Central Michigan University Athletics
Donor Spotlight: Tim and Elizabeth Brockman
2/24/2012 12:00:00 AM | Chippewa Fund
Of course there are a number of items to take into consideration when moving, but lifelong Chippewa fan Tim Brockman made sure that his priorities were in order.
"When I got the job offer at CMU, the first thing Tim did was order his football tickets," Elizabeth said. "I think it was before we even bought a house."
Tim's relationship with Chippewa athletics goes back to the days when Roy Kramer roamed the sidelines as CMU's head coach.
Brockman said he remembered Chippewa offensive lineman Tim Farkas playing all-time quarterback in pickup football games. While this endeared Farkas to the neighborhood kids, it drew the ire of his hall of fame coach.
"It probably didn't look good to Kramer, all these third and fourth graders draped all over his star guard," he said.
To the Brockmans, there has always been a special relationship between Central Michigan University and the Mount Pleasant community.
It should come as no surprise then that after they purchased Max & Emily's, an institution in downtown Mount Pleasant, the Brockman's sought to partner with CMU in any way that they could.
Tim said it began when he was approached by then Assistant Athletics Director Nick Williams about providing food for media personnel in the Kelly/Shorts Stadium press box during football games.
Today, Max & Emily's provides catering for the Chippewa Athletic Fund tent at every home football game and welcomes a number of coaches downtown on a regular basis.
Tim said that while Ohio State's head football coach would risk getting mobbed if he went to the local deli, Dan Enos is a regular at Max & Emily's.
"Margo (Jonker) loves to bring recruits here with their families," he said. "People get to feel good about the town and the kind of atmosphere their daughter will spend their career in."
The Brockmans' contributions to Chippewa Athletic Fund also include their personal giving to many individual sport programs, the 1100 Club and sponsorship of the Chippewa Challenge Golf Outing.
Elizabeth said that as a professor, student development is at the heart of her vocation and that giving to the Chippewa Athletic Fund aids her in this mission.
"I enjoy working with student-athletes and I can honestly say that I have never had a negative experience with a student-athlete," she said.
Tim cited former Chippewa basketball player John Borovich as the kind of unique individual that comprise the CMU student-athlete population that represent the maroon and gold well on and off the court.
He said that he remembered watching a basketball practice where the team was divided in two and the "loser" in a particular drill had to run sprints.
Tim said that Borovich was ill and was given the option to not participate in practice.
Borovich not only participated in practice, but ran every sprint, regardless of which side he was on.
"To me that was pretty special, not every kid does that," Brockman said.
It also takes special people to selflessly give back to CMU student-athletes, people like Tim and Elizabeth Brockman.
On behalf of the over 400 CMU student-athletes, we would like to thank Tim and Elizabeth Brockman for their outstanding commitment to Chippewa Athletics through their contributions to the Chippewa Athletic Fund.
