in such stark contrast to a sister institution's Chippewa decision (CMU) despite the fact the two schools have so much in common as former NAIA schools, fabulous teacher colleges and a long history as strong contributors in the MAC. The bad blood that has followed for so many years is a product of difficult decisions and rivalry that becomes problematic when both schools are after the sweet fruit hanging from the same tree.

On the other hand, it makes for great theater and certainly makes Eastern's visit to Mt. Pleasant next year a must-see game in the MAC for 2009.

Comments

[Statman24]

TC,

Probably the best piece of writing I've ever read on this issue. I agree with you 100%. I would bring back the Huron name in a heartbeat and not look back. Such a small thing would mean more to this university than anyone could ever envision.

W,

Thanks for taking time to post -- and you're dead-on correct in saying it's a small problem from afar but to those familiar with EMU, it's a huge part of the culture of ill will at the school.

Independent of your post, how much of the donor problems have to do with the public relation problems the school has had in the past few years, specifically the murder of the girl and attempted cover up by the departed school president? Seems the last few years, any time Eastern is brought up in the media, it is a negative article. Would there actually be that much backlash over a team moniker?

M,

Yes, you are correct in saying EMU has endured a mountain's worth of poor PR in the last 15-20 years and the overwhelming majority of it has been self-induced.

However, and this cannot be overstated any more, the Huron decision was the catalyst behind the river of mistrust and bad blood between the students & alums and the administration. Going forward, the EMU foundation, the president's house, trouble with faculty contracts, murder and crime and other problematic issues arose with the same ill will that was first created when the Huron was sacrificed.

EMU was such an awesome place to go to school 20 years ago...and then that pride was pulled away like aluminum siding gets yanked off a vacant house for scrap. It was almost exactly like Bo Schembechler's famous comments about Tiger Stadium. To hear the ballpark spoken about like that after years of pride was a punch to the gut -- that was the Huron decision, too.

Finally, at a second-tier/second chance school like EMU, much like having a good football team was important at 709 or 1500 in the 48067 and 48072 zip codes, that Huron energy driving the school's spirit was even more noticable when it was gone.

[Jim]

Any discussion of bring the "Huron" name back to Eastern MUST include input from the Huron Nation. We as alumni cannot be so arrogant as to think that the Huron Nation has no stake in its return. As with the realtionship between CMU and the Chippewa tribe and Utah with the Ute tribe, we can create a partnership with the Huron Nation and attempt to promote goodwill. We have an opportunity to build new traditions at EMU with the Huron Nation if we can create a partnership with them. Then President Sheldon destroyed alot of traditions and school spirit when he decided to change the nickname without considering the input of the students, alumni and the Huron Nation. With the hiring of a new head coach for our football team, we can take a step forward by looking back at our past and bringing EMU back to a competitive force in the MAC.

J. Swanson
class of 1994

[Bob]

I agree with your comments. You nailed it right on the head with your research. Someone finally put it out there to debate, if anyone cares.

I am hoping that our new school President can turn this institution around. We have the support of the Huron tribe. Pledge our support to promote the tribe on their terms and start with their history.

How about renaming “The Convocation Center” to the Huron Nation Center? If the Huron Indians support us I am all for a change.

If it does not work out and the slippage continues, then call EMU what it is a great commuter school. Drop the football program and bring back Men’s Soccer. It will draw more fans in the long run. And maybe just maybe we can use the stadium for a Metro Detroit MLS team, once Canton continues to move westward towards the Ann Arbor area.