If you had told me two years ago that during just two years at Eastern, I would become as immersed as I have in Eastern athletics, I don’t know if I would have believed you.

Two years isn’t a very long time in the grand scheme of things, but as I stand less than a week from graduation, I realize that is what I’ve come to know better than practically anything. I’ve lived and breathed everything from football, baseball and basketball, to soccer, tennis and track.

So being the last column of my collegiate career, I can’t help but reflect on these two years, the memories and moments that stand out and how they’ve helped me on my path to (hopefully) covering sports professionally.

Of all the coaches I’ve covered at Eastern, the two that set themselves apart from the others are women’s basketball head coach Brady Sallee and football defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni.

Coaches have tough jobs, and we don’t make it any easier on them by prodding our noses in their business and sticking recorders in their face day in and day out, but these two were always the most accepting of how I did my job.

Win or lose, they always met me after the game with smiles and handshakes. I could not be more thankful for the respect they gave me on a daily basis.

Of the teams I covered, the 2008-09 women’s basketball team was probably the most fun I had. I remember going to Nashville, Tenn., to cover them in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. I never came closer to violating the “no cheering in the press box” rule than when Megan Edwards’ game-winning shot rimmed out at the end of one of the overtime periods of the championship game.

That team was full of incredibly talented and nice women who made going to practices and games every day enjoyable. Watching Rachel Galligan’s historic career come to a close was a pleasure, and Ellen Canale is easily the best interview I’ve had.

Being a sports reporter, I never thought I would have to write about death, and especially in the manner I did over the course of one month.

I had that unfortunate task of breaking the news of both Jackie Moore and Jeff Hoover’s death. I knew players from both teams quite well and seeing the sadness it brought to the players, coaches and others who knew them is definitely not a memory I enjoy reminiscing about.

What it did do is bring out the family atmosphere Eastern is so proud of. I can’t imagine many Division I institutions have athletic programs that are so close to one another as ours, and that was never more apparent than during those two tragedies.

There are countless other people and memories that stand out, but one person I have to thank before leaving is Ben Turner. The assistant sports information director is always behind the scenes, but his welcoming attitude and kindness makes it easy for a new reporter to get acclimated to the Eastern sports scene, something I experienced first-hand during my first day on the job covering the women’s soccer team.

Sports are my love and writing about them is my passion. These two years reaffirmed my joy in this profession and will always be a fond memory wherever the road brings me.

And while I’m filled with both pride and nostalgia as I prepare to walk across the stage on May 8, the one thing I can be happy about is that I no longer have to hide my fandom. I can root for Eastern athletics, something I haven’t been able to do for two years.

Thanks for the memories. Go Panthers.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.

Eastern’s critical economic situation has led to initiatives to save money and create alternative revenue streams. The Council on University Planning and Budgeting (CUPB) met on May 14 in the Martin Luther King Jr. Union. During the meeting, William Weber, vice president for Business Affairs, explained Eastern’s current economic standing for the fiscal year, and said that the state has not yet given Eastern the total amount of money that they have promised.

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