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Printer-Friendly ModeEastland recalls athletics from kites to football
October 19, 2009 —
Instead of football games on Saturdays and hockey games on Fridays, imagine if kite flying was the only “athletic” event that took place around campus.
Nearly 40 years ago, that was the case.
There was no such thing as waking up early on a Saturday morning and tailgating or heading down the road to the Saginaw Bay Ice Arena to cheer on a national championship-contending hockey team.
On March 20, 1971, Saginaw Valley College, formerly referred to as SVC, held its second annual kite flying competition, although from there the athletic department began to take shape.
At the twelfth annual Thomas and Hilda Rush Distinguished Lectureship, Dr. George Eastland talked about how the athletic department, as well as the campus in general, has transformed over the last 40 years.
In 1974, the Board of Control approved the start of a football program and hired its first coach, Frank “Muddy” Waters. Waters took over as athletic director when Mike Koval resigned.
Although many would argue that football is the most popular sport in the U.S., students AT SVC had to be convinced that having a football program was a good thing.
In October 1978, vandals spread soil sterilizer on the football field which cost SVC $25,000 to replace.
While a lot of things were different in the past, some things haven’t changed, as far as athletes getting in offfield trouble.
On April 7, 1978, seven cross country runners, some of which were All-Americans, were dismissed from the team for drinking, including members of the team were above the legal drinking age. The team had a no-drinking policy that was heavily enforced.
Eastland, who has been with the University since 1969, remembered back to what he considers one of the greatest achievements in SVSU’s athletic history: in 1981-82, the men’s track team won the indoor NAIA Championship without an indoor track to practice on.
As the lecture transitioned from past to present, Eastland talked about the high expectations for student athletes at SVSU.
While it may be a common misconception that nonathletes hold a much higher grade point average than student athletes, that is not the case at SVSU. Nonathletes hold a cumulative GPA of 3.35 while athletes average 3.31.
Overall, Eastland likes where the future of SVSU athletics is headed, although he acknowledges that certain aspects must continue to imrpove.
“I hope that we continue to build relationships throughout the campus and community and to move positively to ensure that all student-athletes graduate.”