Keeping in mind that I’m a Huron (BBA ’71), I have always had the feeling that Eastern didn’t research the name change very well. Out here in the Pacific Northwest, if I wore an Eastern Eagles T-shirt, I’d be asked how I liked it in Cheney, WA. You see, Eastern WASHINGTON University is the home of The Eagles out here, and it was so prior to EMU taking away my heritage.

The problem with changing the mascot again is that you’re running the risk of a whole boatload of alumni feeling a bit disenfranchised in the same way I do. IF the school would consider another change, I’d say go back to Hurons (after the river, not the tribe) and come up with a non-related mascot. But I would be dead set against changing to a third name. Hurons to Eagles was bad enough. Let’s not consider making the problem worse.

This guy is making EMU-Bird buttons and T Shirts. He gave me one in class. He’s on a mission to change Eastern mascot to a EMU-Bird. His site says there are real EMU-Birds in Michigan. http://thingsemu.com is where you can read his rant.

My favorite quote from the site:

“I wanted to protest EMU’s stupid E-Gal logo, to poke fun at the bird-brained administration’s lack of the OBVOIOUS.”

It doesn’t hurt your case that the administration is a bunch of bird-brains when YOU can’t spell simple words in your native tongue, EMU-dude. . .

HURONS. President Shelton is long gone. He used EMU as a stepping stone to get to where he wanted to go. He doesn’t care about Eastern Michigan University and he never did. It was a politically (in)correct move, designed to improve his profile, and nothing more. I have NEVER heard from one person who was “offended” by the nickname Hurons. It was an unnecessary, ignorant move by a scumbag former university president. If Eastern did the right thing and restored the Hurons to its rightful place, you would be shocked how alumni donations would increase tenfold. The “Eagles” is a joke and an embarrasment to a great university.

Dear Bobby,
I completely agree with everything you have said. Since I was a fraternity member of the Arm of Honor when attending Eastern, many of my fraternity alums said they would stop giving money to Eastern, the minute the name change took place. Now, I’m not going to say Eastern lost thousands from my fraternity brothers, but if that is how they felt, what about the feelings of thousands of other alumni mean in donations?
I also recall that two Indian Chiefs came from Oklahoma, when the name change was being discussed, and they specifically said, “We are proud that Eastern calls themselves Hurons, a tribe here in America”. What they and most of the other Native-Americans always objected to were the names like; Warriors, Redskins, Indians, etc.
Yes, we had something that was truly unique.

Choosing ‘Eagles’ as the nickname was a major screw up in a long list of screw ups that has contributed to the demise of the two high profile sports – football and men’s basketball. The Eagle name does absolutely nothing to distinguish EMU from other universities. If President Martin wants to re-energize the sports programs and financial contributions to the university, she should change the name back to the ‘Hurons’. Failing to act will be the death of a thousand cuts. For example, how can the university support a major college football program on high school attendance levels?

Thanks Rimshot for the comments about http://thingsemu.com . Being dyslexic, I will misspell a word now and then. It takes all my effort to proof read and reread. Even with the little red marks under a word, sometimes I miss stuff.

Anyway, spelling aside, I hope people will enjoy the EMU-Bird logo.

Well, off to Calc III …

classic article, agree with all your points. The name needs to be changed, I’m not sure going back to the Hurons is the answer, but it HAS to be changed to something other than the Eagles

Life is full of difficult decisions. This is not one of them. Simply revisit the decision of 1991 to remove the Huron nickname. If after an honest assessment, it is viewed as the correct decision, you keep the current nickname, the generic Eagles, which has nothing to do with Eastern Michigan University or its tradition. If it is deemed to have been a bad idea, then simply reinstate “Hurons.” What we don’t need is a third nickname in 19 years. I mean, that would be dumb.

I am Huron (class of ’87), and I agree with others that EMU did very little research before changing to the Eagles. I have not heard one member of the Huron Tribe that was offended. Actually just the opposite is true, it was a sign of respect and honor. If they wanted to change the Huron logo fine, but changing to the Eagles was a joke. The Eagles is to generic and was overused for schools. The university should reconsider going back to Hurons, and bring back a sense of pride and honor to our university.

I met the guy who came up with the name “Eagles”. I was working at a store and he told me the whole story without any provocation. He said he submitted the name “Eagles” because we had just won the Gulf War and the Eagle symbolized our American pride. Speaking of pride, he was beaming with it as he told the story. I told him they should have stuck with “Hurons”.

Go EMU Eagles!

Dear Friends,
Since I am as old as dirt, and when I attended Eastern, we were known as the Hurons, and if there is going to be a name change, we should go back to the Hurons.
Every time I talk to someone in the administration, about the name change, they say it would cost too much, to change. What I want to know, is what are the costs involved? There may be costs to change stationery, paint a few signs, trademark registration costs, what else? Do these add up to more than a few thousand? I don’t know.

Another Huron weighing in —- BBA ’85. I still own the t-shirt. :-)

Dropping the Huron may have been the worst decision this school administration ever made. To make matters worse, shamefully, EMU paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Philadelphia Eagles NFL franchise in order to borrow their Eagle logo as opposed to just asking an EMU art student to draw it up. And yes, the saddest thing about the decision is EMU lost is uniqueness. We were the only Hurons in the country. As the EMU experience is like no other (in a positive way). Hurons represented the uniqueness and pride of EMU. BRING BACK THE HURON. If the name HAD to be changed (which it did not) why couldn’t EMU have involved the entire EMU community to come up with an appropriate unique name? Yes, even the Emu (bird) would have been more appropriate than the Eagle. It was a pathetic decision then, and it still is today. BRING back the Huron. Or dump the ubiquitous Eagle. Thank you Michael Cassar for keeping this issue in the light.

You have to admit Swoop is a lot of fun at the games!

The Eagles is the most boring, overused name. While attending a high school football game showcase at Rynearson this August, one game was Skyline (Eagles) vs Hartland (Eagles) played at EMU (Eagles). That says it all.

EMU should go back to the Hurons.

While we’re at it, change the school colors too?

I agree with Rob, Just put the Huron name back in as our mascot.