Orlando is the creator of the Facebook.com group, "CMU @ Western on a Tuesday Uproar Group!" The group had more than 1,400 members as of Tuesday evening.

Orlando said he has tried to contact CMU's and WMU's athletic directors, but has yet to receive any response.

"They should serve the students by calling the (Mid-American Conference) Commissioner and telling him how disgusted we are by this move," Orlando said. "I do hope that Athletics Director (Dave) Heeke has already done this."

Western Michigan freshman Greg Spray also created a Facebook.com group, called "Students Against Central Western Weekend on a Tuesday." He said the group reached more than 1,000 members only 29 hours after its creation.

Spray said he did not know about the situation until he noticed one of his friends joined Orlando's group on Facebook.com. He is encouraging students to contact their athletics directors and MAC commissioners.

Heeke said he has received about 15 e-mails in protest of the scheduling and will reply to them as a group.

"I understand the concern that people have about this game," Heeke said. "But I think it is very unlikely that this game could be changed."

Heeke said the feedback he is receiving will have an impact on the outcome of similar situations in the future.

The MAC is responsible for football scheduling, not schools' individual athletics departments.

Problems last time

Topinabee sophomore Dennis Lennox II said he e-mailed the athletics directors and brought up the issues that occurred with ESPN last year.

Last year's game was scheduled to be on ESPNU, but appeared on Comcast Local instead.

Western Michigan Athletics Director Kathy Beauregard acknowledged the problems with ESPN in the 2006 Central/Western game.

"I honestly recognize that things didn't go through with the game last year," Beauregard said. "But ESPN2 is a for-sure guarantee."

Heeke and Beauregard are working together to provide transportation for Central students to and from the game, Beauregard said.

Alto senior Samantha Pleva said she e-mailed both athletics directors last Thursday and has not received a call back.

"I will probably have to miss the game because at this point my academics need to take first priority, which is no fun because it will be my last year and Central/Western is usually a highlight," Pleva said.

Orlando contacted Student Body President and Harbor Beach senior Dan Nowiski about his displeasure with the situation earlier in the week.

Nowiski said he has sent

e-mails to every authority who has an influence on this decision and has not received any feedback yet.

"SGA has been trying to get people involved and support athletics," Nowiski said. "Scheduling an away game on a Tuesday sends a big blow to our goal."

Spray and Orlando said they plan to take their protest a step further in the coming months.

"We are working together to coordinate a student march on the same day, same time to protest the day change," Spray said. "We're hoping to get ... support from the communities."

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