I have a couple of observations from this weekend.
1) Despite the drainage problems on the porch, which seemed minimal, the union looks absolutely great. Had lunch in the Bistro area, and the food court and seating was filled with students, eating. meeting, hanging, and chilling! It has become a real hot spot on campus. I was there for the ribbon cutting too and here is hoping that in the near future Phase 2 happens.
2) I was in the parade on the alumni float in cognito with a afro wig and 70's silk shirt. The square and the parade route was filled with people with smiles and purple and gold clothes. The parade is a special event that I hope continues on for a long time. There seemed to be a lot of spirit for the Leathernecks which has not yet equated to butts in the seats at Hanson. but it will in the very near future. No matter what, people love WIU!
3) Take a look at the admissions "viewbook" that can be found at the admissions page "online!" It has been received very well where ever our admission counselors have gone and seems to be flying off the shelf. WIU has adjusted scholarship monies so that it effects the upper middle, and middle ACT students which is really what WIU is about. There is still plenty of money for the elite students too. WIU increased the admission requirements and has limited the number of challenged students which has equated to a significant rise in retention rate this year. NIU has decided to let more challenged students in (down to 13 on the ACT) a rode that it took WIU 5 years to recover from. Things are looking up my Leatherneck friends!!!
4) The entrance way on 67 and university looks great, very stately. I had a hand at lining university with banners on Saturday morning. Looked sweet!
5) Tail gate went on and on in Q! Not sure what it was like for "Parent's Weekend" but there was some significant tailgating going on!
6) I thought the crowd was significant and was surprised at the 5100! I do know that when you enter Hanson, they are keeping track of tickets in a manner that was not so in the past. I am not necessarily saying that the attendance figures were bloated in the past but one has to wonder
after being a part of yesterdays crowd what the announced attendance would have been prior to the Bell era.
7) It was a hard fought game. WIU seemed to run out of bullets at the end of the game. Lenoir was wide open and I did see a bit of frustration with an under thrown ball. The fumble as Hammonds was looking for more yardage really hurt. Our football team is making huge strides in the right direction. Nielson's staff is up for the MVFC challenge but it takes time with such a young team. It was really kinda of a different atmosphere after the game. We walked back to Q with most of both teams walking the same way. There was no giddiness, no smiles, just looks of exhaustion, a strange quiet amongst the combatants. I know the WIU fans were disappointed, but the Ndst fans were very very respectful and a bit shell shocked. Every one predicted a blow out, except for Coach Nielson who said, " if we can score 18 points, we will win!" How prophetic his statement when it was all said and done.
I am and will always be a Leatherneck. I also was born with a "positive streak" in me. Guess I usually look for the good and not the bad. The flags looked great, and Hanson Field did too. I liked the scoreboard but hope that the video screen increases in size in years to come. I think how it is used will continue to develop. I do think the band and the video board need to coordinate as 712 noted.
Enough said! Carter out!
jc
