“They formed their opinions without actually visiting and seeing what the overall impact would truly be. I think it’s really shortsighted on their part,” he said. “I think we’re forgetting that there was the very real chance that tailgating would not exist for students at all.”

Misconceptions and sensationalism from Facebook and the media hurt the overall perception of the procedures, he said. The tailgating policy limits students to six beers or one pint of liquor each, bans external sound systems, bans cars leaving before the third quarter and instates six pedestrian entry points, among other rules.

“It seems like they took a couple of small pieces and rallied around those to de-unify the student body. I believe the students de-unified themselves,” he said. “I think if you talk to people who were there, the level of enforcement was very reasonable.”

Senior Associate Athletic Director Derek van der Merwe said the terms “checkpoints,” “restrictions” and “regulations” were never used.

“We talked about this in terms of expectations,” he said. “The message has become this imposition of regulation.”

Van der Merwe said students were represented at all committee meetings regarding tailgate and were supportive of the initiatives. Three of the 21 positions on the committee were students.

The initiatives for student tailgating cost around $2,500 to $3,000 per game, which included restrooms, fencing, security, entertainment and food, van der Merwe said.

“We want more students,” Heeke said. “I hope they’ll come back and give it a try to create a great atmosphere in the parking lot.”

Game attendance

A total of 18,323 attended CMU’s 48-0 win over Alcorn State at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday. The stadium seats 30,255.

Several comments from people claiming to be alumni on Central Michigan Life’s Web site raised concerns that alumni attendance might suffer because of the new tailgating procedures, but Heeke is confident alumni will return.

“If alums want to occupy space that’s been allotted for our student body, that in itself is concerning sometimes,” he said. “Is it really alumni’s spot to go into that tailgate?”

Ted Tolcher, interim vice president of development and alumni relations, said he has not heard of any alumni cutting contributions to CMU over the tailgate procedure.

The procedures did not seem to dampen student attendance at the game, which Heeke said was one of the best he saw in his four years at CMU.

Even if game attendance drops, he said the university is committed to providing a safe environment.

“I understand the picture that’s in the paper,” Heeke said, referring to the front page of Central Michigan Life on Monday. “That’s a difficult picture. I also have to make sure there’s not a picture of a dead student on the front page. We all have to keep that in mind because the environment was not safe and it was not conducive to keeping people out.”

Tailgating in previous years was very dangerous, he said, and the number of injuries increased significantly over the last three years, said CMU Police Chief Bill Yeagley.

Heeke did not address whether tailgate procedures would be change if attendance drops.

Enforcement

Yeagley said the expectations are not laws, and students cannot be subject to a ticket or arrest for not complying.

Instead, students who do not follow the expectations will be asked to comply or leave.

“If they’re coming in with a case of beer and it’s just one person, we would say you need to get rid of the beer or you have to leave,” he said.

Overall, he said the atmosphere was what the university looked for — relaxed.

“I would love the students to come try it. If you aren’t pleased, I’ll meet with anybody personally,” Yeagley said. “None of this was intended to drive people away. None of this was intended to ruin tailgating and I don’t think it needs to. I think we can still work within the expectations.”