Prioritize

Cougar Athletics

When identifying priorities in my community I am going to look at Cougar Athletics as a whole. We need to reach out into our surrounding communities to get support and involvement for our future. MRU is looking to move its athletics into the CIS in the near future. By doing so we are going to need to make some adjustments.

I feel there are three main ideas that must take priority:

Athlete Retention

Moving into the CIS means that recruiting will become even more important than it already is. MRU has already broadened its appeal to athletes, as it now has university status.  Now retention is going to be key to build strong programs that can compete competitively at the CIS level. MRU should make a goal to keep its athletes throughout their years of eligibility so that they no longer move on to other universities. This way when MRU is granted CIS status its athletes will have the mentality that they are going to play out their eligibility as MRU Cougars.

Social Responsibility

There are multiple existing programs that help the community but we could do so much more. There are a lot of athletes, when combined all together and many are minimally involved outside of playing their sport. The athletes should make a collective effort to band together and invest more time into helping the surrounding community. By doing so we would form many beneficial relationships with fans, sponsors, potential recruits, etc.

The Fans!

Fans make playing fun. When the fans are pumped up and drawn into the game, it becomes infinitely more fun to play (or at least I think so). We need to recognize our fans and appreciate them. They need to be attracted to attending our events because they play so many roles. Fans watch our games and cheer really loud, but they are also important part when it comes to funding our programs. Many fans pay entrance fees and make donations that contribute that making our athletics as successful as they are. They need to be recognized on all levels for all their contributions to ours athletics. This way we can attract more fans and ultimately have a larger crowd, more money for scholarships, and a larger community to back us when we need it most.

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We want our community and those surrounding us to share the enthusiasm and commitment that our varsity athletes hold. Everyone’s involvement is crucial and greatly appreciated for making MRU Cougar Athletics great.