Central Michigan University Athletics
Photo by: Andy Sneddon
Donor Spotlight: Annie Van Dyke & Cristy Freese
8/11/2020 3:27:00 PM | Chippewa Fund
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Athletics and education are intertwined in the lives of Cristy Freese and Annie Van Dyke.
The retired couple now living in Saugatuck, their Central Michigan University roots run deep and the maroon-and-gold flows freely. Freese spent 29 years as the Chippewas' field hockey coach and then another four as the athletic department's Executive Associate Athletic Director of Sport Administration and Senior Women's Administrator.
Van Dyke, who spent her career teaching in mid-Michigan public schools, has lent a hand to the Chippewa Athletics for more than a decade, volunteering in several capacities including that of tutor. She was also instrumental in the CMU women's basketball program's highly successful Hoops for Hunger initiative.
"It's always about the people," Cristy says. "Our involvement and our continuing involvement with Central Michigan has nothing to do with the fact that I was there for 30 years. It's the people, the people that we're connected to, the people who still reach out to us and we enjoy reaching out to the them. That's an old saying, but it's true.
"Whether we give a dollar or whatever, we know that we're connected and people appreciate it."
Indeed they do. The couple made a substantial donation last fall to the Chippewa field hockey program and the field hockey complex was named Cristy Freese Field. Their gift reached the threshold for membership in the 1896 Society, a recognition for Chippewa Athletics' top supporters and so named for the year that the university began competing in intercollegiate athletics.
Both Freese and Van Dyke fully recognize the lifelong benefits of both education and athletics. Freese, an Ohio native who played field hockey at Ohio State, was honored last fall with the MAC Diversity & Inclusion Student-Athlete Award. Van Dyke, who was born in West Michigan, graduated from Escanaba High School and then went on to Northern Michigan University, where she earned a combined eight letters in basketball and volleyball and is a member of that institution's sports hall of fame.
"I just think if you have an education you can do anything," says Van Dyke, who earned her master's degree from CMU. "With a good education, the world's yours. You just have to go find the right door to open."
Athletics helps to inspire and to motivate as a student-athlete pursues an education. The benefits are lifelong on myriad fronts, the women agree, from learning to excel in the framework of a team, to making and keeping commitments, to taking responsibility for one's actions and how they ultimately affect teammates.
"There's a reason that athletics can lead to really good leaders," Freese said. "That's why athletics for women, it's so important. As we want to continue our involvement with CMU athletics, women's athletics is very, very important to us. That's where our dedication is and that's where we want to help because we know how important it is.
"It's interesting to be a Division I athlete, to put yourself in a position where you at some point won't be the best. I think learning how to deal with that and how to work with everybody, those are the lessons that we know are valuable. That's really the reason why athletics are important to us."
And, to Freese and Van Dyke, athletics are important on all fronts, from the cross country runner to the wrestler to the gymnast to what have you – it's all important and it's more than brick and mortar
"I want to help coaches provide the best opportunity for the kids so that when they leave Central, they'll have their education, but they'll also are going to be contributing members to society," Freese said. "I hope they (student-athletes) realize the importance of giving so that when they're done they'll start giving back."
The retired couple now living in Saugatuck, their Central Michigan University roots run deep and the maroon-and-gold flows freely. Freese spent 29 years as the Chippewas' field hockey coach and then another four as the athletic department's Executive Associate Athletic Director of Sport Administration and Senior Women's Administrator.
Van Dyke, who spent her career teaching in mid-Michigan public schools, has lent a hand to the Chippewa Athletics for more than a decade, volunteering in several capacities including that of tutor. She was also instrumental in the CMU women's basketball program's highly successful Hoops for Hunger initiative.
"It's always about the people," Cristy says. "Our involvement and our continuing involvement with Central Michigan has nothing to do with the fact that I was there for 30 years. It's the people, the people that we're connected to, the people who still reach out to us and we enjoy reaching out to the them. That's an old saying, but it's true.
"Whether we give a dollar or whatever, we know that we're connected and people appreciate it."
Indeed they do. The couple made a substantial donation last fall to the Chippewa field hockey program and the field hockey complex was named Cristy Freese Field. Their gift reached the threshold for membership in the 1896 Society, a recognition for Chippewa Athletics' top supporters and so named for the year that the university began competing in intercollegiate athletics.
Both Freese and Van Dyke fully recognize the lifelong benefits of both education and athletics. Freese, an Ohio native who played field hockey at Ohio State, was honored last fall with the MAC Diversity & Inclusion Student-Athlete Award. Van Dyke, who was born in West Michigan, graduated from Escanaba High School and then went on to Northern Michigan University, where she earned a combined eight letters in basketball and volleyball and is a member of that institution's sports hall of fame.
"I just think if you have an education you can do anything," says Van Dyke, who earned her master's degree from CMU. "With a good education, the world's yours. You just have to go find the right door to open."
Athletics helps to inspire and to motivate as a student-athlete pursues an education. The benefits are lifelong on myriad fronts, the women agree, from learning to excel in the framework of a team, to making and keeping commitments, to taking responsibility for one's actions and how they ultimately affect teammates.
"There's a reason that athletics can lead to really good leaders," Freese said. "That's why athletics for women, it's so important. As we want to continue our involvement with CMU athletics, women's athletics is very, very important to us. That's where our dedication is and that's where we want to help because we know how important it is.
"It's interesting to be a Division I athlete, to put yourself in a position where you at some point won't be the best. I think learning how to deal with that and how to work with everybody, those are the lessons that we know are valuable. That's really the reason why athletics are important to us."
And, to Freese and Van Dyke, athletics are important on all fronts, from the cross country runner to the wrestler to the gymnast to what have you – it's all important and it's more than brick and mortar
"I want to help coaches provide the best opportunity for the kids so that when they leave Central, they'll have their education, but they'll also are going to be contributing members to society," Freese said. "I hope they (student-athletes) realize the importance of giving so that when they're done they'll start giving back."
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