Athletics Department to name top athletes from two eras

Senior Associate Athletics Director Derek van der Merwe believes in order for the new events center to take its proper place at CMU, it must be connected to CMU’s past.

“One of the things the athletic director is really committed to is attempting to really connect with the institution,” van der Merwe said. “We’ve had a lot of recent achievement but all of that success is built on a great history.”

With connecting the present to the past, van der Merwe came up with the idea of honoring great athletes that played im Finch Fieldhouse and Rose Arena.

The campaign for the new events center is “a proud past promising future”.

“We want to illustrate to people all of the greats that have played in those two facilities,” said Associate Athletics Director Jay Lanctot. “And honor that proud past and bringing them back to generate excitement of what the future can be.”

With roughly 35 years of history in each venue, the athletics department has chosen to select 35 student athletes from each venue through a combination of online balloting and a selection committee, made up of athletic officials and past coaches.

Online voting begins today at cmuchippewas.com and will continue throughout the month of July.

The athlete’s chosen will be announced this fall and honored at the Homecoming football game on October 11.

Those athlete’s will have a permanent home in the entrance way of the new events center.

“We want people to remember the contributions of the athletes from Finch and Rose. We don’t want people to forget them,” van der Merwe said. “That’s something we can never do enough of, really respecting the past. That’s something that can never be overdone.”

The athletics department’s is to raise awareness for the new facility and generate donations from the campaign.

“I think the major issue on campus right now is having an events center that represents what a progressive university Central Michigan is,” said Lanctot. “The idea is to enhance the student experience, not just the student athlete experience.”

sports@cm-life.com