September 23, 2016
Rynearson Stadium (Capacity: 30,200)
Ypsilanti, MI
Eastern Michigan Eagles vs Wyoming Cowboys
Final Score: 27 – 24
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A football trip to the state of Michigan began on a Friday Night with a visit to MAC member Eastern Michigan University. This large, public school is located in Ypsilanti (Ip-Sil-Anti), a city of only 19,000 in the southeast part of the state. Named after a general from the Greek Revolution, Ypsilanti is a grittier, more industrial town compared to their popular neighbors 20 minutes away in Ann Arbor. Eastern Michigan became a Division I school in the mid-1970s and their football team has traditionally struggled. Their last winning season was 1995 (only at 6-5) and the team has gone just 5-41 against FBS opponents in the last four years. 1987 was the lone special year as EMU won their only MAC championship and enjoyed an upset win in the California Bowl. Rynearson Stadium was built in 1969 and it is a basic facility quite typical of the Conference. In the last few years, the school has done a lot to try and stand out from the Wolverines down the road and to some extent, the changes have been good.
Prestige Ranking: 2.5 out of 5
Location
Ypsi has a mix of good and bad areas with the highlight being the small Depot Town section just north of downtown. There are several decent restaurants here and it is also close to a pair of museums; one for Michigan’s automotive history and the other recognizing firefighting. Downtown has an older feel and there are places to eat/drink here too. Both sections run over the Huron River, which cuts through town. The most visible sight throughout Ypsilanti is the water tower, which resembles, well, to put it eloquently, a male body part. It’s worth getting a closer look not just for comedy and selfie sake, but to also check out the history of the structure. Campus is on the western part of town and the stadium is even further west than that. The location is inside an athletic section and outside of that is just some apartment complexes.
Location Ranking: 5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Parking lots are found on the side of the stadium and they are more than enough for the standard crowds drawn to games. A full house though could be problematic for enough spaces. It is very easy to reach the stadium by car and the main highways for arrival are I-94 and US-23.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Exterior
The support beams and concrete skeleton of the stadium is mostly what visitors will see on the approach from the outside. A little bit of sprucing up is seen at the front entrance, where the school’s motto is found at top on the press box. At ground level, the entrance gates include a “Welcome to Rynearson Stadium” sign.
Exterior Ranking: 3.5 out of 10
Concourse and Food
The outside of the stadium and the concourse kind of blend together as the main area with lots of space is located at ground level behind the west stands. Concessions in this area are of the standard stadium variety, except the deceptive item plainly called “Sandwich”. It’s a monster loaded with goodies and the meat choices are pulled pork, beef or chicken. There is also a nearby Bearclaw Coffee Co. truck, offering a variety of hot and cold beverages. Stairs are needed to reach the walkway behind the south end zone and this exposed space is tighter (thanks to the basketball arena as an outer frame), but the food options are better with a couple of local trucks: one offering Arbor Brewing Company beers and the other, a variety of Italian-style sandwiches and paninis. Tables and a few chairs in this area are there for those looking to hang out. Continuing on to the concourse underneath the other sideline seats (generally for fans of the visiting team), it is dark and borderline creepy with nothing but a lonely concession stand and some bathrooms. The north end zone is not accessible to fans.
Concourse Ranking: 2.5 out of 5
Food Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Interior
Rynearson Stadium is a simple facility in that it basically consists of two sideline stands. Each of the seating sections are made up of metal bleachers and the shape of the stands is curved, which helps point fans towards the center. The downfall however is a track surrounding the football field, which puts the seating further away. The stands continue towards each south corner as a 1992 expansion led to an attachment of additional seating that is noticeable if paying close attention. This leads to a sloped grassy section behind the end zone. At the other end is open space and the football building. Eastern Michigan has tried to stand out in both the local and national scene by dubbing their stadium “The Factory”. I like the story behind it and the visuals throughout the stadium, with one exception. The field colored gray. Some like it, but I don’t as it is such a blah, dull and weird look for a football field. The Eagles’ block E logo can be spotted in many areas throughout the stadium and I do think the design cover over unused seats on the visitor’s sideline is a great visual enhancement. A large “Eastern” is painted on the wall of the beautiful Convocation Center just behind the grassy end zone area. One other side note: below the two story press box is a section of outdoor pseudo-seats of round tables and swivel chairs in a new loge section.
Interior Ranking: 5.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
Eastern’s scoreboard at the back of the north end zone is a small one and it has its share of problems. On a couple occasions, I found errors as the team name would disappear or the wrong down and distance was posted. The board features two center displays between ads. On the right is the game information with clear numbers, while the left side is a poor, grainy video that is hard to make out.
Scoreboard Ranking: 1 out of 4
Displays
Several of the “Factory” displays along with various green “E” logos give the generally dull stadium some life and color. Team achievements are lacking, but there is a display of Track and Field championships located on the ground-level wall on the West stands. Individual honors are found at the top of the East stands, where names of football standouts are lined up just above the top row of seating.
Displays Ranking: 2 out of 6
Cost
Tickets are the cheapest in the MAC and perhaps all of FBS as each seat only costs $15 if bought in advance ($20 for day-of-game tickets). Parking is a fair $5 and the concessions were reasonable too. A hot dog was $3, as was a 32oz soda. A meal combo cost just $8. The overall price for Eastern football is a bargain.
Cost Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Fan Support
This Friday Night event brought an estimate of 6,000 to 9,000 to the game, better than a typical showing as there is often a big time struggle to fill the stands. Eastern Michigan is certainly near the bottom of the FBS in terms of fan support and atmosphere. I’m not sure that winning teams will bring more out given their history and that the region is dominated by nearby Michigan football.
Fan Support Ranking: 2.5 out of 8
Atmosphere
Pre-game festivities include some tailgating and a small family fun zone. Inside the stadium, The Pride of the Peninsula marching band plays the school’s fight song as they form a block E. The players come out of the field house by taking a sledgehammer to a concrete wall as the fans welcome them into The Factory. These touches give EMU a bit of personality to stand out from other schools, which I like. I wasn’t a big fan of the cannon fired after points scored for the simple question of why? Just seems like it has no meaning and is there because it’s “cool”. While the crowd was small, those that did come out proceeded to make a decent amount of noise and they really wanted to see a win. Their noise may have even forced a false start, which led to a blocked field goal that led to a lot of cheering. The game-winning touchdown brought many to their feet and this small, communal atmosphere was better than what I have seen at some other larger schools.
Atmosphere Ranking: 7.5 out of 14
Other Stuff
Earlier in the week, a few bad and unsettling things occurred, which led to a student demonstration during the game. About 100-200 students spend the second half gathering on the hill and eventually they reached the track. Immediately after the clock hit 0, they came on to the field to demonstrate, which pushed the teams quickly to their locker room. The disappointment of not being able to salute their team after a home win led to boos from fans sitting in the stands…..The stadium is named after Elton Rynearson, the most successful football coach at the school, especially during the 1920s and 30s…..Eastern’s only decent period of football came in the early 20th century and as mentioned before, the team has built up a lot of losses. In the 1980s, there was a 27-game losing streak and as recently as 2009, the team went winless……I was surprised at the large amount of Wyoming fans at the game. That is quite the trip and there were several hundred in attendance wearing those beautiful gold and brown colors…..For decades, Eastern Michigan’s nickname was the “Hurons”, but that changed in 1991, shortly after the state prohibited athletic nicknames derived from Native American tribes. Eastern went with “Eagles” and during football games, a live Eagle (who is unable to survive in the wild) flies in during the National Anthem and makes appearances around the stadium during the game. It’s an impressive sight both up close and afar.
Game
This was quite the game as it began poorly for the home team with EMU QB Todd Porter throwing a Pick-6 early in the first quarter. The Cowboys built their lead to 17-3, but the Eagles came back with a pair of touchdowns, aided by big plays and we went to the half tied at 17. Eastern Michigan eventually went up 20-17 during a slower paced second half and things were going ok until Porter threw the most egregious interception I have ever seen live. With 12 minutes remaining, Logan Wilson had the easiest of picks and the Cowboy coasted into the endzone as Eagles fans saw an all-too-familiar story. Porter was pulled as it was his fourth interception of the game and backup Brogan Roback didn’t do well on his first series. However, EMU got the ball back and he led a great drive that finished with a 15-yard Ian Eriksen TD run. Just over a minute remained and the Eagle 27-24 lead held up as they won their first home game against a FBS opponent in nearly two years.
Fun Fact about this game. There was a player on the field that would bring me so many happy memories later in life. His name was Josh Allen. At the time, I didn’t even give him a second look or thought (like…”he’s good”). He went a modest 19 for 29 with 234 yards, 0 TD and 1 INT. Even more hard to believe, he ran 8 times for a total of 2 yards.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
Time for a new visit. Millions have been spent since you visited 8 years ago.