Central Michigan University Athletics
Celebrating Our Student-Athletes
4/6/2021 10:50:00 AM | General
Amy Folan's Maroon & Gold Message
Today is Student-Athlete Day, a time to recognize the fantastic individuals that represent Central Michigan University on and off the playing field and as leaders in the community after graduation.
My experience as a soccer student-athlete shaped my life in a number of different ways. It exposed me to situations that fostered my development as a leader and teammate, teaching me how my individual effort contributed to team success. Being a student-athlete introduced me to people of diverse backgrounds, led to life-long friendships and offered me the sense of resilience and empowerment that has driven my lifepath. These are all things I cherish deeply and that I hope for CMU Athletics to impart to our student-athletes.
The challenges faced by our student-athletes over the past year are unlike any other encountered by collegiate players. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced our student-athletes to completely transform how they live their daily lives and prepare to compete. It has required personal sacrifices and heightened accountability to ensuring they keep themselves and their teammates safe and healthy. Despite the significant impact to their academic and athletic experiences, our student-athletes have demonstrated commitment to their teams and sports by remaining flexible and patient with the ever-changing times.
These challenges make our student-athletes' athletic performance in the month of March all the more remarkable. March is always one of the busiest and best months in college athletics, as winter sports reach their championship stage and spring sports begin. This March was even busier with three fall sports—volleyball, soccer and field hockey—competing as well. And, wow, did our student-athletes shine! From San Antonio to St. Louis, Fayetteville to Athens, our student-athletes competed on the biggest stages and achieved great accomplishments.
Women's basketball brought home the MAC Tournament title and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight postseason. Gymnastics finished out the regular season ranked No. 25 in the nation and qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships for the 12th-straight time. Two student-athletes—Drew Hildebrandt (wrestling) and Quiara Wheeler (track & field)—earned All-America honors, with Drew finishing fourth in his weight class and Quiara taking 10th in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships. We had multiple individuals earn conference and national recognition, evidencing the outstanding group of student-athletes we have in our program.
A moment that really stood one to me was when Johnny Lovett, a wrestling redshirt freshman seeded 26 in the NCAA Wrestling Championships, stunned No. 7 Missouri's Jarrett Jacques in a 3-2 defeat. It was one of the biggest upsets of the tournament and social media lit up as proud CMU Chippewas celebrated the victory. Our fans firing up across the nation proved once again the strong support and passion they have for our student-athletes and their success.
Our student-athletes also shone off the field throughout last month by both giving back to our community and excelling in the classroom. They took part in Reading Month by participating in virtual reading sessions with students at local schools. Our department posted a 3.373 grade point average in the fall, marking the 44th consecutive semester that Chippewa student-athletes have come in above a 3.0, and they are on track for another great semester this spring.
A priority of mine as an athletics administrator has always been cultivating the student-athlete experience. It is important to me that we set a primary focus of our athletics department on continuing to grow the resources we provide our players, especially in the areas of mental health and nutrition services. A premier student-athlete experience is one of our three pillars—along with having an exceptional fan experience and being performance leaders—that will guide us to our ultimate goal of being leaders in the Mid-American Conference.
In support of creating that premier student-athlete experience at CMU, we recently launched the Cultivating Opportunity and Responsibility Education for Name, Image, and Likeness, or C.O.R.E. (NIL) program. While we don't know exactly what name, image and likeness guidelines will look like at the NCAA, federal or state level yet, we know changes are coming. C.O.R.E. (NIL) is a response to recently passed and upcoming legislation, and continues our commitment to providing our student-athletes the resources necessary to achieve success.
So, on behalf of CMU Athletics, thank you to our student-athletes for everything that you do, for representing the Maroon and Gold so well, and for exemplifying what it means to be a CMU Chippewa. While today may be "your day," we will continue to support you and fight for you every day because you deserve it, and because we would not be here without you.
Fire Up Chips!
Amy Folan
Zyzelewski Family Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics
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My experience as a soccer student-athlete shaped my life in a number of different ways. It exposed me to situations that fostered my development as a leader and teammate, teaching me how my individual effort contributed to team success. Being a student-athlete introduced me to people of diverse backgrounds, led to life-long friendships and offered me the sense of resilience and empowerment that has driven my lifepath. These are all things I cherish deeply and that I hope for CMU Athletics to impart to our student-athletes.
The challenges faced by our student-athletes over the past year are unlike any other encountered by collegiate players. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced our student-athletes to completely transform how they live their daily lives and prepare to compete. It has required personal sacrifices and heightened accountability to ensuring they keep themselves and their teammates safe and healthy. Despite the significant impact to their academic and athletic experiences, our student-athletes have demonstrated commitment to their teams and sports by remaining flexible and patient with the ever-changing times.
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PREVIOUS MAROON & GOLD MESSAGES
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These challenges make our student-athletes' athletic performance in the month of March all the more remarkable. March is always one of the busiest and best months in college athletics, as winter sports reach their championship stage and spring sports begin. This March was even busier with three fall sports—volleyball, soccer and field hockey—competing as well. And, wow, did our student-athletes shine! From San Antonio to St. Louis, Fayetteville to Athens, our student-athletes competed on the biggest stages and achieved great accomplishments.
Women's basketball brought home the MAC Tournament title and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight postseason. Gymnastics finished out the regular season ranked No. 25 in the nation and qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships for the 12th-straight time. Two student-athletes—Drew Hildebrandt (wrestling) and Quiara Wheeler (track & field)—earned All-America honors, with Drew finishing fourth in his weight class and Quiara taking 10th in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships. We had multiple individuals earn conference and national recognition, evidencing the outstanding group of student-athletes we have in our program.
A moment that really stood one to me was when Johnny Lovett, a wrestling redshirt freshman seeded 26 in the NCAA Wrestling Championships, stunned No. 7 Missouri's Jarrett Jacques in a 3-2 defeat. It was one of the biggest upsets of the tournament and social media lit up as proud CMU Chippewas celebrated the victory. Our fans firing up across the nation proved once again the strong support and passion they have for our student-athletes and their success.
Our student-athletes also shone off the field throughout last month by both giving back to our community and excelling in the classroom. They took part in Reading Month by participating in virtual reading sessions with students at local schools. Our department posted a 3.373 grade point average in the fall, marking the 44th consecutive semester that Chippewa student-athletes have come in above a 3.0, and they are on track for another great semester this spring.
A priority of mine as an athletics administrator has always been cultivating the student-athlete experience. It is important to me that we set a primary focus of our athletics department on continuing to grow the resources we provide our players, especially in the areas of mental health and nutrition services. A premier student-athlete experience is one of our three pillars—along with having an exceptional fan experience and being performance leaders—that will guide us to our ultimate goal of being leaders in the Mid-American Conference.
In support of creating that premier student-athlete experience at CMU, we recently launched the Cultivating Opportunity and Responsibility Education for Name, Image, and Likeness, or C.O.R.E. (NIL) program. While we don't know exactly what name, image and likeness guidelines will look like at the NCAA, federal or state level yet, we know changes are coming. C.O.R.E. (NIL) is a response to recently passed and upcoming legislation, and continues our commitment to providing our student-athletes the resources necessary to achieve success.
So, on behalf of CMU Athletics, thank you to our student-athletes for everything that you do, for representing the Maroon and Gold so well, and for exemplifying what it means to be a CMU Chippewa. While today may be "your day," we will continue to support you and fight for you every day because you deserve it, and because we would not be here without you.
Fire Up Chips!
Amy Folan
Zyzelewski Family Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics
Â
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