The Central Michigan Chippewas are a college football program in Division I FBS, representing Central Michigan University (CMU).

The Chippewas have played in six bowl games in the last nine years, most recently defeating Washington State in the 2021 Sun Bowl. CMU drew 60,624 fans in the 2007 Motor City Bowl. CMU has played a total of eighteen post-season games (conference championships and bowl games), winning seven.

History

Conference affiliations Central Michigan has been a member of the following conferences. Independent (1896–1926) Michigan Collegiate Conference (1927–1930) Independent (1931–1949) Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1950–1969) Independent (1970–1974) Mid-American Conference (1975–present)

Championships

National championships The Chippewas won the 1974 NCAA Division II National Championship.

1974 NCAA Division II Roy Kramer 12–1 Delaware W 54–14

Conference championships Central Michigan has won 16 conference championships, including seven Mid-American conference championships.

1952 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Bill Kelly 7–2 6–0 1953 7–1–1 5–0–1 1954† 8–2 5–1 1955 8–1 5–1 1956 9–0 6–0 1962 6–4 4–0 1966 5–5 3–0 1967† Roy Kramer 8–2 2–1 1968† 7–2 2–1 1979 Mid-American Conference Herb Deromedi 10–0–1 8–0–1 1980 9–2 7–2 1990 8–3–1 7–1 1994 Dick Flynn 9–3 8–1 2006 Brian Kelly 10–4 7–1 2007 Butch Jones 8–6 6–1 2009 12–2 8–0 † Co-champions

Division championships In the division era (1997–2023) of the MAC, Central Michigan has won 5 division championships:

2006 MAC West Brian Kelly Ohio W 31–10 2007† MAC West Butch Jones Miami W 35–10 2009 MAC West Butch Jones Ohio W 20–10 2019 MAC West Jim McElwain Miami L 21–26 2021† MAC West Jim McElwain N/A lost tiebreaker to Northern Illinois † Co-champions

Head coaches Many notable coaches have contributed to CMU's culture. Some include "Wild" Bill Kelly who won seven conference championships in sixteen years and whom Kelly/Shorts Stadium is named after; national championship winning coach Roy Kramer who had a 72% winning percentage and never had a losing season in more than a decade; College Football Hall of Fame coach Herb Deromedi who is the winningest coach in MAC history and Brian Kelly and Butch Jones who combined for three MAC Championships in four years, four consecutive bowl appearance and top 25 finish in the nation.

CMU head coaches through the 2025 season.

Pete McCormick 1896 1 3–1 Carl Pray 1897–1899 3 6–5 Unknown 1900 1 1–0 No team 1901 Charles Tambling 1902–1905, 1918 5 18–2 No team 1906 Ralph Thacker 1907 1 2–4 Hugh Sutherland 1908 1 4–3 Harry Helmer 1909–1912 4 14–9–2 No team 1913–1915 Blake Miller 1916 1 1–5 Fred Johnson 1917 1 1–2 Garland Nevitt 1919 1 2–2–3 Joe Simmons 1920 1 4–3–1 Wallace Parker 1921–1923, 1926–1928 6 32–10–6 Lester Barnard 1924–1925 2 11–2–3 Butch Nowack 1929–1930 2 8–5–2 George Van Bibber 1931–1933 3 12–9–2 Alex Yunevich 1934–1936 3 9–13–1 Ron Finch 1937–1946 10 54–18–1 Lyle Bennett 1947–1949 3 8–15–1 Warren Schmakel 1950 1 6–4 Kenneth Kelly 1951–1966 16 91–58–2 Roy Kramer 1967–1977 11 83–32–2 Herb Deromedi 1978–1993 16 110–55–10 Dick Flynn 1994–1999 6 30–37 Mike DeBord 2000–2003 4 12–34 Brian Kelly 2004–2006 3 19–16 Jeff Quinn† 2006 – 1–0 Butch Jones 2007–2009 3 27–13 Steve Stripling† 2009 – 1–0 Dan Enos 2010–2014 5 26–36 John Bonamego 2015–2018 4 22–29 Jim McElwain 2019–2024 6 33–36 Matt Drinkall 2025–present 2 7–6 † Interim

Bowl games Central Michigan holds a 4–10 record in bowl games.

1990 California Bowl San Jose State L 24–48 1994 Las Vegas Bowl UNLV L 24–52 2006 Motor City Bowl Middle Tennessee State W 31–14 2007 Motor City Bowl Purdue L 48–51 2008 Motor City Bowl Florida Atlantic L 21–24 2009 GMAC Bowl Troy W 44–41 2012 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Western Kentucky W 24–21 2014 Bahamas Bowl Western Kentucky L 48–49 2015 Quick Lane Bowl Minnesota L 14–21 2016 Miami Beach Bowl Tulsa L 10–55 2017 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Wyoming L 14–37 2019 New Mexico Bowl San Diego State L 11–48 2021 Sun Bowl Washington State W 24–21 2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl Northwestern L 7–34

Playoff appearances NCAA Division II playoffs The Chippewas made one appearance in the Division II playoffs, with a combined record of 3–0. 1974 QuarterfinalsSemifinalsNational Championship Boise StateLouisiana TechDelaware W, 20–6W, 35–14W, 54–14

Rivalries

Western Michigan

These archrivals first met in 1907 and have faced one another annually since 1943. Since the two schools are separated by a two-hour drive, the visiting team typically has a strong fan and student presence at the game. The winner of the game receives the Cannon Trophy.http://media.www.cm-life.com/media/storage/paper906/news/2008/10/20/Sports/Column.Cmuwmu.Game.Monumental.In.Multiple.Ways-3494654.shtml The outcome also helps determine the winner of the Michigan MAC Trophy, a trophy fought over between Michigan's three MAC football teams: the Central Michigan Chippewas, the Western Michigan Broncos, and the Eastern Michigan Eagles.http://media.www.cm-life.com/media/storage/paper906/news/2008/12/05/Sports/Dethroned-3571428.shtml WMU leads the series overall 53-40-2 as of November 1, 2025.

Eastern Michigan

The Chippewas and Eagles maintain a less prominent, but steady rivalry. CMU holds the series lead over Eastern Michigan, leading 65–32–6.

Traditions

Kelly/Shorts game day experience Central Michigan has the largest on-campus stadium in the Mid-American Conference, seating 32,885 fans and has been playing home football games dating back to 1896. The Sporting News has named Kelly/Shorts Stadium "the finest football facility in the Mid-American Conference" and "the best game day atmosphere in the MAC".

The East End of the stadium (as of 2014) once again hosts the CMU Student section backing the football team. The Chippewa Marching Band, cheerleaders, and dance team add to the game day experience and has helped CMU to get a .671 winning percentage all-time at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

CMU drew a capacity crowd of 35,127 fans for the Central Michigan–Michigan State game televised on ESPNU and has hosted schools from the ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12 conferences. Future opponents at home include schools from the Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences.

In 2010, the CMU Board of Trustees designed and set course to construct a state of the art stadium expansion to integrate a hotel, restaurant, and conference center connected by a glass atrium to new stadium suites on the east side. This addition will be custom-built into Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

Newer upgrades include a video scoreboard standing six stories and featuring two video replay boards—one facing into the stadium and a second board facing outside the stadium by tailgating areas. NFL-quality permanent lighting has been installed for television and future ESPN night games.

College Football Hall of Fame

Two former Central Michigan coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Herb Deromedi Head coach 1978–1993 2007 Roy Kramer Head coach 1967-1977 2023

Notable players

Curtis Adams (1984) – AP All-American, San Diego Chargers running back, NFL draft choice Jahleel Addae (2012) - Los Angeles Chargers Safety Vince Agnew – NFL and CFL player Ron Bartell (2004) – cornerback, 2nd round NFL draft choice, nine-year NFL veteran finishing career with the Detroit Lions Dan Bazuin (2006) – All-American, Chicago Bears defensive end, 2007 NFL 2nd round draft choice Walter Beach (1959) – AP All-American, Cleveland Browns safety, NFL draft choice of the New York Giants Nick Bellore (2010) - Seattle Seahawks fullback/linebacker Ray Bentley (1985) – Buffalo Bills linebacker, started two Super Bowl games, recent sports radio personality, ABC College Football and NFL on Fox broadcaster Novo Bojovic (1984) – St. Louis Cardinals kicker John Bonamego (1986) – Los Angeles Rams special teams coordinator and coordinator for five different NFL teams Jim Bowman (1984) – AP All-American, New England Patriots free safety, played in Super Bowl, NFL 2nd round draft choice Antonio Brown (2009) – 7× Pro Bowl (2011, 2013–2018), 2× First-team All-American (2008, 2009), 2× First-team All-MAC (2008, 2009) Tyler Conklin (2018) - New York Jets tight end - drafted in the 5th round Titus Davis (2014) – Wide receiver Tony Elliott (1984) – Green Bay Packers nickel back and safety Eric Fisher (2012) – Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle - 1st overall pick of the 2013 NFL draft, First-team All-American, First-team All-MAC Kavon Frazier (2016) - Dallas Cowboys Safety - drafted in the 5th round Eric Ghiaciuc (2004) – Cincinnati Bengals center, 2005 NFL 4th round draft choice Josh Gordy (2009) – Defensive back - played for several NFL teams, Super Bowl XLV champion Brock Gutierrez (1996) – ten-year NFL veteran at center finishing career with the Detroit Lions Brett Hartmann (2010) – Houston Texans punter. Suffered a career-ending injury Gary Hogeboom (1979) – NFL quarterback 11 seasons, primarily a backup with the Dallas Cowboys and the Indianapolis Colts; NFL 5th round draft choice; Notable Survivor reality T.V. contestant. Tory Humphrey (2004) – New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl champion, tight end. Robert Jackson (1981) – Cincinnati Bengals safety, eight seasons and NFL draft choice Sean Murphy-Bunting (2018) - Cornerback, First-team All-MAC (2018), 2019 2nd-round draft pick (pick 39 overall) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Super Bowl LV champion Jake Olson (2013) – offensive tackle - played 3 CFL seasons Jim Podoley (1956) – AP All-American, Washington Redskins running back, Pro Bowl player, NFL 4th round draft choice Thomas Rawls (2015) - Running back, formerly of New York Jets & Seattle Seahawks Scott Rehberg (1996) – New England Patriots offensive lineman and NFL 7th round draft choice Cooper Rush (2017) - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Joe Staley (2006) – San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle - 28th pick of the 2007 NFL draft, 6× Pro Bowl (2011–2015,2017) L.T. Walton (2015) - Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive end - drafted in the 6th round Frank Zombo (2009) - Kansas City Chiefs Linebacker - Super Bowl XLV Starter and Champion, 2x First-team ALL-MAC (2008, 2009) Cullen Jenkins (2003) - Green Bay Packers, NY Giants, Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman - Super Bowl XLV Champion

Retired numbers

Central Michigan Chippewas retired numbers No. Player Pos. Tenure Ref. 62 Jim Podoley HB 1952–1956

Media

Radio The CMU Sports Network broadcasts all games live throughout Michigan and online for free.

CMU Sports Network Affiliates: 1270 AM WXYT, Detroit 1210 AM WJNL, Traverse City 98.5 FM WUPS, Houghton Lake/ Mount Pleasant 96.1 FM WMAX, Grand Rapids 1230 AM WTKG, Grand Rapids 1090 AM WKBZ, Muskegon 1110 AM WWMN, Petoskey

Television The ESPN family of channels and Fox Sports affiliates have provided national and local television coverage.

CMU Sports Zone provides live and archive Internet video-feed of games, gameday coverage, and coaches shows.

Future non-conference opponents Announced schedules as of July 29, 2026.

at New Mexico (9/5) Monmouth (9/2) at Michigan (9/2) New Mexico (9/8) at Michigan State (8/31) at Michigan (8/30) at Old Dominion (9/18) Colgate (9/12) at Michigan State (9/11) at Tennessee (9/9) at Rutgers (9/15) Troy (9/7) Wyoming (9/19) Old Dominion (9/18) at Troy (9/16) at San Diego State (9/21) at Miami (FL) (9/26) at Wyoming (9/25)

References

External links