Running to Butler Naughton’s plans change after CMU drops track program amid pandemic By Brad Emons
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Northville’s Conor Naughton will be transferring from CMU to Butler University, where he will have one season of eligibility in track and cross country. Photo by Benjamin Suddendorf/ CMU Athletics
18 The ‘Ville
istance runner Conor Naughton felt he was just hitting his stride for the Central Michigan University men’s track and field team when his 2020 outdoor season was abruptly shelved in midMarch by the coronavirus. Things got worse on the morning of May 18 when another bombshell hit. After a run, he learned of the stunning news in the parking lot at Northville High School where he had just completed a workout. A message from his former high school coach had just come across via Twitter – CMU had dropped its track program. “I got back to my car, and I had a text from Tim Dalton on my phone,” Naughton recalled. “So I clicked on it, opened it up and he just linked to the (CMU) press release that they were dropping the men’s program. So that’s how I found out.” The unexpected news, due in part to some of the financial fallout from COVID-19,
reportedly will save the CMU athletic budget approximately $700,000 annually. Naughton, who despite graduating in early May as a red shirt senior, planned to continue his running career in Mount Pleasant while attending grad school. An email went out hastily that day at 9:07 a.m. when CMU Athletic Director Michael Alford invited the affected 36 CMU men’s track and field athletes for a 10 a.m. Zoom meeting. “Completely blindsided,” Naughton said of the news. BUTLER COMES CALLING Just prior to the COVID-19 stoppage, Naughton was on a roll, which made him an attractive graduate transfer. At the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships Feb. 28-29 in Akron, Ohio, Naughton earned a podium finish with fifth in the 5,000-meter run in a personal-best 14:33.08. He also added a 10th in the 3,000 while improving his MAC standing by six and three places, respectively, from the
previous year. At an indoor meet just two weeks prior to MAC Indoors at Grand Valley State, Naughton posted a personal best of 8:27.98 in the 3K. Following the shocking turn of events, Naughton wasted little time and put his name into the NCAA Transfer Portal before 5 p.m. that same day. The emails and phone messages began pouring in from all over the country from coaches. And just eight days later, Naughton committed to Butler University (Ind.) of the Big East where he’ll have two outdoor, one indoor and one cross country season of eligibility remaining. He has also been accepted into the school’s business school where he’ll be working on a Master’s degree in management. Naughton, who also considered fellow MidAmerican Conference member Eastern Michigan, was familiar with Butler and head coach Matt Roe. He made an unofficial visit there during his junior year of high school and did an internship with USA
