Program Profile: Central Michigan

MAC since 1975
Colors: Maroon and Gold
Mascot: Chippewas

Any school that can stick it to NCAA is a-ok in my book. That’s exactly what Central Michigan did in 2005 when the NCAA declared a ban on the appearance of “hostile and abusive” mascots at championship events; Central Michigan was like, “The Chippewas love being represented by us” and the NCAA had to back down. Awesome.

Not so much their football team this century. They way outperformed themselves in 2006 posting final numbers of 10-4 including a bowl win. Sometimes they’re referred to as part of the “Directional Michigan” (along with West and East), though maybe we shouldn’t because it’s a little bit mean. But they don’t do themselves any favors by competing for the insular Michigan MAC trophy. And if you think about, maybe the MAC wouldn’t be so maligned if they weren’t saddled with so many mediocre schools.