Eastern Michigan should exit D-I football, students and faculty urge

A week after HBO's "Real Sports" disclosed how much the operation of an FBS football program is costing Eastern Michigan, its students and faculty issued a report calling for the school to drop the sport from a Division I level.

"Culturally and geographically, Eastern Michigan football will simply never succeed from an attendance and financial standpoint," faculty member Howard Bunsis told the Board of Regents on Friday. "It is a losing proposition - always has been, and always will be. We hardly raise any money for football, and our attendance is the lowest in the country."

The report calls for the program to drop out of the Division I level and move from the MAC to the Horizon League, where the sport is not required. Students are reportedly paying $917 out of pocket to support athletics, with little to no value added on their education, according to the report.

"Eastern Michigan should drop Division I football, and join the Horizon League, where football is not required," the report states. "Alternatively, Eastern Michigan can still play football, but at the Division II or Division III level within the Horizon league. The advantage of joining the Horizon League is Eastern Michigan athletes could still compete at the Division I level in Olympic and non-revenue sports, but spend much less."

The university doesn't make enough money from athletics to cover its costs, drawing on the general fund to make up the difference. The report suggests the move to the Horizon League would drastically fix that problem.

With the college football season four months away, it bears watching whether the university will follow through on the faculty and students' wishes.