'Our head coach lives in a barn': Why Jim McElwain fits right in at CMU
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Jim McElwain lives in a barn and works in a trailer. The new digs at Central Michigan suit him just fine.
We'll circle back to the trailer in a bit. McElwain isn't the first major college coach, in the age of constant facilities enhancements, to be relocated to temporary office space. The barn, though, might be a first.
The idea was hatched in December, during a party at athletic director Michael Alford's house shortly after McElwain's hiring. Many of CMU's top donors attended, including Chuck McGuirk, a third-generation business owner whose family has supported the athletic program for decades (CMU plays basketball at McGuirk Arena). McGuirk asked Jim and Karen McElwain where they planned to live.
"We'd like to live in a barn," they told him.
The McElwains knew from previous head-coaching stops at Florida and Colorado State that they'd need space to host large groups: recruits, players and staff, or donors. (There's a pretty cool story behind what happened with their home in Florida.) The problem: Mount Pleasant isn't filled with sprawling properties.
Fortunately, McGuirk had a solution: a 6,000-square-foot barn a few miles from Kelly/Shorts Stadium and CMU's campus. McGuirk bought the barn about five years ago and thought about building living quarters on the lower floor. The McElwains soon visited and made the call: This was the spot.
Entire article:
http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...ch-lives-barn-why-jim-mcelwain-fits-right-cmu
Jim McElwain Lives In A Barn Now
Interesting photo of him on a shark:
https://www.barstoolsports.com/barstoolu/jim-mcelwain-lives-in-a-barn-now