Eastern Michigan University has formally unveiled Crosby Field, the newly named football field that recognizes Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, and his wife, Rachel.
“Maxx is somebody who wants to leave a legacy here and wants to give back to our student-athletes,” Eastern Michigan Athletic Director Scott Wetherbee said. “Maxx cares about Eastern. He wears it on his sleeve; he literally wears it on his arm and cares about this place. He told me he wanted an opportunity to do something, and we talked about this field. He stepped up and there were more willing people in line to give and they followed him. I want to say thank you to Rachel and Maxx for stepping up with this lead gift and getting these projects off the ground. I am forever grateful to Maxx and Rachel for making this happen and I could not be happier that we named this field after them.”
Crosby was not recruited by many colleges coming out of high school, and he said he’ll never forget that it was Eastern Michigan and coach Chris Creighton who gave him his chance.
“I wanted to be a Division I football player and I didn’t care where it was. I needed to be a part of something that was bigger than just myself and gave me a chance to build something special, and I found that here at Eastern,” Crosby said. “Every day, I wake up and I know I can be a better version of myself than the day before and that’s why I’ve gotten to this spot in my life because I never give up. I’m obsessed with being perfect, even though I never will get there, and I wouldn’t be able to do it without this army around me. I have the best people in the world that support me every single day. I just want to say I love everyone, thank you guys for showing up and Coach Creighton, without you giving me a chance, none of this would have been possible, so I appreciate it.”
Crosby donated $1 million to the school, where he played from 2015 to 2018. Rachel was an Eastern Michigan soccer player at the same time.