7/3/2007 11:34:00 AM
The Save EIU wrestling committee is looking for additional help. Under Mike Moyer's (NWCA) leadership we need your help to contact your state senators, representatives, the new EIU President and the Board of Trustees. We need the Illinois Wrestling community to fax letters and/or call their local senator and state representative. Below are the link to find your senator and state representative: http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/SelectSearchType.aspx In addition, we needs letters sent to the new incoming president and Board of Trustee members. New President: William L. Perry wlperry@eiu.edu Phone number: 217-581-2011 Eastern Illinois University 600 Lincoln Avenue Charleston, IL 61920-3099 Board of Trustees Robert Webb Eastern Illinois University 600 Lincoln Avenue Charleston, IL 61920-3099 Roger Kratochvil Eastern Illinois University 600 Lincoln Avenue Charleston, IL 61920-3099 Leo Welch Eastern Illinois University 600 Lincoln Avenue Charleston, IL 61920-3099 Julie Simmons Eastern Illinois University 600 Lincoln Avenue Charleston, IL 61920-3099 Don Yost Eastern Illinois University 600 Lincoln Avenue Charleston, IL 61920-3099 Letters need to be in your own words but should emphasize the following speaking points: A. Wrestling is deeply embedded in the Illinois Sport Culture as evidenced by the fact that Illinois has over 15,000 high school wrestlers (2nd largest wrestling population in the nation). State funded schools like EIU should have an obligation to provide activities that are popular in their region. B. One of EIU's most popular undergraduate degree majors is teacher education. That explains why so many of our nations best coaches have been developed at EIU. We need to keep this program intact so we can replace the depleted pool of high school and middle school teachers and coaches in Illinois. C. The stated reason for eliminating the wrestling program was a low Academic Performance Rating (APR). There are too many other "like institutions" across the nation that have wrestling teams thriving under this new NCAA academic policy. With minimal institutional intervention and oversight, this problem can be easily rectified. D. EIU wrestling has enjoyed a rich 59 year tradition as evidenced by advancing 60 wrestlers to the NCAA Division I Championships and having 6 NCAA All Americans. Please Note: A. Don't threaten the administration b. Do not single out any administrators as adversaries c. Emphasize that we want to work with the administration today and in the future d. Do not downgrade any other EIU sports to make a point
Call to Action Eastern Illinois