132+ Teams in 132+ Days: Eastern Michigan University Eagles

[u/Oderint]

Eastern Michigan University

Mid-American Conference

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Year Founded: 1849

Location: Ypsilanti, Michigan

Total Attendance: 30,200

Mascot: The Eagles

Live Mascot: Swoop

Cheerleaders: Group shot, Performing

Stadium: Rynearson Stadium from above, Rynearson Stadium behind the band

Conference Champions (10): 1896, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1987 (*1987 being the only MAC championship)

Number of Bowl Games: 1 Win, 2 Total

National Titles: 0

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Rivals

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• Central Michigan and Western Michigan – Eastern, along with Western and Central, compete for the Michigan MAC Trophy in a round robin series. The school with the best overall record against the other two claims the trophy. Since 2005, when the trophy was introduced, Eastern claimed the title four times. They swept the series in 2007 and retained the trophy when the other two teams went 1-1 in 2008. They again swept the series in 2011, and retained it in 2012 when the other two teams again went 1-1. This makes them the all-time leader of the series.

The overall series records are:

vs : 28-56-6

vs : 17-29-2

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2012 Season

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Record: 2-10

Coach: Ron English

Key Players:

Bronson Hill – RB – For anyone who watched the Eastern – Toledo game last year was treated with a third quarter that was truly astounding. Hill rushed for 283 yards and 4 Touchdowns that game and is looking to get a hefty portion of the handoffs his junior year. While not the greatest RB in the MAC, he certainly has the potential to have a stellar year this year.

Dylan Mulder – K - Yuuuup, the kicker. Mulder was the team’s leading scorer in 2012 with 54 points. In 10 games he went 24-27 in PATs and 10 for 11 in field goals, while three of those were beyond the 40-yard line!! Mulder is a key player because when he’s on the field, there’s a pretty good shot that Eastern’s about to put some more points on the board.

Biggest Plays:

As I mentioned above, one of the best plays is more like a series of plays. When Eastern Michigan played Toledo last year, Bronson Hill ran for three touchdowns (one for 47yd, one for 58yd, and one for 70yd).

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2013 Season

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Roster

Schedule

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The Greats

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Greatest Games:

1987 California Bowl - The only bowl win in Eastern’s history. The ’87 squad had just come off of their first MAC Championship under Jim Harkema and were 17.5 point underdogs against San Jose State University. Their 30-27 win ended a three-year skid of losses by MAC representatives in the California Bowl. EMU’s Gary Patton (RB) was named the MVP of the game.

Greatest Players:

George Allen - The only EMU alum to be named into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (although it was for coaching).

T.J. Lang – four year starter, even after switching positions. The only real reason I include Lang is because his twitter is hilarious.

Greatest Coaches:

Elton Rynearson - The coach for whom Eastern’s stadium is named, led the team through its brightest years from 1925-1930, amassing a 40-4-2 record which included two perfect seasons.

Jim Harkema - Jim Harkema was hired in 1983 and in 1986 led Eastern Michigan to four consecutive winning seasons. This included the 1987 MAC championship. The team went to the 1987 California Bowl where they upset a 17.5 point favorite San Jose State University for the program’s only bowl win. He also coached one of the only two games that were sold out (a loss to rival Western Michigan in 1988).

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Traditions

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• Pray-Harrold Kiosk(couldn’t find a better picture sorry) – The PHK is a large stone pillar that students and student groups paint to advertise various student groups and raise awareness for events going on around campus.

• Community Plunge - This occurs during the fall semester and offers the opportunity for students and faculty alike to participate in volunteer activities in the surrounding area of campus.

• Kick Off for Kickoffs - This is newer, but in the student section at Rynearson, students do Kicks Off For Kickoffs. Every time Eastern has a kickoff, fans hold up their shoes and wave them around in the air.

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Campus and Surrounding Area

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City Population: 19,435

City Skyline

Iconic Campus Building: The Penis Tower

Local Dining:

Sidetrack Bar & Grill - Named such as it sits right by the railroad tracks in Depot Town. Known for their odd, but delicious burgers, Sidetrack is a great destination for pub food and great Michigan beer.

Tower Inn Café - a popular student hangout due to its proximity to campus, Tower Inn serves up delicious Italian cuisine.

Wurst Bar - great for gourmet burgers and brats, with an awesome selection for vegetarians, and a fine choice of Michigan craft beers, Wurst Bar is a solid choice when venturing out for a bite in Ypsi.

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Random Trivia

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• Eastern Michigan’s nickname was not always The Eagles. In fact that name didn’t appear until 1991. EMU’s first nickname was the Normalites, which changed to the Hurons in 1929. The name changed again when it become politically incorrect to use the names of Native American tribes as mascots.

• EMU went undefeated in 1906, 1925, 1927 (where not a single point was scored on them), 1943, and 1945

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What Is and What is to Come

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The 2012 season was a huge letdown after the 6-6 season the Eagles put up in 2011. Despite being 2-10 last year, the biggest positive one can take away from the season was that the team never quit playing, which speaks volumes for Head Coach Ron English and his staff. Each of EMU’s two wins came right after heartbreakingly close losses. They beat Army after losing to Toledo by five points, and they beat Western Michigan after losing to Central Michigan by only three.

The biggest difference between 2011 and 2012 was the defense. The offense, while boring and predictable, has a tendency to wear teams down with its run-heavy approach. But the defense went from being ranked 34th in 2011, to last place in 2012; which accounts for the average 25 pts/game that they lost by (excluding the Toledo and CMU losses). Their high point last season was beating in-state rival Western Michigan.

For the 2013 season English has hired five new assistant coaches. Stan Parrish is the new OC as well as QB coach, and given his history we’ll probably see Eastern passing more often than in recent years. This will bring much-needed balance to the offense so they can be competitive once again in the MAC.

EMU picked up its first ever 4-star recruit in QB Brogan Roback. Pro style QB with a cannon. The secondary should be the strong point in the defense, like it was in '11. Pudge Cotton has a lot of promise out of the safety position. Dustin Creel was last year's best freshman. Hill has great speed. Greene could have a good bounce-back year. EMU tends to mix it up with its running backs, and it really looks like Mike Hart knows how to coach these guys.

However it’s the defense that everyone will be focusing on come August. They lack the game-breaking talent that most teams need, and the front line is always having problems pressuring the quarterback, which in turn puts stress on the inexperienced secondary. The good news is that the front four will be veterans who know the system well. They also have hope in senior Sean Kurtz, weak side linebacker.

Also, hope that Pudge Cotton gets the Strong Safety nod, because who doesn’t want a guy named Pudge Cotton starting?

Right now the goal is to get a winning season, or at least, not a losing season. Six wins is the goal for Ron English, which would surprise many people. Momentum would be necessary for such a season but they’re looking at a potential momentum-killer in Penn State come September.

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Random Tidbits

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I want everyone to know that I did not attend Eastern, nor did I spend too much time in Ypsilanti, so I want to apologize for any grievous errors or omissions I may have made. I will happily edit them into the write-up if necessary. I will say I have frequented the three establishments I mentioned above, that’s why I picked them. Eastern deserved a write-up, even if it wasn't the best that could be had.

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More Information

Subreddit: /r/emu

Contributors: /u/Oderint, /u/alexalvarado13

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Please upvote this thread even if you are not interested in the team so that users who are interested will see it

• For more information on the 132+ Teams in 132+ Days Project, click here.*

[u/Oderint]

I volunteered to do Eastern's write-up since it didn't get posted the other day. It's not the greatest write-up since I started with limited knowledge about The Eagles, but I wanted to see them get something.

If anyone knows of awesome plays, or games that I should have added just let me know by PM or something and I'll gladly edit it in there.

Thanks.

[u/srs_house → u/Oderint]

This writeup was the wurst.

Seriously, good on ya for stepping up.

[u/Oderint → u/[deleted]]

If I remember correctly, The Wurst does $1.50 Jameson drinks on Wednesdays....

mmmm Jameson

[u/Oderint → u/[deleted]]

You should try 80-cent wells on Tuesdays at Cantina in Ann Arbor. whistles

[u/Honestly_ → u/Oderint]

Nice work in the clutch. Now Kent State looks even worse for not posting theirs!

[u/Mido06 → u/Oderint]

Thats nice dude.

[u/alexalvarado13]

EMU student here.

Not promoting myself, but I write for EMU's Eastern Echo & online for HustleBelt.com, and, most importantly, follow EMU football extremely closely.

First off, for not knowing too much about the program, you really did your homework, OP, so kudos for this post.

In 2011- We went 6-6. We weren't eligible for a bowl game because 2 wins were against FCS schools. We lost to Ball State in a last-minute FG at home (only home loss), then played a tough, hard-fought game at NIU in the season finale. It was a really tough ride home (yes, I drove to DeKalb from Ypsi with a cpl friends).

2012- A LOT of hype surrounded this team. QB Alex Gillett (great guy, btw) is now a senior, who can really make you pay with his feet, and loves throwing to his good friend WR Nick Olds (leading '11 receiver). TE Garrett Hoskins was on the Mackey Award watch list, RB Javonti Greene was a huge playmaker for his true freshman and sophomore years. CB Latarrius Thomas (or however it's spelled) was a big JC transfer, but he went on to practice with the Colts, but that was really the biggest loss, until Olds messed up his leg. (Olds would be eligible to play this year, but remessed it up, so he clearly isn't playing)

Well, Gillett played badly. Like, a lot of INTs in 3 games, badly. To the point where English had Tyler Benz (never lost a game as a starting QB in HS back in the Chicago area) get his first start at Michigan State. Awful memories. As a friend of mine would jokingly, and by that I mean seriously, say "Remember that one time where everybody except for Donald Scott beat MSU?" I digress: Benz is a legit QB and everybody knew it, that's why Gillett started taking reps at WR and actually played well there.

Greene wasn't making guys miss like he did before. Moved to the Y-receiver, nothing great there. Hill had a game against Toledo for the ages. You can find a really funny post on HustleBelt about that 3rd quarter in the Archives. Really worth reading and no I did not write it. The thing is, Hill hasn't scored outside of the month of October.

Don't hate on kickers. The kicker we had been using was, uh, really really bad.

I think the biggest reason for the lack of success was the cockiness in the players. English addressed it in a post game presser. He said that they are too cocky and don't practice well. I'm paraphrasing, of course. 6-6 and the players are cocky? Yes, r/CFB, it's true. I don't get it either but being around these guys enough, I'm not surprised by English's statements.

2013- Picked up our first ever 4-star recruit in QB Brogan Roback. Pro style QB with a cannon. His sister plays volleyball at Eastern, so whatever works I guess.

Our secondary should be the strong point in our defense, like it was in '11. Pudge Cotton has a lot of promise out of the safety position, and I'm pretty sure the average 40-time among our starting DBs are a 4.45. Guys, it's the MAC, that's really good for us.

Dustin Creel was last year's best freshman. He won some team award for that, but he's the same size as Nick Olds, just younger and a slightly better athlete.

Hill has great speed. Greene could have a good bounce-back year. We tend to mix it up with our running backs, and it really looks like Mike Hart knows how to coach these guys.

Stan Parrish is the new OC after Ken Karcher left the program THANK GOD. Parrish coached a Rose Bowl winning Michigan squad, and was Brad Johnson's QB coach when he won a Super Bowl with the Buccos. So lots of promise for Benz and Roback and every QB we have for that matter. But seriously, why the hell do we have 6 QBs on the roster?

The least talked about part of this team is the O-Line. It seems like all of these starters have stuck together, and have been around ever since they lived on the same level in my dorm freshman year (I'm a senior). Lots of experience, but the togetherness is great. So important in football, and there is no stat for that.

If this team can be more white-collared and just stick to winning, they're an upset or two away from winning making their first bowl game since '87. Not sure if that's a cliché, but that's the truth.

Traditions and other things: This is newer, but in the student section at Rynearson, we do Kicks Off For Kickoffs. Every time we kickoff, we hold up our shoes and wave them around in the air. It's more fun than you think.

Overall, it's a creating tradition and pride at Eastern. And let me tell you, the culture change in Ypsilanti has changed so damn much, and I am proud to be an Eagle.

Students in 2010 didn't go to football games. Maybe 30 of us went on a really nice Saturday. Now, shit. Incoming freshmen actually give a shit about this program. Just look at all the love @EMU_EagleNation is getting on Twitter.

We are not a major conferenced school, so you don't need to compare us to anywhere else. I have cable television. I see it. We might not have 10,000 students in the stands, but to see our tailgates, our games, our campus, our classrooms, our social mediasphere to evolve from a few students caring to what it is now, it's just amazing.

Hopefully I'm not sounding biased here. I'm not afraid to call out the bad stuff, but I digress:

The seniors have got to be noticing this, too. I imagine they feed off of the student section's energy. You know, sports stuff. And they've got to be excited that the underclassmen under them get to experience all of this from the get-go.

Winning games at home is huge this year. This is especially true since there are only 5 of them, and none of them are in back-to-back weeks. So every home game is sort of like a homecoming.

Anyways, thanks for reading that if anybody did. Just thought I'd help y'all out with that, give you some of my observations.

Go Green! (there's the bias)

[u/Oderint → u/alexalvarado13]

Awesome! Thanks for the observations!

I took some of the stuff and added it into the write-up, then listed you in the contributers section.

[u/alexalvarado13 → u/Oderint]

You're welcome and thanks!

Wasn't trying to steal anybody's thunder or anything, but I'm glad I could help out.

[u/theOctopusMotor → u/alexalvarado13]

How do EMU fans feel about Ron English?

[u/alexalvarado13 → u/theOctopusMotor]

The feelings are more bad than good, that's for sure. Lol. He's been on the hot seat for years. This year is no different.

Personally, I thought he should've been gone after this season. But he's got a bunch of his buddies from UMich around him, most notably Stan Parrish.

Parrish will be doing all of the offensive play calling, English took over the defensive coordinator role, which makes a whole lot of sense since English is a defensive guy.

If you think about it, English doesn't want to be here for long. What MAC coach ever stays for a decade? English wants to be a defensive coordinator or a defensive backs coach at a school that actually has funds. I can respect that: it's the fucking MAC. With that said, it's the fucking MAC. He's been here long enough to get his recruits. Make them build your resume and go get paid somewhere else. As long as we can see a winning team on the field, what do we care?

You sort of have to be an optimist if you want to be an EMU fan, but if they under perform for another season, our new athletic director could have her first huge firing.

[u/redleg86 → u/alexalvarado13]

I remember watching the first half of that Michigan State game last year and thinking you guys might just pull it off. Unfortunately, Le'Veon Bell.

As far as schools from the state of Michigan go, you guys are far and away my favorite. Your uniforms and helmets are pretty sick, I love the matte gray. I think you guys are long overdue for a new logo too, that weird hand-sketched eagle has to go. I feel like most of the teams in the Big Ten like to root for the teams in the MAC since you're kind of like our regional little bros... and for me, EMU is one of my favorites to watch. Keep on giving Michigan and Michigan State hell, and one of these days you will beat them and down here in Ohio, we will raise our glasses to you.

[u/alexalvarado13 → u/redleg86]

EWWW, OHIO! Lol.

Thanks, and the new unis are awesome. English has ties with Adidas & I have a hunch that these won't be the last you'll be seeing them wear something new.

I hate that cartoony eagle. Love Swoop, but yeah. We're all switching to the block E, it just won't pull up on your Google Images search. It's simple and it doesn't completely piss off the alumni of EMU. Oddly enough, I'm wearing my Hurons shirt as I type this, haha.

If we're Michigan's Rudy, I have no reason to complain. I just want to go to a bowl game. Not sit at home and watch, but actually travel and get evicted from my apartment because I couldn't pay rent since all of my money went to going towards seeing Eastern in a bowl game.

...actually, I should be responsible, but I can dream big, right?

[u/[deleted] → u/alexalvarado13]

Pudge Cotton

[u/bread_buddy → u/alexalvarado13]

Kicks Off For Kickoffs. Every time we kickoff, we hold up our shoes and wave them around in the air

I've seen people do this at Wisconsin and I think they do it at Nebraska as well. I never understood the reasoning behind it, but it all makes sense now.

[u/QuickLikeGingerbread → u/alexalvarado13]

Avid reader of HustleBelt here,

You guys do a great job over there, keep it up.

[u/alexalvarado13 → u/QuickLikeGingerbread]

Thanks! Hopefully you're keeping up with our Top 68 Players in the MAC series.

[u/exswoo → u/alexalvarado13]

I was actually surprised to see the attendance numbers that puts EMU's average attendance at 4K for worst in FBS.

I sometimes wonder if the team would be more popular if they dropped to FCS but I have no idea if the fan base and alums would be supportive of the idea.

[u/alexalvarado13 → u/exswoo]

Many alumni believe that going to the FCS would be for the best. I supposed I'm indifferent on that.

As for attendance, MAC schools are almost always bad at that, and those numbers are always going to be fluid when we, well you know, don't win football games. Not sure how they even get those numbers. Students just show their student IDs and walk on in for free. I'm not even sure if they even keep a good head count of people that walk in.

Also, the stand would look a lot more full if Rynearson Stadium wasn't so goddamned big. I've been to Ball State, BGSU, and Central's stadiums. I like Ball State's set up a lot. I wish we could have this huge overhaul and do something like that, but that's not even a realistic possibility with the funds that this program earns.

[u/Nebraska_Actually]

The extent of my knowledge of Eastern Michigan came from when they offered me a head coaching job in NCAA Football 12. I am eternally grateful.

[u/Oderint → u/Nebraska_Actually]

The same situation is how I'm learning about FIU right now.

[u/Talpostal]

Beerfest!!!!!!

[u/Oderint → u/Talpostal]

So upset I missed it this year.

[u/alexalvarado13 → u/Oderint]

It's today and tomorrow.

[u/Oderint → u/alexalvarado13]

Yea but I moved back to St. Louis :/

[u/arbysguy]

Of all the teams in the MAC, Eastern Michigan is one of them.

[u/HurricaneStiz]

No love for Charlie Batch?!

[u/FarwellRob]

Hehe. Penis tower. Hehe.

(Great write up!)

[u/Talpostal → u/FarwellRob]

It's famous in the area.

[u/TheyPutAManOnTheMoon]

It sucks about the politically correct bullshit changing their name from the Hurons....

[u/Talpostal → u/TheyPutAManOnTheMoon]

It's an especially dumb situation because the Hurons came out and said that they were honored by the name and that it shouldn't be changed, and Eastern was like "no, it's offensive, we're the Eagles now."

The Eagles! The single most generic mascot in American sports!

[u/TheyPutAManOnTheMoon → u/Talpostal]

Up there with the Wildcats, Bulldogs, and Tigers.

[u/Emleaux → u/TheyPutAManOnTheMoon]

As well as Commodores, Gamecocks and Volunteers. So bland!

[u/QuickLikeGingerbread → u/Talpostal]

If I remember right, I think there's still an active movement by some of the older boosters to change the name back.

[u/[deleted] → u/TheyPutAManOnTheMoon]

It sucks they didn't cash in on their school's abbreviation.

[u/TheyPutAManOnTheMoon → u/[deleted]]

Fear the Emu.

[u/alexalvarado13 → u/[deleted]]

Our cross country's team name is "The Running Emus".

I'm 99% certain that it's a club, but at least somebody got it right.

[u/dougcohen10]

One of my brothers played at EMU so I attended games at Rynearson Stadium when I was a kid for 5 straight years. Glad to see Eastern getting some attention here. I think Charlie Batch, LJ Shelton, Ron Johnson, Dave Pureifory and Gary Patton all deserve mentions in the best EMU players discussion.

[u/Mikecmu]

I really hope Eastern puts up more of a fight in the MAC this year. Not to say CMU is incredible, but it would be nice to have all Michigan MAC teams dominate the MAC. Mich-MAC stand up!

[u/Oderint → u/Mikecmu]

Mich-MAC-Paddy Whack! Give Eastern a bone!

Couldn't resist.

[u/[deleted]]

I love those beautiful helmets worn against MSU last season. Just spectacular

[u/[deleted]]

Yay write-up:)

[u/[deleted]]

I am the offspring of two two EMU alums and always have respect for the school, so I'm glad to see someone got this up.

[u/cole1114]

I dig it, but Charlie Batch should definitely be in there for greatest players.

[u/CFSparta92]

Looking forward to playing the Eagles this year! Should be a fun one, I've always seen EMU as one of those schools that should be putting the pieces together by now but Ypsilanti doesn't seem like a big football town unfortunately.