Central Michigan Chippewas football

History

Conference affiliations

Central Michigan has been a member of the following conferences.

• Independent (1896–1949)
• 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.

Conference championships

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

† Co-champions

Division championships

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

† 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.

† Interim

Bowl games

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

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division II playoffs

The Chippewas made one appearance in the Division II playoffs, with a combined record of 3–0.

Rivalries

Western Michigan

Main article: Central Michigan–Western Michigan football rivalry

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. 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. WMU leads the series overall 53-40-2 as of November 1, 2025.

Eastern Michigan

Main article: Central Michigan–Eastern Michigan football rivalry

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.

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) – 6× Pro Bowl (2011, 2013–2017), 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) - Baltimore Ravens 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

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 August 14, 2025.

References

References

1. "Division I-A All-Time Winning Percentage".
2. "Inductee {{!}} Herbert William Deromedi 2007".
3. "2020 CMU Media Guide". CMU Athletics.
4. http://media.www.cm-life.com/media/storage/paper906/news/2008/10/20/Sports/Column.Cmuwmu.Game.Monumental.In.Multiple.Ways-3494654.shtml{{dead link. (November 2016)
5. http://media.www.cm-life.com/media/storage/paper906/news/2008/12/05/Sports/Dethroned-3571428.shtml{{dead link. (November 2016)
6. Paul, Tony. "CMU vs. WMU always 'personal'; Saturday's game a factor in MAC race, too".
7. "mcubed.net : NCAAF Football : Series records : Central Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan".
8. "CMUCHIPPEWAS.COM - Official Athletic Site".
9. (October 23, 2012). "Kelly/Shorts Stadium - CMUChippewas.com—Official Web Site of Central Michigan University Athletics". Cmuchippewas.com.
10. "Student Ticket Information".
11. "The Chippewa Marching Band {{!}} School of Music".
12. "Central Michigan Football Alltime Record Home".
13. (September 8, 2012). "Michigan State Spartans vs. Central Michigan Chippewas - Box Score - September 08, 2012 - ESPN". Espn.go.com.
14. "2014 Central Michigan Chippewas Football Schedule - CMU".
15. "Central Michigan Life – Proposal for on-campus hotel to go before board Thursday". Cm-life.com.
16. (August 31, 2010). "Kelly/Shorts Stadium - CMUChippewas.com—Official Web Site of Central Michigan University Athletics". Cmuchippewas.com.
17. (December 31, 2009). "CMU legend Herb Deromedi named to Football Playoff Selection Committee".
18. "Inductees - Football Players & Coaches - College Football Hall of Fame".
19. "Inductee {{!}} Roy F. Kramer 2023".
20. "Brett Hartmann Stats - ESPN". Espn.go.com.
21. (August 21, 1958). "Gary Hogeboom NFL Football Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
22. (August 21, 1958). "Gary Hogeboom - Survivor: Guatemala". Survivorfever.net.
23. "Robert Jackson Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards". databaseFootball.com.
24. (February 19, 2010). "CMU Remembers Jim Podoley".
25. "Listen to CMU Football on the Chippewa Sports Radio Network".
26. "More Info - Central Michigan".
27. "Central Michigan Chippewas Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com.