Eastern Michigan University

From BR Bullpen

Location: Ypsilanti, MI
Nickname: Eagles (fomerly Hurons)
Conference: Mid-American Conference 1973-present; Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 1951-1962; Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association 1888-1926
Ballpark: Oestrike Stadium

College World Series Appearances: 2 1975 & 1976

Eastern Michigan University is the largest producing school for training teachers in the United States. Eastern Michigan University was founded in 1849 as the Michigan Normal School. Normal Schools were educational institutions that were dedicated to training high school graduates to become teachers. The Michigan Normal School was the first Normal School founded west of the Appalachian mountains. In 1899, the school became the Michigan Normal College when they formalized the first four year collegiate curriculum for teacher education in the United States. For the first 80 years of the school's existance, the school's athletic teams went by the nicknames the "Normalites" and the "Men from Ypsi." In 1929, the school' athletic teams adopted the nickname the Hurons. The Hurons monicker makes reference to a confederation of four Native American Tribes that are indiginous to Michigan and also to the Huron River which runs through Ypsilanti. In 1956, the School changed their name to Eastern Michigan College after adding several departments. And became Eastern Michigan University in 1959. In 1988, the State of Michigan Department of Civil Rights issued a report that suggested that all schools which made reference to Native Americans in their team logos and nicknames should consider changing them because, the report suggested, they promoted racial stereotypes. At the time there were sixty two high schools and four colleges with these kinds of nicknames. The EMU Board of Regents voted in May of 1991 to replace the existing Hurons name with the Eastern Michigan Eagles. One of EMU's strongest in-state MAC rivals, Central Michigan University chose not to change their name from the Chippewas. The decision to change the team's name drew some controversy from fans and Alumni. And an announcer jokingly referred to the team as the Eastern Michigan "No-Names" during the 1991 Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Twenty years after the decision of the Board of Regents, the controversy over the name still remains alive. Many students, alumni and faculty disapprove of the fact that the Hurons name was replaced by a name as common as Eagles. The EMU Alumni Association even has an official chapter named the Huron Restoration Chapter who claims to have gained the approval and support of both the Wyandot tribe of Oklahoma as well as the Huron-Wendat Nation of Quebec. However, it is unlikely that the teams of EMU will ever return to the Hurons nickname, as in 2003 the Michigan State Board of Education passed a resolution that "supports and strongly recommends the elimination of American Indian mascots, nicknames, logos, fight songs, insignias, antics, and team descriptors by all Michigan schools."

Several notable athletes, business persons, educators and politicians have graduated or taught at EMU. Jean Cione taught here and was the school's first female athletic director