Bill and Carla Kanine: The One CMU Couple
6/27/2018 12:00:00 AM | Chippewa Fund
As Central Michigan University students in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Bill and Carla Kanine built fond memories attending classes during the day, sharing the role of apartment supervisors at the Northwest Housing complex and beginning a family.
Bill also worked for United Parcel Service, while Carla was employed by the Embers restaurant.
As students with limited resources and a young family, affordable entertainment opportunities were rare, making CMU Athletics events the perfect outings.
"We enjoyed the excitement and atmosphere at the many athletic events we attended as a family," Bill said. "Football, baseball, softball and basketball games were most popular with us. It was a great opportunity for us to be on a campus with family-friendly athletic events."
"We started our family while we were here and I remember sitting in the bleachers in Rose, sitting way up high so we could be with our children," Carla fondly remembers. "When we bring our grandkids to games now, it is fun to experience the same joy and excitement we did with our own kids."
The Kanines both earned CMU degrees - Bill in business administration and Carla in education - and have maintained close ties to the university. Bill has served as a member of the CMU Board of Trustees since 2011. Both regularly drive from their home in Petoskey to attend events at CMU.
Most recently, the Kanines made a significant contribution to the Chippewa Champions Alumni Center, a multi-level, multi-purpose building proposed for the north end zone of Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
From the start, the Chippewa Champions Alumni Center has been described as a One CMU project that will result in a year-round facility that serves alumni, Advancement and Athletics and supports the success of students and student-athletes.
"Bill and Carla Kanine are among the most loyal, engaged alumni CMU has ever had," Vice President of Advancement Robert Martin said. "Their energy and passion to help students pulls others along. The Chippewa Champions Alumni Center is a perfect project for them to be involved with. It will be a first-class facility for students, alumni, faculty, staff and fans."
The Kanines, as much as any couple, represent One CMU values. While regulars on campus at a game or match, they are just as likely to be seen at other special events. They are champions of the full CMU experience.
Bill is a regular at graduation ceremonies in McGuirk Arena and frequently honors the CMU student-athletes who cannot make the weekend formal graduation.
"We have tremendous students and student-athletes who should be rewarded and looked up to," Bill said. "You've got to promote the opportunity to give them whatever we can give them to be the best they can be. It's an honor for me to congratulate and thank them (and their families) on their graduation and dual commitment as a student and student-athlete."
"Central Michigan has been good for us," Carla said.
Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael Alford is approaching his one-year anniversary at Central. It did not take long for him to get to know the Kanines, who even joined him for road-game breakfast stops at diners.
"I love their story," Alford said. "They are extremely loyal to family and friends, to their alma mater, and they take time to get to know the people who work here and make CMU special. And they especially like to look out for CMU students."
The Kanines said the Chippewa Champions Alumni Center is positioned to help the university and students in many ways. Carla noted the training center for all 480-plus CMU student-athletes also will serve as a teaching tool for the students going into athletic training and other health-care professions.
"The students going into these programs will get a hands-on experience, which is where everybody learns the best," she said.
"It's time to do this," Bill Kanine said. "Like everything in life, you have to compete with everybody. This is something people want to see and be a part of. It is going to help the whole university. That's all going to be a positive result by investing in the Chippewa Champions Alumni Center."