The Central Michigan Chippewas are a college football program in Division I FBS, representing Central Michigan University (CMU). CMU has the 24th highest overall winning percentage of programs playing in NCAA Division I.
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.
Contents
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.
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
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
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) – 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
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.