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Men’s basketball to play in Hawaii’s Rainbow Classic

By on July 21, 2010 5:45 am in Basketball / 8 comments

 
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Updated: 5:45 a.m. Wednesday

The Central Michigan men’s basketball team will get to experience a taste of paradise this season.

The team will travel to Honolulu, Hawaii, to participate in the annual Rainbow Classic Nov. 12-15 at the Stan Sheriff Center Nov. 12-15.

“Our goal is to start playing in some tournaments where we can have some neutral-site games because of how hard it is to schedule (non-conference) home games,” said head coach Ernie Zeigler.

CMU rounds out the four-team tournament that also includes host Hawaii, Cal State Fullerton of the Big West Conference and the Big Sky’s Montana State.

The Chippewas open play with Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 12 and continue on Nov. 13 against Montana State. They are 1-1 all time against Cal State Fullerton after splitting games against the Titans in 2007 and 2008.

CMU’s game against Montana State will be their first meeting in almost 37 years. The Chippewas beat MSU 102-75 on Dec. 29, 1973, in the only meeting between the two schools.

Players will have the day off Nov. 14 before CMU closes out play on Nov. 15 against host Hawaii in the first-ever game between both schools.

“I think they’re (the players) excited,” Zeigler said. “Whenever you get a chance to play in a prestigious event like this, it can only have everyone really excited about starting the season.”

CMU Athletics Director Dave Heeke said the tournament will compensate CMU $18,000, while the school will pick up about $11,000 for the remainder of the trip.

“We’re always anxious to play in those exempt tournaments where you can play additional games on the year and also an opportunity to play other teams in other parts of the country and gain experience,” Heeke said. “We also have to balance that with the costs of doing those trips so we look for those that provide guarantees that don’t increase our expenses. We need to absorb those expenses in the athletic budget – there’s no resources for us to do that – so we have to be careful of that as well.

“If we take a flight to a normal game, say Missouri, it’s going to cost us between $10-$11,000, so it falls within what our normal travel allotment is for away games in the non-conference season.”

The Chippewas will spend much of November on the road while work on the new Events Center is complete.

In addition to the Rainbow Classic, Zeigler said the team will play at South Alabama on Nov. 20 and travel to Illinois-Chicago on Nov. 24 before the home opener against Temple on Dec. 1.

The Chippewas will make their second trip to Chicago on Dec. 5 at DePaul and travel to LSU on Dec. 11.

CMU will host South Dakota State (Nov. 20) and Detroit-Mercy at the Events Center and travel to UNLV on Dec. 30.

 

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  • CMUSTUDENT

    Yay just the reason why our tuition needed to increase so we could send basketball players to Hawaii! Great Job!

  • Adam

    That last comment is ignorant. If you think that the tutition was raised because of that trip, your crazy. How would you like to explain the increases the past 5 years straight, or whatever it is? FYI the academic and athletic realm have to completely sperate operating budgets.

  • CMUSTUDENT

    Yes they do have separate operating budgets, However, every year the university gives more and more money to the athletic department then any other department in the university.
    This past year several football players for example never played one single game yet they still received full ride scholarships, its not like those teachers are teaching for free or the housing doesn't have bills nope they have to increase tuition to help increase athletic departments budget.
    Also, Ask Fin Aid where the extra money that the board of trustees gave them last year to increase students aid? O ya thats right Sports Players to use for recruitment purposes.

  • Gould1nj

    CMUSTUDENT…..I'm not sure how much you know about college sports, but the sports programs bring in the most money for the school. The football team the last few years, especially last year, were great on the field and that led to great revenue from ESPN covering the games and from sponsors that pay for ads during the commercials on tv and radio. Not to mention the revenue the football team brings in for concessions and ticket fees. The same will be said for the basketball team the next few years if they play to their potential. The team should be great, with packed arenas every home game and tv deals to put some games on ESPNU….all major schools have huge athletic programs that bring money to the school. MSU goes to Hawaii or Florida every year for basketball tourneys…..yet they had to raise tuition last few years. We live in one of the worst states as far as the economy, the rates are going up with or without a small trip to Hawaii

  • Hawaiian Eye

    If I'm not mistaking, the people in Hawaii pay for the transportation and the hotels, etc., for the three mainland teams. If I'm also not mistaking, ESPN televises the games. So, if we can get a free trip for our team and get them on national TV, it's a huge win-win for our team, recruiting and for CMU! If CMU will spend the time visiting sites like Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial and the other historical sites on the island, it will be a great educational experience. Most folks don't ever get to Hawaii so for these student-athletes, it will be a tremendous experience.

    Now, since you four are being critical of the tuition hikes (and I don't blame you), I hope you will be critical of CMU when it pays leftist speakers hefty speaking fees to read a :”canned speech” that you could watch on YouTube or CSPAN. I really hate it when people are critical of our young athletes or other student group that travels for legit business…..but don't have a problem when Robert Kennedy Jr., Danny Glover, Al Sharpton, Kwame Kilpatrick, Michael Moore and the host of leftists who get paid outrageous speaking fees to spread their left-wing propaganda.

  • '09 Alum

    The tuition rate increase is still less than the average inflation rate of currency – it was a hell of a lot worse than I would've expected. Maybe you should put the imaginary money you think they are moving directly into the athletic fund to use and attend the games?

  • chipskeptic

    There is a lot of ignorance in these comments all around. For CMUSTUDENT It is “than” not “then”. For Hawaiian Eye it is “mistaken” not “mistaking”.

    1) The tuition increase was not directly about this trip…that is silly.
    2) The athletic department does get massively subsidized from the general fund just like ever other department.
    3) The athletic department has in recent years been generating more REVENUE because of the football team, they are however NOT PROFITABLE.
    4) The athetic department loses money, but that is not really just a CMU problem. About two thirds of all NCAA D1A programs lose money. That is from a study done by the NCAA itself.
    5) Yes, there are some players who never play. They are however very valuable to the team in practice. The starters have to practice against somebody.
    6) To tell someone in effect “quit complaining and attend the games” is also rather silly “'09' Alum”. Many people have no interest in sports and are actually at CMU to just get their education and move on. Athletics are an EXTRA-CURRICULAR activity, they are not the core of why we are here.

  • Suns5487 mike

    ? When was the last time you played UH hawaii and what was the score Thanks for your time