I had a chance to ask CMU President George Ross how athletics is and could be affected by the faculty work stoppage. Here is his answer:

"There are a minimum number of teaching days required in order for intercollegiate athletes to stay eligible. I will leave it at that. Right now, football is in practice. Soccer is playing. Volleyball is playing. Athletes are on campus. We have to get back to class. It could have an adverse effect on our ability to play intercollegiate sports. It could have an adverse effect on our ability to issue financial aid. Because there are certain requirements by the federal government."

This could be a problem if the strike continues for a long period of time.

In an interesting development between peers, Michigan State Athletic Director, Mark Hollis, issued a friendly challenge to CMU AD Dave Heeke and Michigan AD David Brandon on his twitter account.

@Dave_Heeke @DaveBrandonAD Twitter challenge to U 2 to bring any 3 alums from UR Univ. with U to East Lansing for a four-man best ball.

Heeke answered the challenge

@MSUAD @DaveBrandonAD Sounds great, the Chippewas are in! Should be great fun w/ great people!

Brandon also accepted

@MSUAD @Dave_Heeke Twitter challenge accepted - I'm in! July is good. One of my alums who will be joining us played in this year's Masters!!

Now, in terms of the actual golf challenge, CMU is in a tough place as MSU and Michigan have golf programs that have put out some pretty talented players. Heeke will have to really do his research.

On another note, it is interesting that Hollis reached out to CMU, but not Eastern or Western.

Here is a good article that I think sums up the position of all of these AD's that have been put in question for their participation in the Fiesta Frolic.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/D4/20110427/BLUERAIDERS01/104270323/Massaro-No-conflict-interest-bowl-retreat?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Sports|p

It is important for AD's like Dave Heeke to be at "convention-like" events such as these because how else is he going to land scheduling with teams like N.C. State and a future Big XII opponent. Just some more food for thought.

Dave Heeke's name appeared in a story about the Fiesta Bowl scandal as he was part of of the NCAA panel that attended "Fiesta Frolic".

Here is the story, courtesy of ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6425741

Not much really Heeke can do about this. He was treated to the event, it just now raises questions about the panel's ability to rule on whether the Fiesta Bowl keeps it license.

Heeke was actually present at the event for conference meetings. The Fiesta Frolic has been a yearly event for all athletic directors and head football coaches, but because Heeke is part of this NCAA subcommittee, his name got picked out for the story. Heeke wasn't invited to the event because he is part of the committee, it was because he is an athletic director.

Central Michigan President George Ross sent out an email to faculty on Tuesday with the following included:

"The university also announced a new three-year contract for Athletics Director David Heeke effective Jan. 1, 2011, through June 30, 2014. Heeke’s base salary compensation remains the same and several incentive opportunities have been included in the contract."

I got confirmation from Heeke on the contract. Here is the story and some more information on the contract:

http://www.themorningsun.com/articles/2011/01/11/sports/doc4d2caac376cfb509842312.txt

I was able to get a look at Ernie Zeigler’s new contract with CMU and here are some of the notables when it comes to incentives:

-For winning the MAC West Division regular season title, Zeigler will get $5,000
-If he is named MAC Coach of the Year, he gets $7,500
-If CMU win the Mid-American Conference Tournament or wins the MAC regular season title, he gets $10,000. If they win both, he gets $15,000
-For appearing in the NCAA Tournament, Zeigler gets $10,000. Other Tournament achievements include making the second round ($15,000), Sweet 16 ($20,000), Elite Eight ($25,000), Final Four ($30,000), Championship game ($40,000), National Champions ($75,000). It is my understanding that he will just get one payment for a tournament run, not each individual total added together.
-If CMU finishes with a top 100 RPI or is in the NIT Tournament, Zeigler will get $7,500. If they do both, he still gets just the $7,500. For each NIT win he gets $3,000 and winning the tournament would give Zeigler an additional $10,000.
-Zeigler will get $5,000 if the average home attendance is 2,000 or more.
-For each home game that exceeds attendance of 2,800, Zeigler will get a $1,000 payment per-game.
-If CMU has an Annual Progress Rate (APR) over 925, Zeigler will get a payment of $5,000.
-If CMU finishes in the regular season in the AP or Coaches Top 25 Poll, Zeigler will receive $7,500. If CMU is in both, he still gets just the $7,500.
-Zeigler will receiver 20 percent of net profit from the CMU summer camps each year.
-In the media and public appearances, Zeigler gets $25,000 this next year, but the amount increases in each year of the contract. In the 2011-12 season, it will be $30,264. In the 2012-13 season, it will be $35,690, and in the 2013-14 season, it will be $41,272.
-CMU currently plays two guarantee games each year. Those are games that bring in revenue of at least $60,000 from the opponents (i.e. a Purdue or Michigan State). Should Zeigler negotiate a third guarantee game, $10,000 of that will go to men’s basketball recruiting budget and the remainder will be used specifically toward men’s basketball with the spending approved by Zeigler and CMU A.D. Dave Heeke.
-Should Zeigler be terminated this year, he will be paid $525,000. That drops to just over $368,000 the following season and down to over $193,000 the season after.
-Zeigler has a buyout of $500,000 if he is to leave before the start of the 2012 season. It drops to $250,000 if he leaves during the 2012 season or before the start of the 2013 season. It would then drop to $125,000 for the third year in the contract and would be just $75,000 if he leaves in the final year of his contract.

Those are the details of the contract. Certainly Zeigler can make a lot if the Chippewas have a big season and with Trey committing to the, it opens the door for a lot of possibilities.

I've had some people comment to me about the the timeliness of the Trey Zeigler announcement and the release of Ernie's new contract with Central Michigan. Just to clear things up, CMU was going to extend Zeigler's contract no matter what Trey decided.

CMU had been in negotiations with Ernie for weeks before the deal was finalized on Tuesday. There was actually a deal on the table for Ernie weeks ago, but like all negotiations, some changes were made to satisfy both parties.

If anything, Zeigler's contract extension is what made Trey coming to CMU possible. Certainly had Ernie not gotten an extension, Trey wouldn't have felt comfortable coming to CMU. Trey wanted to know that his father would be at CMU throughout his college playing days in order for him to become a Chippewa.

Dave Heeke has shown in the past that he has extended the contracts of the coaches that put together a winning formula. The two divisional titles and the continual incline of the team's season win total was enough for him to offer an extension to Zeigler and no recruit was going to change that.

Central Michigan men's basketball coach Ernie Zeigler and Athletics Director Dave Heeke have reached a verbal agreement on a new 4-year contract sources close to the situation tell me.

The new deal will pay Zeigler just under $200,000 guaranteed this season and will begin immediately. The deal includes a $20,000 annual payment for media obligations and have a base salary over $175,000 in the first year of the deal with an undisclosed percentage raise after each season.

The new contract is also very incentive based which could pay Zeigler a lot more money if he finds himself winning Mid-American Conference titles and making NCAA Tournament appearances. Other incentives include attendance rates and graduation rates.

While the deal has yet to be signed, it is expected to be made official over the next few days.

I have had some people mention to me today that Mick McCabe of the Detroit Free Press mentioned on Lansing radio today that Dave Heeke's contract offer to Ernie Zeigler is only if Trey Zeigler agrees to come to CMU. I can state that that is completely untrue.

Here is what is going on:
-There is a 4-year offer on the table to Ernie right now. The sides are still discussing details of the offer. Right now, the new contract would feature a pay increase in base salary and in media compensation. The guaranteed money is believed to be in the range of $200K per-year.
-I am uncertain of what details the sides are still trying to iron out.
-No matter where Trey signs to play college basketball, this is the offer that will remain for Ernie. CMU has not and will not change the contract based on where Trey goes to school. They are basing the offer on Ernie's coaching performance thus far.

Just wanted to clear that up. Dave Heeke would be crazy to hold a coach hostage as McCabe accused him of. Heeke has a track record of offering extensions and salary increases to coaches that win titles and I am sure he will continue to do the same with Ernie if he continues to win MAC West and overall championships.

George Ross, welcome to Central Michigan University.
Being the new President of CMU, I know you have a lot of things to address.
As you get comfortable in your new position, I have one suggestion for you to take care of as soon as possible.
Athletics Director Dave Heeke needs a new contract.
Currently working on a year-by-year contract at under $170,000 per-year, Heeke is among the lowest paid in the country for his position and in the Mid-American Conference, yet he has done a number of positive things for the university that have benefited all aspects of the school.
Since beginning the position in January of 2006, there hasn’t been a situation Heeke hasn’t had to face.
In four years time, Heeke has had to hire numerous coaches, including two football, one women’s basketball and one men’s basketball.
Those three sports and their success are all vital to the fundraising dollars that help keep a university’s athletic program afloat.
In football alone, the hire of Butch Jones resulted in two Mid-American Conference championships and a top-25 national ranking. The success of the football program has clearly brought in more attention from alumni and prospective students through national television exposure.
But, it isn’t just about hiring for Heeke.
From the start of his time in Mt. Pleasant, Heeke’s focus and attention has been on making CMU athletics as strong as it can be through marketing and fundraising.
Heeke has traveled all over the country to sell the Chippewa name and tap into new resources for bringing in money to not only athletics, but the university. There is no doubt that the increase in interest for athletics has opened the doors to new academic projects on campus.
Heeke’s efforts have helped bring CMU from $650,000 annually in fundraising for athletics to now over $1.2 million annually.
Those fundraising dollars have helped improve the facilities that CMU currently uses as Kelly/Shorts Stadium has received numerous upgrades in appearance from simple paint jobs to a new video scoreboard. The entire Indoor Athletic Facility has seen improvements in appearance and added a study hall through the help of alumni like Dick Enberg.
There will also be the new CMU Events Center opening next basketball season that was no small task for athletics to make happen. In tight economic times, Heeke used a slow and steady approach to reach the $21 million goal that made this project a reality. The Events Center will not only help athletics but make the university more attractive for future concerts, graduations, and other public attractions.
Perhaps the biggest honor Heeke has helped CMU achieve is the Cartwright Award, which is awarded to the MAC university that most completely demonstrates citizenship and academic and athletic success. The Chippewas were the first school to ever win this honor.
Now remember, all of this has been done with an athletic budget that is also among the lowest in the MAC and the country. The low budget has forced Heeke to have to seek “big money” games for football where the team has to play a very difficult game against a high-profile opponent in order to collect a sizeable check that will help all athletic programs.
Heeke has clearly been a positive for CMU since coming to the university and the lack of support for athletics from former president Michael Rao has made his life difficult, yet he has still found a way to succeed.
But, with a low budget and a salary that is not even comparable to his conference peers, what is going to keep Heeke around.
For his efforts, Heeke doesn’t even have job security to know that he will be around for a number of years. He simply has to hope his year-to-year contract will be renewed.
What he deserves is a multi-year contract with a salary that is at least average to other athletic directors in the MAC.
Fans, supporters, and alumni have all taken a new pride in CMU athletics over recent years and Heeke is the man behind the scenes that has made it all possible and he will quickly become a hot commodity around the country, if he isn’t already.
Mr. Ross, you need to give Heeke a reason to keep making positive things happen for the university, or the trends we have all seen where successful administrators and coaches head elsewhere for brighter pastures could soon apply here as well.

By DREW ELLIS
Sun Sports Writer

Central Michigan seemed to have its 2010 football schedule set in stone early in the 2009 season, but like all things, nothing is certain, as the Chippewas have had to make some big changes in recent weeks.
The most recent change comes in the scheduled season opener at Virginia Tech.
ESPN has managed to put together a meeting between Virginia Tech and Boise State for the opening weekend of the 2010 season, thus leaving the Chippewas in the dark.
Instead of losing the Hokies as an opponent, the game will now be moved to Oct. 9, and CMU will instead host a Football Championship Subdivision school yet to be named on Thursday of Labor Day weekend to kick start the Dan Enos era.
While the team hasn’t been confirmed, sources close to CMU expect the opponent to be Hampton.
Another scheduled game for 2010 was to be Indiana visiting CMU for the second game in a three-game series.
The Chippewas went to Indiana in 2008, and the Hoosiers were set to come here in 2010 and then CMU would again return to Indiana in the near future.
With the Hoosiers pulling out of this year’s game to take up another opportunity, CMU is holding strong that Indiana has broken its contract agreement.
The contract states that either team that breaks off the second game in this three-game series must pay $150,000. For the third game not being played, the responsible party would have to pay $200,000. CMU is claiming that Indiana is responsible for the loss of both games as the Chippewas are electing to not play the third game since the Hoosiers broke a promise of coming to Mt. Pleasant in 2010. Thus, Indiana would owe CMU $350,000.
Indiana is arguing that it is only responsible for the second game not happening and that the third game could still go on as scheduled, thus CMU would owe $50,000, subtracting the difference of the two games.
CMU has taken legal action on this and a decision is now in the hands of judges to determine which school will have money taken out of its pocket.
With the loss of the Indiana home game, the Chippewas will now head to Northwestern for a seventh road game, and only have five games at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in 2010.

Central Michigan University Athletic Director Dave Heeke will have a busy weekend as he will be going through final interviews with a group of six finalists for the head football coaching vacancy.
The interviews will take place outside of the CMU campus this weekend in order to decide on a final choice.
The final candidates are Mike Bajakian (CMU Offensive Coordinator), Steed Lobotzke (Wake Forest Offensive Coordinator), Curt Mallory (Illinois Defensive Backs Coach), Dan Enos (Michigan State Running Backs Coach), Scot Loeffler (Florida Quarterbacks Coach), and Erik Campbell (Iowa Wide Receivers and Tight Ends Coach).
Campbell is the late addition to the list but he has Michigan ties, having graduated from Michigan in 1988 and having coached with the Wolverines from 1995-2007, including being the assistant head coach from 2003-07. Campbell has coached the last two years with Iowa.
As of now, CMU doesn’t have a frontrunner and the administration has not interviewed one candidate more than others.
The key in the final interviews will be on which candidate has the best coaching staff put together.
The hopes for CMU is to have a final choice by Sunday where it can begin negotiations to have a formal announcement early next week.