Eastern Michigan Football is trapped in an arms race we cannot win. We continue to see massive expenditures on facilities and gear in an attempt to compete with programs that have much deeper pockets. Revenue does not equal profit. #CantAffordD1Football

Out of 130 D1 FBS football programs, EMU was ranked the 4th worst football stadium. @EasternMichU lacks the funds and student interest to invest in the stadium. #CantAffordD1Football Sadly we can’t afford a FBS-level football program we can be proud of

“Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools spent more than $91,000 per athlete compared with just over $13,000 per student. Yet students across the country faced steep tuition hikes and increased fees.”

Fact: EMU football beat Monmouth last night 51-17 Fact: Monmouth is a D1 FCS university with ~6,300 students, less athletic funding, more sports teams, and more athletes Fact: Monmouth is financially stable unlike @EasternMichU FBS level football costs too much for EMU

EMU actually CAN afford a reasonably funded football program. One that grows by its own merits. What @EasternMichU can’t afford is NCAA D1 FBS and @MACSports requirements to pump millions into facilities, marketing and artificial ticket sales. #CantAffordD1Football

Per Eastern Athletics, EMU football averaged 4,656 fans per home game in 2017, this is a great number of fans and it shows real interest in the team. D1 FBS division requires 15,000. Through a Pepsi contract, EMU buys the 10,344 needed to appear compliant. #CantAffordD1Football

We have great football players at @EasternMichU, it’s just that @EMUAthletics can’t afford the program right now at a D1 level. With student credit hours dropping, significant cuts must occur for all athletics programs at EMU

It’s not entirely @EMUFB fault that it costs the @EMUAthletics budget so much. Requirements set by @MACSports and Division 1 FBS require many expenditures that are not needed for a school the size of @EasternMichU

A 2018 budget analysis shows that @EMUFB has a 1.9 million dollar line item in their budget for “other expenses”. The EMU student body demands more granularity to the football budget during times where EMU staff are being laid off. Education first! #CantAffordD1Football

.@EMUFB has a lot of really skilled athletes. We wish @EasternMichU could afford to stay in D1 football but with Eastern’s budget, we just can’t make it work. Alternatively, we could TEAR IT UP in Division 2 #CantAffordD1Football

We believe it is time for Eastern Michigan University to transition away from D1 football. This isnt entirely about a poor record, constant turnover in coaching, or record-low attendance. EMU simply can’t afford to run a D1 football program and it is bankrupting the university.