Central Michigan University Athletics
Following Our Core Values
10/30/2019 11:10:00 AM | General, Fire Up Chats
Michael Alford Fire Up Chat
One of the first orders of business I conducted upon my arrival in Mount Pleasant was to bring together a group of coaches, student-athletes and administrators to develop our core values as an athletics department.
We check in with these values on a daily basis as they drive our decision-making process, but as we reach the heart of the fall schedule, it is pertinent to use a few of them to frame our latest "chat."
Let's start with notable, which we characterize as aspiring toward being recognized or distinguished in our efforts. It's the value that speaks to our desire to be the very best and to that end, we've had some individuals and teams step into the forefront this fall.
McGuirk Arena has been an electric place to be this fall as our volleyball program is in the midst of one of its best years in recent history. They sit atop the MAC West and are tied for the MAC's best overall record.
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I implore you to get out and support Coach Mike Gawlik and his student-athletes as they have put in a great deal of work to build this program the right way. I could not be more excited to see how our student-athletes finish down the stretch, beginning on Halloween night against Western Michigan.
On the golf course, Claudia Salvador's recent win at the Mastodon Invitational was exceptional in that it marked the first individual tournament win since our women's golf program was re-booted in 2014. Her efforts, along with those of her teammates, are changing the culture of CMU Golf.
While performance is obviously a critical part of growing a young program, to take things to the next level it requires another of our core values – innovation.
Thanks to the generosity and innovation of Rocky Ricelli, a great friend of CMU Athletics, we closed out the fall schedule by hosting the inaugural Chippewa Invitational at Birmingham Country Club. Rocky has been a tireless supporter of our golf program, and we are grateful to he and his wife Traci for all they do for CMU.
The Ricellis are among the thousands of Chippewa fans and donors to whom we are grateful, and who empower (another of our values). our student-athletes and our programs. It's thanks to your generosity that projects like the Chippewa Champions Center are moving rapidly toward completion.
This Friday, November 1, will see the final steel beam placed to complete the structural steel framing for this game-changing facility for our university.
I am proud to have worked alongside a talented group of university and external partners that recognize the need for first-class facilities in order to make CMU a leader in our conference and in our region. The rapid pace at which we are making this project a reality wouldn't be possible without the generosity of our donors.
We continue to need your support to meet our financial goals for the Chippewa Champions Center as well as a host of other programmatic needs. Consider joining the Chippewa Athletic Fund today and be confident that 100 percent of your gift goes directly to supporting student-athletes.
This was also a important week in college athletics as the NCAA Board of Governors adopted a new policy that sets in motion the process to allow name, image and likeness opportunities for student-athletes.
This is the first step of addressing a complex matter the way it should be handled, through the NCAA collaborative governance system. I am supportive of student-athletes having the opportunity to manage their name, image and likeness but feel strongly that this must be done inside the current collegiate model. As leaders, it is incumbent on us to weigh all sides of the issue including unintended consequences and create a model that that will move our association forward.
In closing, I'd like to highlight one more of our values, tradition, as I congratulate a colleague and a friend, Cristy Freese, on having the CMU Field Hockey Complex re-named in her honor during a ceremony on October 18.
A legacy of successful coaches who win on the field, graduate their players and help mold future leaders is part of the tradition of our department and Cristy is an exemplar of this ideal. It's only fitting that the next generation of Chippewa Field Hockey see her name every time they take the field.
Thank you for all that you do for CMU Athletics, and I hope to see you at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday as our football team looks to return to bowl eligibility against Northern Illinois.
Fire up Chips!
Â
We check in with these values on a daily basis as they drive our decision-making process, but as we reach the heart of the fall schedule, it is pertinent to use a few of them to frame our latest "chat."
Let's start with notable, which we characterize as aspiring toward being recognized or distinguished in our efforts. It's the value that speaks to our desire to be the very best and to that end, we've had some individuals and teams step into the forefront this fall.
McGuirk Arena has been an electric place to be this fall as our volleyball program is in the midst of one of its best years in recent history. They sit atop the MAC West and are tied for the MAC's best overall record.
Â
I implore you to get out and support Coach Mike Gawlik and his student-athletes as they have put in a great deal of work to build this program the right way. I could not be more excited to see how our student-athletes finish down the stretch, beginning on Halloween night against Western Michigan.
On the golf course, Claudia Salvador's recent win at the Mastodon Invitational was exceptional in that it marked the first individual tournament win since our women's golf program was re-booted in 2014. Her efforts, along with those of her teammates, are changing the culture of CMU Golf.
While performance is obviously a critical part of growing a young program, to take things to the next level it requires another of our core values – innovation.
Thanks to the generosity and innovation of Rocky Ricelli, a great friend of CMU Athletics, we closed out the fall schedule by hosting the inaugural Chippewa Invitational at Birmingham Country Club. Rocky has been a tireless supporter of our golf program, and we are grateful to he and his wife Traci for all they do for CMU.
The Ricellis are among the thousands of Chippewa fans and donors to whom we are grateful, and who empower (another of our values). our student-athletes and our programs. It's thanks to your generosity that projects like the Chippewa Champions Center are moving rapidly toward completion.
This Friday, November 1, will see the final steel beam placed to complete the structural steel framing for this game-changing facility for our university.
I am proud to have worked alongside a talented group of university and external partners that recognize the need for first-class facilities in order to make CMU a leader in our conference and in our region. The rapid pace at which we are making this project a reality wouldn't be possible without the generosity of our donors.
We continue to need your support to meet our financial goals for the Chippewa Champions Center as well as a host of other programmatic needs. Consider joining the Chippewa Athletic Fund today and be confident that 100 percent of your gift goes directly to supporting student-athletes.
This was also a important week in college athletics as the NCAA Board of Governors adopted a new policy that sets in motion the process to allow name, image and likeness opportunities for student-athletes.
This is the first step of addressing a complex matter the way it should be handled, through the NCAA collaborative governance system. I am supportive of student-athletes having the opportunity to manage their name, image and likeness but feel strongly that this must be done inside the current collegiate model. As leaders, it is incumbent on us to weigh all sides of the issue including unintended consequences and create a model that that will move our association forward.
In closing, I'd like to highlight one more of our values, tradition, as I congratulate a colleague and a friend, Cristy Freese, on having the CMU Field Hockey Complex re-named in her honor during a ceremony on October 18.
A legacy of successful coaches who win on the field, graduate their players and help mold future leaders is part of the tradition of our department and Cristy is an exemplar of this ideal. It's only fitting that the next generation of Chippewa Field Hockey see her name every time they take the field.
Thank you for all that you do for CMU Athletics, and I hope to see you at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday as our football team looks to return to bowl eligibility against Northern Illinois.
Fire up Chips!
Â
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