while I was at Ben Davis High School covering TH South's boys basketball game. I ran into former Sycamore receiver and baseball player Demetrius Dowler. Dowler is an assistant coach on the Giants' top-ranked girls basketball team and he also coaches softball at the school.
As I sat and talked with Demetrius before the varsity game started, I reminded him about the ISU Football Alumni group that we've started and how we wanted him to take part. During our conversation, he related a story to me that sadly I have heard from other former Indiana State players.
He told me that a few years back, when ISU was under other athletic department leadership, he returned for a game at Memorial Stadium. He said that he was down on the sidelines before the game, talking with equipment manager Bob Elson when someone from the athletic department came over and demanded to know who he was and why was he standing on the sidelines.
Demetrius explained what he was doing and the other person stormed off. Later, the athletic director at the time came back and told him that he had to leave the sidelines and sit in the stands. Dowler said that he told the athletic director that he would go to the stands but that game would be the last he would ever attend at ISU. And he hasn't been back since.
I have unfortunately heard similar tales from other former players who came back for games. They were treated rudely and with disrespect. And now we wonder why alums often shun the university or their former teams.
I think it's fair to say, though, that there has been a dramatic attitude shift since Ron Prettyman took over and John Sherman became the contact man for former players. But in trying to get the ISU Football Alumni group off the ground, those are the type of stories I often hear.
Luckily, after my chat with Demetrius Friday night, I think that he is going to join our group and become more active in what we're doing. He still wants to be a part of the ISU football family.
But those are the type of battles that we've been facing in trying to get guys back in the fold. They've been burned in the past by the shortsightedness of former ISU athletic officials. Let's hope that we never go back to that kind of attitude.
As I sat and talked with Demetrius before the varsity game started, I reminded him about the ISU Football Alumni group that we've started and how we wanted him to take part. During our conversation, he related a story to me that sadly I have heard from other former Indiana State players.
He told me that a few years back, when ISU was under other athletic department leadership, he returned for a game at Memorial Stadium. He said that he was down on the sidelines before the game, talking with equipment manager Bob Elson when someone from the athletic department came over and demanded to know who he was and why was he standing on the sidelines.
Demetrius explained what he was doing and the other person stormed off. Later, the athletic director at the time came back and told him that he had to leave the sidelines and sit in the stands. Dowler said that he told the athletic director that he would go to the stands but that game would be the last he would ever attend at ISU. And he hasn't been back since.
I have unfortunately heard similar tales from other former players who came back for games. They were treated rudely and with disrespect. And now we wonder why alums often shun the university or their former teams.
I think it's fair to say, though, that there has been a dramatic attitude shift since Ron Prettyman took over and John Sherman became the contact man for former players. But in trying to get the ISU Football Alumni group off the ground, those are the type of stories I often hear.
Luckily, after my chat with Demetrius Friday night, I think that he is going to join our group and become more active in what we're doing. He still wants to be a part of the ISU football family.
But those are the type of battles that we've been facing in trying to get guys back in the fold. They've been burned in the past by the shortsightedness of former ISU athletic officials. Let's hope that we never go back to that kind of attitude.
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