David Jesse

Detroit Free Press

Eastern Michigan University officials are finalizing plans to spend $35 million on improvements to athletic facilities that will include a new building containing a practice field that football and soccer teams could use, university officials confirmed Wednesday.

Athletic department officials have been quietly raising funds for the improvements and have $9 million of the total cost committed already pending board approval of the entire project. That amount includes $6 million from one, unnamed donor, which would be the largest cash gift ever given to the university. How the remainder would be funded hasn't been determined yet.

Eastern Michigan Board of Regents member Michelle Crumm, the chair of the board's finance committee, said the board was first briefed as a whole board about the plans in early February and would likely take up the topic again at their next meeting in April.

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The move comes as the football team comes off its best season in decades, including a trip to the Bahamas Bowl. But there also has been a renewed debate about athletics at Eastern Michigan in the past year, including an HBO Real Sports segment on athletic department spending that was critical of Eastern Michigan. A number of faculty and students have called for the university to drop out of Division I football — either completely dropping the program or moving down in division, which would decrease the cost. In recent years, Eastern Michigan, with about 21,000 students, has spent more than $27 million a year from the university's general fund on sports.

Many of the issues with Eastern Michigan's spending have centered on football, which has had poor performance and low attendance for years.

Athletic Director Heather Lyke said that, for years, the football team has been an "anchor" in a bad way for an overall successful athletic department, but that the recent success showed it could be an anchor in a positive way for the department.

"We are in a position to help continue the momentum," she told the Free Press on Tuesday night, speaking of the planned new facilities. "We wanted to impact as many student athletes as possible and pay homage to our track and field program.

"We really want to change the perception of the university. There is a growing sense of pride."

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The plans currently call for the outdoor track to be removed from around the football field. The existing soccer fields would be reoriented in direction and a new track placed around it.

The existing football building in the far end zone of Rynearson Stadium would be torn down. In its place would be a new 70,000-square-foot building that would have a turf field inside for the football and soccer teams to use. There would also be a 300-meter indoor track and improved weight room, big enough for entire teams to train at one time. The building would also allow the university to have nine or 10 suites facing the football stadium. The current 68 premium seats in the stadium are sold out. A new scoreboard would be added to the stadium.

A new 22,000-square-foot building for wrestling and gymnastics would also be built, allowing them to move out of Bowen Fieldhouse and Warner Gymnasium. That space would then be available for academic programs and intramural sports to use, most likely, Crumm said.

"That kind of recreation space is one of the top priorities for student government," said Crumm, who was in the Free Press interview with Lyke. "There are still pieces to finish. It's about the whole big picture. We have a new president who is still laying out his vision for our campus. Heather is a little bit ahead. This is an exciting project, not only for (Eastern) but for the whole Ypsilanti community.

"We haven't committed any money (from the university's general fund). We're focused on fund-raising."

Crumm isn't afraid that those on the academic side will be upset if the board spends significant money on athletics.

"A common enemy is the scarcity of resources," she said, adding that when resources are scarce, departments "tend to go after each other. We are all on the same team. This will benefit everyone. If athletics win, everyone wins."

Both Crumm and Lyke said the move will free up space in the middle of Eastern's campus for academic departments such as the College of Health and Human Services, which is seeing enrollment growth and needs more space.

"This is a very exciting opportunity for everyone," Crumm said,

Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterdavidj