Tour de Mont Pleasant brings thousands downtown 5A
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Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
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Mid-American Conference open to expansion No schools named but presidents talk ‘opportunities’ By Aaron McMann Senior Reporter
All of the talk in the sports world of late has been on changes to the Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac10 conferences. But that doesn’t mean other leagues aren’t getting involved. The Mid-American Conference is also open to expansion, Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said Monday in a telephone interview with
Central Michigan Life. “We are certainly open to looking at opportunities right now,” Steinbrecher said. “If we think there are institutions that will help elevate this conference, then we will explore those opportunities.” School presidents met Thursday night and Friday in Cleveland, Ohio, with the issue of membership the central topic. “We talked a long time on that,” he said. “I won’t talk about institutions right now, but we’re being aggressive and looking at opportunities that may be available to us.” Central Michigan Athletic Director Dave Heeke said Monday
that MAC presidents and athletic directors have held several meetings to determine a direction and focus of the league in case of fallout in other conferences. Heeke said the MAC wants to be ready if and when “all the dominos scatter.” “We’re a little bit of an odd league with a 13th member team in football,” Heeke said. “We’re a little unbalanced so we’ve talked about that – we need to be an even number in the future. So we’re interested in where other teams kind of shake out that may provide an opportunity for us to grow or do something different.”
Inside w Big 12 stops bleeding, 6A CMU President George Ross, who attended the meeting via telephone, confirmed the issue of membership was discussed. Should the MAC decide to expand, he declined the idea of looking at Division 1-AA and Division 2 schools and said the conference would seek other Division 1 schools. “The MAC is a Division 1-A conference so we would look for other Division 1-A schools,” Ross said. “I am supportive of expansion and I think it would
help to have an even number of teams. There’s an imbalance in the conference – with one less in the West – for football and I think it would strengthen the MAC.” However, Western Michigan University President John Dunn said he “didn’t see a great level of enthusiasm” for recruiting other schools at the meeting. “What I saw was a discussion of keeping our eyes open,” Dunn said. “We’re not in a sense of any panic.” Steinbrecher declined to name any specific schools the conference is looking at and said there is no timetable for a decision. “We could very well stay where
we’re at,” Steinbrecher said. “We (have to) come to a point where we identify institutions that fit with us philosophically and problematically and the institutions felt that we were the right home. I don’t think you can put a time frame on it. I don’t think what we would do is linked to what anyone else is doing.” Temple University is the newest member of the MAC, entering in a football-only role in 2007. “You sit there and you watch,” Steinbrecher said. “There’s a general sense of great unpredictability in the environment right A MAC | 2A
MPSERS gets 86 CMU employees to retire By Joe Borlik Senior Reporter
Central Michigan University has 86 employees retiring early as a result of the changes to the Michigan Public School Employee Retirement System legislation Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed into law May 19. Jacqueline Pridgeon, interim director of benefits and wellness, said the results meet the original prediction of 60 to 100 employees retiring early. “It’s right in line with what we were projecting,” Pridgeon said. Under the legislation,
all active employees enrolled in MPSERS who do not choose to retire early will have a 3 percent pay deduction which goes toward retiree health costs starting July 1. She said Academic Affairs has 42 employees retiring, Financial and Administrative Services has 39, Government Relations and Public Affairs has two, the presidential division has one and University Advancement has two. Pridgeon said Academic Affairs has been impacted the most because it is the
A MPsERS | 2A
Chris bacarella/staff photographer
Mount Pleasant residents Nick Mullin, left, and Josh “The Legend” Sessink, right, laugh about motorcycle stories Thursday night at O’Kelly’s Sports Bar and Grill during the Central Michigan Riders club Bike Night. Both Mullin and Sessink are part of the club and come out to the local bike nights to help support local business and raise money for the Isabella County Youth Services Unit.
Fast friends Central Michigan Riders speed around town for charity, fun By Ryan Taljonick | Staff Reporter
R
iding motorcycles is one of John Drozd’s strongest passions. The only thing he likes more than tearing down the street on his 2006 Honda CBR600RR is riding it with a group of fellow motorcyclists. Drozd, tired of riding solo, decided to find others in the Isabella County area to saddle up with. About a month ago, he created Central Michigan Riders, an organized group of motorcycle enthusiasts. “Everybody’s willing to put something down for the group,” he said. “About 80 percent of us haven’t known each other for more than two or three months.” Drozd began by flagging bikers into the ABC Warehouse parking lot. He now
has more than 60 contacts involved with the group. CMR members meet every week to ride around town and raise money for various charities within Isabella County. “We get together, we have fun, we have sponsors that
get together and donate stuff,” he said. Drozd said the group meets every Tuesday for Cruise Night at 5 p.m. in the parking lot of ABC Warehouse, 1805 S. Mission St., to go for a ride. They also meet at 6 p.m. on Thursday nights for Bike Night, a social event where all are welcome to hang out, meet or join the group and participate in raffle drawings. This week’s Bike Night will be held at CoCo Joe’s Beach House, 855 E. Blue Grass Road. A portion of the raffle money is donated to benefit Isabella County’s Youth Services Unit. Raffle prizes are donated by CMR’s sponsors. “If we do anything that impacts anybody, I want it to impact the kids in Isabella County,” Drozd said. Bike Nights are hosted at
If you go... w w w w
What: Bike Night Where: CoCo Joe’s Beach House, 855 E. Blue Grass Road When: 6 p.m. Thursday What: Gathering of motorcyclists fundraising for the Isabella County Youth Services Unit
multiple venues owned by some CMR sponsors, including O’Kelly’s Sports Bar and Grill, Buffalo Wild Wings, Low Rider, Recker Motor Sports and more. Flyers listing the monthly dates and locations of Bike Night events can be found at CMR sponsor locations. Not just bikes Though the members of A Bikers | 2A
Amelia Eramya/staff photographer
Brenda Freeman, 31, of Northville, admires Lon Ferguson’s photo on canvas, “Grotto of the Mighty Hermaphrodite,” at his memorial service in the University Art Gallery Tuesday.
Photo art professor Ferguson dies at 51 Colleagues mourn, recall fond memories By Maria Leone Staff Reporter
Michael Lon Ferguson is remembered as a good friend to both colleagues and students. Ferguson, 51, an assistant art professor at Central Michigan University, died from cancer at his home June 9. Originally from Texas, he
taught at CMU since August of 2001, said Larry Burditt, chairman of art and design. Ferguson taught photography and digital imaging courses in freshmen to senior level classes. Al Wildey, interim associate dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts said singling out one of Lon’s accomplishments was a difficult task. “Lon was deeply engaged in being a thoughtful and challenging contributor to those around him - whether A Ferguson | 2A
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