Matt Hughes is a member of the EIU athletic hall of fame, being the UFC’s former two-time welterweight champion.

Hughes made seven total title defenses, a UFC record.

Hughes is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame, and is tied with fellow Hall of Famers Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell for the most UFC appearances ever at 23.

He also holds the record for most UFC wins with 18 and counting, with his next fight scheduled for Nov. 20.

So in light of all this I ask you: why does Tony Romo get so much more attention from the university, when Romo hasn’t won anything significant?

Sort of makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

Granted, Romo has given back much more money to the school than Hughes has, but does that mean that any rich alumnus can buy his or her own individual recognition from the university?

You would think that when a school’s alumni includes a UFC Hall of Famer, the school would try to feature him more prominently than a quarterback who fails every year come crunch time.

However, Romo is hailed by the athletics as a hero, whereas Matt Hughes has been pushed into near obscurity by Eastern.

Kind of makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

Tony Romo has his own shrine, featuring a jersey and pictures of his time with the Panthers football team.

What has Tony Romo accomplished in his professional career?

A reputation for failing in the clutch, a number of December and January flops and the right to hold Carrie Underwood’s purse at an awards show.

Yet Romo gets billed as a hero, his number was the first retired by the football program, and he is considered by many to be the silver lining of what has become, let’s face it, a depressing football team for the Panthers.

So where is Hughes’ shrine?

After all, he has come through in the clutch, something Tony Romo can only dream of doing each season.

Hughes has put together a pair of six fight winning streaks in the UFC, something that has not yet been duplicated.

What has Romo done to deserve such honor and praise?

He has made it to the NFL, but so have Sean Payton, Mike Shanahan and Brad Childress.

Payton recently won a Super Bowl as a head coach; Shanahan has coached on three Super Bowl championship teams, including two as the head boss.

On top of this, Matt Hughes is widely considered to be the most dominant champion in the history of the planet’s fastest growing sport.

Yet Tony Romo seems to get all the attention and fame. Really makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

Brad Kupiec is a freshman journalism major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected].