Collections : [Central Michigan University Clarke Historical Library]

This collection is the organizational records of Central Michigan University (CMU) Athletics, collected by CMU Athletics, consisting mainly of documentation of CMU athletic teams, athletes, and athletic staff, publications, some photographic materials, and other materials.

This collection is the organizational records of Central Michigan University (CMU) Athletics, collected by CMU Athletics, consisting mainly of documentation of CMU athletic teams, athletes, and athletic staff, publications, some photographic materials, and other materials. Processing is ongoing. Materials are mainly in overall good condition. The collection is incomplete and some materials are faded, especially ditto copies, and are hard to read. Some materials, mostly scrapbooks or materials that were in binders, suffered water damage due to flooding in the Athletics basement. Water damage items are so noted in the Box and Folder Listing.

The two largest series in this collection are Team Sports and then Student and Staff folders. These series document, to varying degree of completeness, all sports that existed at CMU up to 2019, mostly as official sports teams and some on what we would now consider the intramural level.

Materials in the Team Sports series, 1896-2019, 50.5 cubic feet (in Boxes 1-51) usually includes statistics, publications, and historical materials as well as other materials. The Team Sports series is organized alphabetically by sport and materials are organized chronologically and alphabetically by folder label within each team. Statistics includes box scores or results and may include team and individual results or box scores. Publications in the series are mainly from CMU, regional and national events and athletic organizations such as programs, fliers, facts and other brochures, variously titled news releases, and media guides. Multiple sports were featured in some seasonal brochures. Usually there is a copy of each program and media guide in each Team's folders for that season. Please see the description of the Publication Series below for more information about CMU publications. Another predominate form of publications in the series is newspaper clippings, from the Mount Pleasant area, Michigan, and out-of-state newspapers. Audiovisual material in the series includes: photographs, negatives, and galley proofs, and scrapbooks. The majority of the photographic materials and moving images in multiple formats remains in the Athletics building as of 2022. Other materials often found in the series such as historical materials folders listing annual statistics and team members, memos; letters of intent; student athletes, and lists of potential team members. Early sports and early women's sports have far less documentation than later sports. For example, both Men’s and Women's Cross-Country materials are few and often easily contained for an academic year in one folder. In contrast, the amount of documentation of the main sports of football and men's basketball is vast. There are also missing years of materials in various Team folders. For example, both Men’s and Women's Cross-Country materials are few and often easily contained for an academic year in one folder. High school sports camps and events held on campus are also documented in the collection. In Box 20 there is a rare letter about the need to cut spending on athletics publications. The contents of the folders for team sports are organized according to the wishes of CMU. Athletics from front to back in folders: photographs, publications, statistics, clippings. Abbreviations in the finding aid are those used by Athletics. The first time the abbreviation appears in the Box and Folder Listing in Team Sports it is spelled out. Later boxes may include some Team Sports material. For example Box 66 includes Gymnastic Meets folders with additional Gymnastic materials.

CMU. Athletics Student and Staff series is the largest series (originally approximately 50 cubic feet in 50 boxes). This is an incomplete series. Folders for some athletes and staff were missing before the collection was transferred to the Clarke. There are two subseries: folders of CMU student athletes who played on CMU sports teams Box 80-forward) and folders of CMU staff (Box 51-part of Box 54). Some staff folders are mixed in with the student folders. Athletics sometimes had a folder in both the staff and student series for a person who began as a CMU student athlete and later served in a staff position. CMU staff series includes: coaches, assistant coaches, graduate student assistants, CMU sports announcers, physicians, trainers, Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC) commissioners, SID (Sports Information Department, which generated newsletters), and even recognized CMU fans, such as Bob Kuck, the 1985 Baseball Fan of the Year (approximately 4 cubic feet in 4 boxes). The contents of each folder varies in amount, with prominent athletes and coaches having more material. In contrast most folders contain a single photograph or one to a few pieces of information, either text or photographic in nature. Types of materials typically found in these folders include photographs, usually mug shot-style, clippings, CMU news releases of various titles, statistics, and resumes, applications, and CMU’s Sports Information Background Form, all of which detail their biographical and sports history. The series is organized with coach boxes first, then students, alphabetically by surname. Labels include the name of the person, last name first, and the position/s they held or sport/s they played, and the dates spanning the contents of the material in the folder. In cases where there was no position specified, the processing students and the archivist researched through CMU publications to determine the person’s position. In a few cases where the label was entirely missing and the contents of the folder consisted of a single unidentified mug shot style photograph, we checked to see if the photograph included a negative number with a year. Most of the photographs in the collection were taken by CMU. University Communications staff or contract photographs who used a number sequence for negatives. For example, 77-23-4 means it is the fourth photograph on the 23rd reel of film taken in 1977. If we had a date, we researched through the sports teams programs for that year to identify the person. Sometimes there might be additional notes on a photograph that indicate which sport an unidentified athlete played or we could tell from an athlete’s physique which sports the athlete was most likely to play. We checked the specific sports programs for that year or years on either side of that date until we found a photograph which identified the athlete. The contents of the folders for coaches/staff/student athletes are organized according to the wishes of CMU. Athletics from front to back in folders: photographs, publications, statistics, clippings. Abbreviations in the finding aid are those used by Athletics. Sports teams names were spelled out and not abbreviated on these folder labels since the folders are not organized by teams. The only abbreviation widely used in this series is GA for Graduate Assistant.

The Publications series is another smaller series. It includes issues of multiple CMU publications including programs, media guides, Courtside, Football Sidelines, and variously titled news releases, which were not interfiled by CMU. Athletics into the Teams series. Notes about CMU Sports publications in general: The earlier, minor male and women’s sports publications were thinner and fewer with no or few images compared to their later twentieth century publications and to the main sports of football and men’s basketball. A page or two of dittoed information for the cross-country men’s team annual information contrasts with the same year’s glossy media guide and individual game programs for football. But even early football and men’s basketball publications were not as large and complete as later versions. In the late 1970s, for example, few of the football team members’ photographs appear in the programs or media guides. Photographs and statistical information about CMU athletes and coaches, statistics, season final box scores, scheduled games, historical information about star athlete and notable coaches, team and individual records and statistics, and similar information for opponent teams, including photographs, is usually included in the thicker programs and media guides.

Lastly is the Miscellaneous Series, 1896-2019, and undated, which is processed, 22 cubic feet (in 25 boxes and 1 Oversized scrapbook volume). Currently these box numbers begin with S(Scrapbook), T(Top, found on top of cabinets and tables), or M(Miscellaneous folders), until we complete processing. Miscellaneous includes materials that were originally in binders and scrapbooks documenting sports and some publications, some of which were damaged by flooding. Other parts of the Miscellaneous were waiting in piles to be interfiled mostly into the Teams Sports or Publications series when it was transferred to the Clarke, and includes publications, materials documenting CMU Athletics advertising, social media, marking plans and policies, budgets, scholastic and other achievement awards, CMU Athletic Hall of Fame lists, certifications for various team sports, banquets, training, reports, special projects and events such as the construction or opening of Theunissen Stadium, the Rose Center, and Indoor Athletic Complex (IAC), statistics, and more galley proofs. Six boxes of photographic materials remain to be processed.

Researchers may also be interested in several other collections with CMU athletic historical information in them, for example CMU photographs, CMU Information Services, CMU Public Relations and Marketing, and CMU UComm (Communications) at the Clarke. A small series of the collection, focused on CMU Hall of Fame Nominees and Winners, one film and one plaque was transferred to the Clarke before this main collection, and is separately cataloged. Also, CMU. Women's Softball and CMU Cross Country, Track and Field donated their own collections separately to the Clarke. A sample of athletics artifacts, including helmets, jerseys, trophies, and plaques, were transferred from CMU Athletics to the CMU Museum of Cultural and Natural History. Most photographs and recordings remain in the CMU. Athletics complex as per the wishes of CMU. Athletics.

Processing Notes:

We have followed requests for processing and withdrawing as per CMU. Athletics. The contents of the folders for team sports and coaches/staff/student athletes are organized according to the wishes of CMU. Athletics from front to back in folders: photographs, publications, statistics, clippings.

Abbreviations in the finding aid are those used by Athletics. The first time the abbreviation appears in the Box and Folder Listing it is spelled out.

The collection, as transferred to the Clarke, is incomplete. As of July 2024, 22 cubic feet of student folders and photographic materials remains to be processed in the Clarke. 26 cubic feet of materials have been withdrawn from the collection during processing. Withdrawn materials include: duplicates and peripheral material, as well as acidic or thermal copies of materials which were photocopied and the copies retained in the collection. Due to resources, the massive number of clippings in the collection, clippings were not photocopied or scanned as this would have doubled the processing time. News articles for digitized newspapers, such as CMLife and its predecessors CSLife and CNormalLife, or those that only peripherally mentioned CMU, were withdrawn, the rest of the clippings were retained. The only time CMLife articles were retained in the collection was when it was necessary, due to an absence of other information, to explain who someone was, as in the case of MAC Commissioners when only a photograph with a name on it was in the original folder. Non-Michigan materials were retained only if they document CMU athletic history, athletes, or coaches beyond a mere mention such as "CMU plays [or played] here Tues night." Volumes, mostly scrapbooks that were entirely acidic were retained in their current state. Social security numbers on rosters and lists were blacked out with a marker and then photocopied, and the copies were retained in the collection. Also, galley proofs and large caches of photographs were not individually sleeved due to Clarke resources.

This is part of the historical organizational records of Central Michigan University (CMU) Athletics. Most of the collection includes Hall of Fame materials, or other athletic awards.

This is part of the historical organizational records of Central Michigan University (CMU) Athletics that were housed for many years in Athletics. Most of the collection includes Hall of Fame materials, or other athletic awards. Materials are in very good condition.

The following series are documented here: High School athletic events held at CMU; Hall of Fame Board Meeting Files; Hall of Fame Nominees; Swimming Score Books; and 1 folder each: CMU-Athletics News Releases, January – July 1984, and CMU-Athletics Sports Statistics book, August 1985 – May 1987.

High School athletic events held at CMU. This series includes 1 box, .5 cubic foot, 1940, 1981 (incomplete). Included in this series are: programs and agendas, coaching and team and individual statistics, newspaper clippings (copies) and photographic materials. Also included in the collection are the record of the “winningest” high school coaches in Michigan. The high school athletic events series is organized chronologically by year and within each year alphabetically by surname of nominees.

Hall of Fame Board Meeting Files: This series includes 2 boxes, 1 cubic feet, 1983-2000, and undated. Included in this series are: programs, canceled checks, meeting minutes, agendas, canceled checks and attachments. The collection also contains the CMU Hall of Fame selection committee list as well as undated hall of nominee names. The Hall of Fame Board Meeting Files series is organized chronologically by year and within each year alphabetically by surname of nominees.

Hall of Fame Nominees: This series includes 4 boxes, 1.75 cubic feet, 1984-2005, and undated. Included in this series are: hall of fame dinner agendas, Hall of Fame selection letters, statistics, newspaper clippings (copies), and photographic materials. Hall of fame nominees were CMU student athletes in any sport. Several of the nominees listed in this series are mentioned with their nicknames. This is an excellent source for researching CMU athletes, particularly those of CMU and national fame. The Hall of Fame Nominees series is organized chronologically by year and within each year alphabetically by surname of nominees.

Box 9 (.5 cubic foot) includes a mixture of Athlete awards, MAC (Midwest Athletic Conference), IIAC (Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which existed 1908-1970), and NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) letters, programs, and awards, 1947-2002 (scattered), and CMU Intramural handbooks, 1951-1952, 1965-1975.

Swimming Score Books: This series includes 12 volumes, cubic foot. 1968-1980. Included in this series are: statistics for CMU swimming competitions for men and individual swimmers. The collection consist of Mid-American conference swimming championship results. The Swimming score book series is organized chronologically by year.

CMU-Athletics News Releases, January – July 1984. This is 1 folder in Box 7. News Releases were a periodic paper news update from CMU. Information Services unit, currently UComm.

CMU-Athletics Sports Statistics book, August 1985 – May 1987. This is 1 folder in Box 7. These are various end of the season statistics for most CMU sports on a wide variety of papers in different sizes and styles.

(This information is from the collection. A list of all CMU Athletic Hall of Fame inductees is available on the CMU Athletics website (as of November 2018).)

Oversized Materials: CMU Kelly-Shorts Stadium Blue lines, measures 3.75 x 2.5 feet, 1997. The first four pages in the blue-line, A-001 through A-004, were created by Hobbs and Black Associates, Inc. Page “5”, which is unlabeled, was from Schwab-Eaton. Pages “6” and “7” (both labeled but unreadable), S-1, F-1, E-3, and page “11” (labeled but unreadable) were from Eberle M. Smith Associates, Inc. Pages C-101 through C-109 were from Mears Engineering, Inc. The remainder of the pages in the series, AS-101 through A-804, were from Hobbs and Black Associates, Inc. Damages are concentrated mainly at the beginning and end of the series of pages, though almost all pages have slight frayed/folded/damaged outer edges. Damages include various stains on A-001, the first page of the document. A-002 through page “11” have water damage to the upper right corners of the pages. In addition to this water damage in the upper right corner, F-1 through page “11” also have blue ink smudges throughout the pages. C-102 has an old tape mark in the bottom left corner of the page. C-103 is not fully attached to the rest of the document. C-104 has water damage in the upper right corner. C-107 through AS-103 have water damage in the upper right corners of the pages. A-103 and A-105 (missing) have been ripped out of the document, but the left edges of these pages remain attached. A-121 has what looks like coffee stains in the middle of the page. A-122 has water damage in the upper right corner. A-803 is not fully attached to the document, and has a very frayed right edge. A-724 has some water damage and smudged ink throughout, and is also the last fully attached page of the document. A-801 through A-804 are the final three pages in the document, and are not attached. Each of these pages are heavily folded and frayed, and page A-804 has a partially ripped off bottom right corner. CMU R. Perry-Shorts Stadium Presentation Site Plan, measures 2.15 x 1.75 feet, [1970?]. The CMU R. Perry-Shorts Stadium was built in 1971 by Hobbs and Black Associates, Inc. and opened in November, 1972. This original site plan drawing was done with a combination of pencil, watercolor paint, and possibly crayon. The drawing is detailed, but not drawn to scale. The colors include a mixture of vibrant blues, greens, black and brown. The drawing is acidic, with a cardboard base. There is slight damage to the site plan, including scratches on the drawing, and glue remnants on the perimeter of the drawing leftover from a previously attached boarder. Attached is a narrative description of the stadium describing the context of when it was built, taken from the Clarke Historical Library. (For information on Shorts see his collection which is also housed at the Clarke.)

Also included is an edited moving image film of Central Michigan University v. University of Delaware playing each other at the Carmellita Bowl, 1974 (in 1 film canister). Film Id number: 76497-1. Format: 16 mm, color, magnetic sound. Date: 1974. Size: 1000 ft. Physical information: .05" shrinkage. By Katie Zwick and Matt Hood, fall 2019. Overview of scenes: Footage starts during game - Central v. the University of Delaware. Field sign is "NCAA"; end zones signs are "Carmellita Bowl." Film is edited, not continuous. Color is good at beginning, gets lighter about a quarter of the way in, then visibility keeps changing. About three-quarters of the way in, a red tint starts to appear (color dye fading to magenta). There are no names on players' uniforms. Shots of CMU cheerleaders dancing on sidelines. Marching band is visible on sidelines. Occasional shots of crowd. Halftime show is band and color guard. Student signs are visible in stands. Occasional shots of score boards. Crowd rushes the field at the end of the game. Final score is 54-14 Chippewas. Miscellaneous information: we retained the original black leaders on the film.

Processing Note: As of 12/3/18 .5 cubic foot of materials were withdrawn during collection, mostly acidic materials which were photocopied. The photocopies were retained.

This incomplete collection is composed of historical materials donated by the CMU Department of Mathematics in 2024 and department materials previously housed in the CMU Vertical Files collection.

This incomplete collection is composed of historical materials donated by the CMU Department of Mathematics in 2024 and department materials previously housed in the CMU Vertical Files collection. The collection includes departmental meeting minutes, correspondence, including some with CMU President Charles L. Anspach, brochures, fliers, posters, publications, including New Letters with a note from CMU President Eugene C. Warriner, clippings, photographs, and images printed from CDs, documenting staff, students, and award winners, and mathematics conferences and students events held at CMU. The collection is organized alphabetically and chronologically and is in good physical condition.

Processing Note: 1.25 cubic feet of the collection was withdrawn during processing, mostly duplicates and inaccessible storage media, such as floppy and hard discs, cassettes, and zip drives. Acidic correspondence was photocopied and the copies were retained in the collection. A few CMU college-level fliers were added to the CMU Vertical Files and two issues of two serials were cataloged.

This collection includes aerial photographs, building photographs, related documents, and a newspaper article documenting CMU’s buildings and campus. Materials relate to CMU’s planning, land acquisition, development, and building construction.

This collection includes aerial photographs, building photographs, related documents, and a newspaper article documenting CMU’s buildings and campus. Materials relate to CMU’s planning, land acquisition, development, and building construction. Photographs in this collection include the construction process of Anspach Hall, the 1966 addition to Grawn Hall, the groundbreaking for Wightman Hall, the exterior of the first and second heating plants, the Power House, the exterior and interior of the Physical Plant, students inside Finch Fieldhouse, a house on the site of what is currently the North Art Studio, and aerial views of various sizes of campus. Additionally, there is a letter from CMU to Roger Allen and Associates, Grand Rapids, CMU’s long-time architectural firm, summarizing a meeting, two campus zoning maps, and presentation drawings by the firm of campus buildings including the University Center and South Quadrangle. There is also a newspaper article (copy) about how CMU was preparing for the 1960s by planning and building new infrastructure.

The collection includes materials related to Dow/Veit’s Woods and Wendrow Estates. There are four site maps of the Dow/Veit’s Woods area and three Surveyor’s Certificates (copies) for Wendrow Estates.

A significant portion of the collection is a series of aerial survey photographs (in the boxes) from between 1970 and 2002. These were taken by Abrams Aerial Survey Corporation, Air-Land Surveys, Inc., and Advanced Mapping Technologies. Each folder corresponds to a single flight line. Notable landmarks or roads were noted on the back of the first photograph in each folder by the student processor to assist researchers. The series is incomplete. The following photographed sections are missing; DEL 2, DDT 4, 16, 17, 46, FYS 21, JMK 1, 4, 11, 12, 18, KMU 4, 12, 18.

Oversized aerial photographs by Abrams Aerial Survey Corporation are in the oversized folders. There is one from 1942 and a series of eight from 1984.

Access to the digitized architectural CMU buildings and grounds records will occur in the future.

Researchers may be interested in other Roger Allen, CMU buildings, and campus aerial collections in the Clarke Historical Library.

Processing Notes:

During processing a handful of newspapers and duplicates were withdrawn. Acidic materials were photocopied, and the originals were retained in the collection. One brochure was added to the CMU Vertical Files.

This collection is the official organizational records of the CMU. Honors Program and the related Honors Council

This collection is the official organizational records of the CMU. Honors Program and the related Honors Council. The collection consists of seven series including: Student Biographies, 2006-2015 (Box 1 - 3), Honors Council Minutes, 1961-1995 (Boxes 3 - 4), Honors Council, Academic Senate, Minutes, 1996-2018 (Boxes 4 - 5), Subject Files, 1961-2021 (Boxes 5 - 8), Audiovisual Media, 1968-2012 (Boxes 9-10), Objects, 2013 (Box 11), and Posters, 1992-2009 (Oversize Folder 1). The Student Biographies series includes biographical sheets completed by competitors for Centralis scholarships and Freshmen Honors students. There is no standard format or medium. Besides the biographies, the sheets may include collages, art, poems, songs, and photographs. Some of the biographies originally included materials with battery-operated materials. Minutes usually include agendas, minutes, and attachments, such as communications, reports, proposals, scholarship information, and other materials. The Subject Files series begins with several histories of Honors describing its beginnings and major changes. Program history is also documented in the course description guides, course outlines, Beaver Island class trips, program reviews, policy and procedure manuals, fundraising, scholarships, and endowment scholarships. Information about Honors related organizations including the Honors Outreach Network, the Honors Philanthropic Society, and the Honors Alumni Board is included, as well as three self-published books. Audiovisual Media includes an advertisement video, an Inside Central segment with Ed Long, and many photographic materials, which are largely both undated and unidentified. However, there are folders of photographs organized by occasion or group, including Beaver Island, Centralis, The Claude S. Larzelere Trivia Contest, Directors, Talent Show, the Stratford Festival, and Volunteer Work, among others. The Objects series includes two plastic CMU Honors Program 2013 Winter Charity Ball wine glasses. The Posters series mostly pertain to Centralis Scholars, but also include a timeline on the program’s history, and a photograph of Maestria en Administration Internacional, Cohort 5, 1998. This last poster is the only item in Spanish in the collection. Overall, the collection is in very good physical condition. The collection is in alphabetical and chronological order by series. Boxes 1 through 9 are cubic foot boxes. Box 10 is a letter sized .25 cubic foot box. Box 11 is a small odd sized box.

Researchers may be interested in knowing information on specific scholarships can be found by searching for both the scholarship’s specific title and the general term “scholarships.” Handbooks may also be found in program reviews or Honors Council minutes for a given year. More information on specific classes might be in the Honors Council minutes. Additional information on Honors may be found in multiple CMU organizational records collections and the papers of Dr. Charles Westie which are in his wife, Ardith Westie’s, papers, in the Clarke Historical Library. Dr. Westie was one of the first people who pushed to create the honors program.

Processing Note: During processing 21.5 cubic feet of miscellaneous financial and other materials, evaluations, search committee materials, duplicates, reading and generic materials, lists of prospective students, social security numbers, and unidentified biographical sheets were withdrawn. Acidic materials were photocopied, and the copies were maintained within the collection. A sampling was retained of the following materials: Centralis Scholarships, Graduation materials and The Claude trivia contest materials. The Claude is otherwise recorded in CMLife. CMU mascot information was interfiled into the Clarke’s CMU Vertical files. Photographs, negatives, and biographical sheets were not rehoused due to the vast quantity in the collection and the Clarke’s current resources. In the biographies, wires and batteries were removed.