The lawsuit filed by attorneys for Douglas and Mary Willer seek to have all four sports reinstated.
Doug Willer"When they wouldn't allow people to speak on the issue, I felt compelled to then file a lawsuit," Willer told Michigan Public Radio.
In response to the Willers' lawsuit, Geoff Larcom, executive director of media relations for the University, says EMU is planning a "vigorous defense."
"The facts in this situation are clear. No violation of the Open Meetings Act occurred at our Board of Regents meeting because the decision to reduce varsity sports is an administrative decision and does not require approval of the Board of Regents," Larcom said to MPR. "As such, the decision was not presented to the Regents for their approval."
As InterMat reported on March 20, EMU's president announced at a press conference that men's wrestling, men's swimming and diving, women's tennis and softball will be cut at a press conference. The university says these cuts will add about $2.4 million to its annual budget.
However, in their lawsuit, the Willers claim Eastern Michigan is "greatly exaggerating" the savings of cutting the four programs. The Detroit News reported that the programs' annual expenses totaled $1,206,219, citing the most recent budget figures available for the 2016 fiscal year. EMU athletic director Scott Wetherbee disputes those numbers, saying those figures didn't include scholarship money.
What's more, the Willers' lawsuit claims Wetherbee had a clause in his contract that he would be penalized $135,000 should any sports have to be cut during his tenure, but that he was relieved of that stipulation in December 2017. Eastern Michigan did not respond to the Detroit News' questions concerning Wetherbee's contract.
The Willers have deep roots with Eastern Michigan.
Douglas Willer earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the university. As a former EMU Eagle wrestler, Willer was a two-time NCAA All-American in the 1970s and was Eastern Michigan's first-ever Mid-American Conference champion. His 73 career victories were a program record at the time of his graduation. Douglas Willer was welcomed into the Eastern Michigan Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.
Mary Willer also holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Eastern Michigan.
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