Dave, father of Central Michigan University wide receiver Cody Wilson, is set to speak at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium.

He will focus on the topic of “real men,” with a message directed toward young Christians.

Two weeks ago, Rochester junior and wide receiver Cody, was a guest speaker for the His House Christian Fellowship service, “A Night with the Chippewas.”

Cody, along with Holland junior and quarterback A.J. Westendorp, spoke about their religious recoveries as a part of the “Get Real” series.

“They spoke about not compromising,” said Yorkville, Illinois junior Taylor Galmarini. “It was an excellent way to draw in the student population who don’t usually go to church.”

Dave is also the founding pastor of Kensington Church in Troy.

Josh Chaffin, associate campus minister of His House, said Dave has spoken all over the country about young men and Christianity.

Chaffin said Dave will concentrate on what he believes a real man should look like, and what a man of God does.

Although the topic will be about men, Chaffin said they encourage women to attend as well.

“I think it will definitely challenge the guys and it is directed at the guys,” Chaffin said. “But I think it will be very beneficial for women to be there too so they understand what a man of God should look like.”

Galmarini said she thinks the message will be beneficial to women as well and she is looking forward to the message Thursday.

“I think it is important for women to be there because we can learn how to help and encourage men in our lives,” Galmarini said.

Chaffin said the message will include something for everyone, so he encourages anyone to attend.

Central Michigan University Police Capt. Fred Harris believes it is for the greater good.

“Tailgating policies for the 2011 football season will remain the same,” Harris said. “Administration for the university, athletics and police consistently review policies that improve the safety of our event spectators while maintaining the game day experience.”

He said alcohol related incidents relative to injuries and arrests have seen reductions since the implementation of the revised tailgate policy.

Harris said he knows some students dislike the enforcement, but has seen evidence of positive reactions to the changes.

“Many tailgate attendees have commented positively referencing the tailgate policy,” Harris said. “In addition to DJ-provided music in the student tailgate area, students can also gain early access to the tailgate area and set up their own music. Overall, this is a great opportunity to get together, have a great time, and support the team.”

Many students have not enjoyed the recent active enforcement of the tailgate policy and Mount Pleasant senior Devin Cole is among that category.

“I feel less enthusiastic about tailgating after the rules started to be enforced,” Cole said. “Tailgating outside the stadium just isn’t the same anymore.”

Alexander Hostetler, a Milford senior, was disappointed about the strict enforcement of the tailgate policy, but has found other things to do on gamedays.

“The parties are all at Deerfield and Main St. now,” Hostetler said. “Most people never even make it to the games.”

CMU Football Head Coach Dan Enos speaks about the ups and downs of his first year coaching CMU football, what makes a good team and what it takes to improve and push forward.

Nick Bellore

The 6-foot-1, 250-pound senior inside linebacker accepted his invite to the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 22 in Orlando, Fla. He will wear No. 42 on the West squad.

Former Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips will head the West against former NFL coach Dan Reeves and the East, and it is unclear if he will set up his usual 3-4 defensive alignment, or if he will run a more traditional 4-3 defensive front. Bellore played middle linebacker in CMU’s 4-3 scheme.

In a 3-4 defense, Bellore likely would line up at one of the two inside positions, since he was used sparingly as a pass rusher during his college career.

Other linebackers on the West roster include: Fresno State outside linebacker Chris Carter, Fresno State inside linebacker Ben Jacobs, Oklahoma State inside linebacker Orie Lemon, Nevada outside linebacker Dontay Moch and Boise State outside linebacker Winston Venable.

As of Wednesday, Bellore is the only player representing the Mid-American Conference, though rosters have not been finalized.

Keep checking cm-life.com for more on this developing story and @CMLifeSports on Twitter for more CMU athletics news and updates.

After only seven games with the team, Enos is, at best, untested as a head coach. Furthermore, after CMU lost key players such as Dan LeFevour, Frank Zombo, Antonio Brown and Andrew Aguila, if Enos is not building a team from the ground up, he is at least very close to the ground.

Perhaps more important are the financial repercussions of replacing Enos.

If Enos is terminated before the end of the 2011 football season, CMU is contractually obligated to pay him a $900,000 buyout.

On top of that considerable fee, the athletics department would have to search for a replacement for Enos, which costs money, and then pay the replacement’s salary. Enos’ yearly total salary is $325,000, and few viable candidates to replace him would be likely to take less than that amount. If the coach CMU hired was currently contracted at another school, CMU would have to buy out that coach’s contract as well.

The athletics department was appropriated $22,182,796 for the 2010-2011 school year, according to this year’s operating budget.

All told, firing and replacing Enos at this moment would likely cost somewhere between $1.5 million and $2.5 million.

This is not where the university needs to be putting even more of its money.

As the university finishes construction on a costly basketball arena and CMU continues to put money into the College of Medicine, the university’s spending patterns have been questionable at best. The new budget under President George Ross looks to tighten this up, and it is a safe bet that such a costly personnel change would not be allowed.

Football fans can continue to call out for Enos’ job on the Internet and every other avenue available to them. The smart money is on him keeping it, which is also the correct decision.

Fans should give Enos a season or two to warm up and prove himself before picking up the torches and pitchforks as they have been doing. They just may end up liking the guy.

Now, when the team is 1-2 in the MAC and 2-3 overall, is not the time to give up on them.

After several stellar seasons and being ranked nationally for the first time in school history last year, the rocky, middling start to this year hurt the large fan base the team built up over the last few years. Other factors, such as continually unpopular tailgating rules and the tendency for attendants to leave in droves at halftime also detract from potential attendance.

Supporting the football team is both a matter of pride at this school and a financial decision. If football games go poorly-attended, millions of dollars will have gone wasted — tuition and tax dollars the university uses to promote, advertise and run the football program.

Attendance has not been affected too negatively yet, but the mixed messages of the university — encouraging people to go to the game while discouraging them from tailgating outside Kelly/Shorts Stadium, may end up hurting the football program in the long-run.

This publication often tries to stay away from horn-tooting and flag-waving for the university when it is not necessary, but the football team is such a major part of the local economy, its floundering could be potentially disastrous for the community.

The simple way to keep this situation from becoming a problem is to continue going to football games. If football attendance continues to be high, it is more a testament to the fan community of CMU than the university, which has been handling the situation unimpressively.

If the football team continues down a losing path, and CMU sees less national media attention, it will be interesting to see if attendance takes a dip due to the loss of “fair-weather fans.”

The fact remains for the second year in a row tailgating in lot 63 before the CMU football team’s home opener was an unmitigated failure. At this point, a complete reversal of all the policies and restrictions placed on tailgating would probably not be enough to salvage the pastime at CMU.

Police Chief Bill Yeagley’s estimates of 800 to 1,000 people in attendance are far more than kind.

Previous to the 2009 policies put in place — a limit on how much alcohol one person can bring to the lot — the tailgate at CMU was regarded as one of the best in the state, often mentioned in the same breath as Michigan State University. It was a part of the university’s culture and now that is lost, perhaps, forever.

It did bring more partiers, and things were raucous, but it also brought more people to the football games and into the community, meaning more patronage for local businesses.

Although it takes place on CMU property, tailgating has never been a university event. A tailgate is simply a gathering of people with the common interest of drinking, eating food and celebrating before a football game. There is a certain sense of independence and, perhaps, a sense of roguishness as well.

It is not the specifics of the policies that have deterred people from congregating in lot 63; most tailgaters would probably not consume more than six beers or one pint of liquor anyway.

The fact that there are rules and regulations is what has squashed the tailgate culture. Tailgate was something that many fans and students felt belonged to them and these rules have made it clear that it does not belong to them any more.

If the restrictions on tailgating are ever repealed, it will not be because the fans or students took it back from the university, but because the university gave it back to them. Because of this, we will likely never again see the tailgate at CMU as the epicenter of mid-Michigan youth culture it once was.

But at least there is no broken glass in the parking lot.

As the athletics department spoke from the football field, students were able to get acquainted with more than 80 of Mount Pleasant’s local businesses stationed around the stadium at the Wares Fair and Fire Up Fest.

Businesses offered attendees a variety of freebies as they vied for about 4,000 students’ attentions; from frisbees and food to free memberships and discount coupons.

Matt Jackson, operating partner of Papa John’s, 1504 S. Mission St., was one of many who took the opportunity to promote their products.

“It’s a great time to hand out coupons and sample pizza,” Jackson said. “People are able to taste our products and it’s a great sales boost.”

Connie Ross, owner of Curves, 1620 S. Mission St., came to the celebration hoping to interest a few students in the female focused fitness program.

“We’ve been coming here for the past seven years and we absolutely love it,” Ross said. “The students here are welcoming and fun. We usually manage to gain 15 to 20 new memberships after this.”

Other athletic organizations also took the opportunity to introduce fans to their rosters.

The men’s basketball team had a stand where fans were invited to guess a player’s weight in hopes of winning a free towel.

Though many students dutifully filed through the lanes of free offerings, some took the opportunity to sit down on the bleachers and catch up with the football team.

The cheer team, the CMU marching band and fans across the stadium all shared in excitement for the coming season as the football players introduced themselves.

“It is absolutely fantastic,” said Carter Kiogima, a cheerleader and Traverse City senior.  “The fest is a great opportunity for Central to support the team and show outstanding school spirit.”

Kalamazoo freshman Josh Weirik shared in the crowd’s excitement after playing his part in the band’s performance.

“Being part of the pep band is great,” Weirik said. “The surrounding environment is really sweet, and after tonight, I’m excited to see the reaction of the fans once we crank it up.”

Sophomore Ryan Radcliff has emerged as the clear No. 1 for CMU’s starting quarterback job heading into the 2010 season, head coach Dan Enos confirmed Tuesday during the team’s media day.

While not officially naming a starter until after preseason camp, he said Radcliff picked up right where he left off in spring practice.

“He’s very coachable,” Enos said. “We have a lot of offense in and he just continues to thrive in it. We’re able to do all these things on offense because he can handle it all.”

Radcliff leads a quarterback contingent that also includes juniors Derek Rifenbury and Brandon Fricke, redshirt freshman A.J. Westendorp and freshman Kyle Smith.

“It’s come a long way since the spring,” Radcliff said. “I’m definitely feeling a lot more comfortable with it, and I think the whole team could answer the same way.”

Rifenbury currently holds the backup job, while Fricke, a junior college transfer from Chico, Calif., has quickly moved up the ladder since arriving on campus over the summer and is third on the team’s depth chart.

While everyone looks to the next starting quarterback as trying to fill LeFevour’s shoes, Radcliff said he welcomes the competition from the group behind him.

“It’s been extremely competitive, but we have a real unique relationship,” he said. “Most places you go, (it’s) probably kind of cut throat. We’ll be in the meeting room helping each other. We’ll be out on the field giving each other tips on how to do something differently, which is great to be in that kind of atmosphere.”

Westendorp, who suffered a sprainked ankle prior to the start of preseason camp, returned to practice this week while Smith is tabbed to be redshirted.

Running backs without Tipton early

Redshirt freshman running back Zurlon Tipton will have a late start to the season as he was given a two-game suspension on Aug. 11.

Tipton, who was making strides in practice to be the No. 3 back, will, at minimum, miss CMU’s Sept. 2 home opener against Hampton and the Sept. 9 game at Temple.

“If he does everything he’s supposed to do, which he as up to this point. He’s had a great attitude. He’s working hard and doing things he’s supposed to do on and off the field — then it’ll be two,” Enos said. “But if he can’t handle that, then it’ll go to more because that’s more important than football. We’re going to have people do things the right way around here.”

The suspension leaves the running back unit shorthanded for the first two games of the season. Senior Carl Volny and junior Paris Cotton have cemented themselves as the No. 1 and 2 in a group that is otherwise young and inexperienced.

“We’ll play the other two and find another guy — that’s just how college athletics are,” Enos said. “We’ll roll without him. At the end of the day, we’ll be a better team for it because other players will get reps, but we’ll make it work.”

Sophomore Tim Phillips came into spring practice looking to be the No. 3 back, but an arm injury has sidelined him throughout preseason camp.

Three true freshman, one redshirt freshman and junior college transfer round out the running back unit.