Eastern Kentucky University is now a member of the ASUN Athletic Conference. It became official Thursday and it was recognized with a blowout fan event at a local Richmond eatery.
Eastern administrators and coaches told fans about what they view as benefits to a conference rooted in the southeast U.S. ASUN Commissioner Ted Gumbart said the conference and EKU’s future plans go hand in hand.
“We want to provide value to the Alumni. We want to provide value to your development people, value to your marketing team, and value to everybody that recruits, not just coaches,” said Gumbart.
Gumbart said the next decade will be a challenge with fewer college-aged students. He and Eastern officials said the move opens up new avenues for attracting students to the Richmond school. EKU left the Ohio Valley Conference in which it was a charter member. Many EKU coaches and administrators had ties to the OVC for decades. But, Roan echoed a comment made by Eastern President David McFaddin to those gathered in a local restaurant by saying, “if the focus is on the last 73 instead of the next 73, shame on us.”
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