Maroon & Gold Memo: Victories in Many Forms

I can't help but to appreciate everything Central Michigan Athletics has accomplished 2023. Our victories certainly happened on the court, field and track, but they also came from behind the scenes. As we wind down the year, I'd like to relive — and re-celebrate — some of our greatest achievements of the year:

More than 5,400 fans joined us in McGuirk Arena for our toilet paper toss men's basketball game against Western Michigan in January. This was the largest crowd we've had at McGuirk since 2017, and we set an attendance record! The men's basketball team ended the game with a 70-69 comeback victory against the Broncos.
Dr. Benjamin Swarts, a chemistry and biochemistry faculty member in the CMU College of Science and Engineering, recently received the Outstanding Faculty Award for Student Success from the Mid-American Conference.
Kristin Haynie, an assistant coach under Sue Guevara from 2014 through 2017, was named head women's basketball coach and alum Jake Sabol was named our new baseball coach.
The gymnastics and lacrosse teams both won their second consecutive MAC Championships and women's golf had its highest MAC Championship finish in program history, closing in third place.
The 2023 spring semester marked the 49th consecutive semester our student-athletes had an impressive, collective GPA of 3.0 or better.
Our football fans showed up. We averaged 21,170 in attendance at each of the first three home games — a 34% increase over 2022 and the eighth largest year-over-year increase in home football attendance of all Division I programs in the country! Additionally, more than 2,000 CMU fans showed up for both of our games at Michigan State and Notre Dame this fall.
CMU great Roy Kramer was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Throughout the year, I had the honor to sit down with student-athletes, current and former coaches, and successful alumni in my podcast, CMU Athletics Connections. We covered topics such as leaders in college athletics, internships, student-athlete success after sports and so much more. You can find them all here.

Celebrating our Graduates
Eleven Central Michigan student-athletes received their degrees this weekend. These graduates — 10 undergraduate and one graduate — are:

Brian Taylor, men's basketball, administration.
Jayden Evans, football, sport management.
Javon Gantt, football, sport management.
Albert Jespersen, football, psychology.
Jesse Prewitt III, football, communications/public administration.
Robert Stuart, football, neuroscience.
Marcus Young, football, law & economics.
Rachel Ruttenberg, field hockey, creative writing.
Megan Scholten, soccer, advertising.
Aliyah Boeve, women's cross country/track & field, early childhood development.
Lauren MacDonald, women's cross country/track & field, Master of Health Services Administration.

I'm so proud of each of you — you've achieved much as students and athletes at CMU and undoubtedly will continue to do so in your next endeavors. Congratulations, graduates!

Student-Athlete Development
Developing our student-athletes in every aspect of their lives continues to be a critical focus for the CMU Athletics team.

Strategic investment in our student-athletes outside of their respective sports focuses on personal enhancement, leadership development, career development and community outreach. Our student-athletes devoted more than 1,200 hours this fall to community service, participated in Mental Health Awareness Week and donated nearly 1,700 cans of food to local food pantries. In addition, 651 student-athletes opted for personal enhancement opportunities and many attended a career fair to speak with 27 employers.

All of these activities enhance the lives of our student-athletes and better prepare them for life after CMU. Thank you to our Athletics staff and community members who work tirelessly to make these opportunities possible!

Happy Holidays
This time of year always reminds me of how grateful I am to be a CMU Chippewa, surrounded by supportive, dedicated people every day. Thank you for your continued support and dedication to our student-athletes!

Happy Holidays from my family to yours. Fire Up Chips!

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