Eagles Return To Field Defending Big Sky Champs Launch Practice Monday
Defending Big Sky Conference football champion Eastern Washington University returns to practice this week in preparation for the 1998 season.
Fifth-year Eastern head coach Mike Kramer will welcome 27 new players today.
On Saturday, the rest of the Eagles report, with testing and other meetings taking place Sunday. Practices for all 90 players begin Monday at 9:15 a.m.
“We’re excited about being the defending Big Sky Conference champions,” Kramer said. “It’s a new challenge for us, and we’ll do everything in our power to defend the title. Besides, the trophy looks pretty good sitting in my office.”
The Eagles will have two weeks of two-a-day practices, with scrimmages scheduled for Aug. 22 and Aug. 28. Both scrimmages will begin at 6:45 p.m. at Woodward Stadium and are open to the public.
Eastern opens the season Sept. 5 at Idaho at 6:05 p.m. Eastern’s home and Big Sky Conference opener is Sept. 12 against Portland State at Woodward Stadium. The game will be televised live by Fox Sports Northwest at 7:35 p.m.
Kramer returns 34 letter winners from last season’s squad that finished 12-2 and advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA final four. Kramer lost 15 senior starters from that team, as well as five assistant coaches, who left for jobs at Big Sky rival Weber State University.
“I feel like a new coach at a new school,” Kramer said. “Essentially, it’s like starting over when you have the fewest returning starters in the league and have five new coaches.”
‘The Slant’ visits EWU
A production crew from Host Communication’s MainStreet Productions in Lexington, Ky., will be in Cheney on Aug. 21-22 to videotape an episode of “The Slant” college football show.
The half-hour show will air on Fox Sports Northwest and other affiliates of the Fox Sports Net in September. The host of the show is Tim Beggy.
A major segment of the show will be a feature on Kramer and his hobbies of mountain climbing, bicycling and farming. The show will also focus on the rigors of college football’s two-a-day practice routine.
Going polling
The Eagles have been picked to finish third in the conference by members of the media and fifth by the conference coaches. Montana was picked to win the title in both polls.