Editor's Column The New Demmer Center Shoots to Regain Tradition

Which was the first MSU sports team to win a national championship?

            If you said the cross country team of 1939, you’re officially correct.  A quarter century before that milestone, however, the 1914 MAC rifle team won the national indoor championship in Portland, OR.  So confirms MSU’s yearbook, the 1914 Wolverine, as well as the 1914 World Almanac and Book of Facts.

Two years later, the 1916 MAC rifle team scored perfect 1000 scores in 12 of 13 matches enroute to another national title (they shot just 998 in the other). Under coach Sgt. Paddy J. Cross, the nearly perfect MSU team beat the likes of California, Harvard, M.I.T., Minnesota, Princeton and Purdue.

            A couple of years ago, we dedicated a magazine issue to our Olympian tradition.  I was then mildly surprised to learn that the first Spartan Olympian was Col. William D. Frazer, who competed in the 1924 Summer Games in Paris. His sport?  The 25-meter rapid-fire pistol event.

            These historical notes underscore our tradition in shooting, a competitive area that could enjoy a renaissance with the opening of MSU’s new John and Marnie Demmer Shooting Sports Education and Training Center.  The 24,000 square feet facility, known as the “Demmer Center,” opened in 2009.  It seeks “to promote, advance, and encourage the safe use of firearms and archery equipment.”  It is located at Jolly Rd. near College Rd., is open to the public, and remains self-supporting. 

“We hope to be the training site for future national championship caliber collegiate shooting sports teams,” says Keith Hein, program director. 

Michael Galella, manager of the center, notes that it serves as a training facility for MSU’s archery, rifle and pistol club teams, and also as a public facility.

“We’re one of the largest such facilities in the country, and we’re open to the public,” he notes. “Our mission is to promote, advance and encourage the safe use of firearms and archery equipment for MSU students, faculty, staff and the public, related specifically to programmatic and recreational use.”

The Demmer Center provides plenty of space for the public to enjoy shooting sports and to learn about them. It is handicap-accessible and boasts two indoor firearm ranges to accommodate small-bore, air rifle and an indoor archery range. 

Outside is the Becky and Bob Humphries Community Archery Park which offers three alternatives—beginner, field/3D and competitive ranges.  The competition outdoor archery range offers 30 shooting points with a target distance of up to 90 meters.

            The multi-purpose facility supports collegiate shooting programs and team sports, the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP), and home schoolers, scouts and 4-H youth programs, to name a few, says Galella. 

            For more information, visit demmercenter.msu.edu.