Central Michigan Football: A Brief History

Central Michigan Chippewas:

First Season: 1896

Head Coach: Dan Enos (2 seasons, 13-24)

All-Time Record: 577-377-37

Bowl Record: 3-4 (California Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, Motor City Bowl 3X, GMAC Bowl, Little Caesars Bowl)

Playing Field: Kelly/Shorts Stadium (Capacity of 30,200)

Conference Affiliations:

Independent: 1896-1926, 1931-1949, 1970-1974

No Team: 1901, 1906, 1913-1915

Michigan Collegiate Conference: 1927-1930

Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: 1950-1969

Mid-American Conference: 1975-Current

Attendance: 18,827 (5-year average)

Claimed National Titles: One

• 1974 Division II National Championship

Conference Titles: 15

• 1952 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• 1953 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• 1954 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• 1955 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• 1956 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• 1962 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• 1966 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• 1967 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• 1968 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• 1979 Mid-American Conference
• 1980 Mid-American Conference
• 1990 Mid-American Conference
• 1994 Mid-American Conference
• 2006 Mid-American Conference
• 2007 Mid-American Conference
• 2009 Mid-American Conference

Record Versus Rivals (20+ meetings):

• Akron: 15-9-1
• Ball State: 22-22-1
• Bowling Green: 18-22
• Eastern Michigan: 56-28-6
• Kent State: 22-10
• Miami OH: 11-12-1
• Northern Illinois: 24-22-1
• Ohio: 21-5-2
• Toledo: 18-20-3
• Western Michigan: 36-45-2

Year-By-Year Record

• 1890s: 9-6
• 1900s: 28-13
• 1910s: 15-15-5
• 1920s: 51-19-12
• 1930s: 47-28-4
• 1940s: 41-29-2
• 1950s: 68-25-1
• 1960s: 51-44-1
• 1970: 7-3
• 1971: 5-5
• 1972: 5-5-1
• 1973: 7-4
• 1974: 12-1
• 1975: 8-2-1
• 1976: 7-4
• 1977: 10-1
• 1978: 9-2
• 1979: 10-0-1
• 1980: 9-2
• 1981: 7-4
• 1982: 6-4-1
• 1983: 8-3
• 1984: 8-2-1
• 1985: 7-3
• 1986: 5-5
• 1987: 5-5-1
• 1988: 7-4
• 1989: 5-5-1
• 1990: 8-3-1
• 1991: 6-1-4
• 1992: 5-6
• 1993: 5-6
• 1994: 9-3
• 1995: 4-7
• 1996: 5-6
• 1997: 2-9
• 1998: 6-5
• 1999: 4-7
• 2000: 2-9
• 2001: 3-8
• 2002: 4-8
• 2003: 3-9
• 2004: 4-7
• 2005: 6-5
• 2006: 10-4
• 2007: 8-6
• 2008: 8-5
• 2009: 12-2
• 2010: 3-9
• 2011: 3-9
• 2012: 7-6

Coaching/Team History:

Central Michigan has a long football history dating back to the inaugural season of 1896. Pete McCormick was the original head coach of the Chippewas in 1896 coaching one season with a 3-1 overall record. McCormick left after the 1896 season and was replaced by Carl Pray who led the Chippewas for 3 seasons going 11-6-5 during his tenure.

After Pray left, there was a two-year stagnant period in which the team never really had a coach and only played 2 total games going 1-1 during that time. In 1902, Charles Tambling too over the program for 4 years going 13-2 during that time. After Tambling left, the Chippewas brought in a long list of coaches: Ralph Thacker (1 season, 2-4), Hugh Sutherland (1 season, 4-3), Harry Helmer (4 seasons, 14-9-2), Blake Miller (1 season, 1-5), Frederick Johnson (1 season, 1-2), Charles Tambling again (1 season, 1-0), Garland Nevitt (1 season, 2-2-3), and Joe Simmons (1 season, 4-3-1).

With Simmons leaving the Chippewas, coach Wallace Parker took over for three seasons going 18-3-5 during his tenure. Parker left with Lester Barnard (2 seasons, 11-2-3) taking over for two seasons before giving way to Parker for his second stint with the Chippewas. Parker went 16-8-1 during his second tenure before leaving for good following the 1928 season.

With Parker leaving the program for a second time, the Chippewas had trouble keeping coaches for extended times (AJ Nowak-2 seasons, George Van Bibber-3 seasons, and Alex Yunevich-3 seasons) before giving way to coach Ron Finch. Finch became the longest tenured CMU coach to that point leading the Chippewas for 10 seasons from 1937-1946 going 54-18-1 during that time. Finch retired from coaching following a 6-2 season in 1946 giving the Chippewas 9 winning seasons in 10 years during his time.

The Chippewas then hired Lyle Bennett who coached for three years going 8-15-1 before giving way to Warren Schmakel who only stayed for 1 season going 6-4 before leaving to assist at Miami OH. Needing a replacement for Schmakel, the Chippewas went to the high school ranks hiring Arthur Hill High School head coach Kenneth Kelly to take over the program.

Kelly ran Central Michigan's football program for 16 years going 91-52-2 with 7 conference championships and only two losing seasons. Kelly's top season was a 9-0 record in 1956 winning the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for his fifth consecutive season. Kelly retired after the conference championship 1966 season making Kelly the most successful coach in CMU history at retirement.

Replacing a legend in Kenneth Kelly, the Chippewas hired coach Roy Kramer who coached the Chippewas for 11 seasons. Kramer led the Chippewas from the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to independence to the current association with the Mid-American conference. Kramer led CMU to conference titles in his first two years at the program and won the 1974 Division II national championship going 12-1 an beating Delaware 54-14 in the title game. Kramer left following a 10-1 season to take the Athletic Director job at Vanderbilt. Kramer would later become SEC commissioner and the creator of the BCS.  

With back to back great hires, Central Michigan went 3-3 in hiring assistant Herb Deromedi. Deromedi started out strongly going 9-2 in his first season as head coach before winning consecutive MAC titles in 1979 and 1980 with the 1979 season ending 10-0-1 with a 7-7 tie being the only blemish. Deromedi had solid seasons for the next 9 years never quite getting to the top of the MAC before breaking through in 1990 with a 8-3-1 record and trip to the California Bowl losing to San Jose state 48-24. Deromedi retired following the 1993 season to take the AD job and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

Deromedi's first job as AD was replacing himself as head coach. Deromedi hired coach Dick Flynn who immediately had success in 1994 going 9-3 and winning the MAC before falling to UNLV in the Las Vegas Bowl. Flynn never saw the success of his first season with losing record in 5 of his following 6 seasons going 30-37 overall with the Chippewas. Flynn was let go after a 4-7 record in 1999.

Needing a replacement for Flynn, the Chippewas went for Michigan offensive coordinator Mike DeBord. DeBord inherited a poor team in 2000 and was unable to improve CMU fortunes in his 4 years with the program going 12-34 with a top record of 4-8 in 2002. DeBord was let go following the 2003 season heading back to Michigan to start over.

Needing to distance themselves from the last 10 seasons of poor football, Central Michigan went in a different direction giving a chance to D-II coach Brian Kelly who had been at Grand Valley State where he was 118-35-2 with back-to-back national titles in 2002 and 2003. Kelly struggled in his first season going 4-7 in 2004 before improving to 6-5 in 2005 and 9-4 in 2006. The 2006 season ended with a trip to the Motor City Bowl where the Chippewas dominated MTSU 31-14. Kelly then left for the Cincinnati Bearcats' head coaching job.

Wanting to keep the positive momentum going forward, the Chippewas hired former CMU assistant Butch Jones who had left CMU for West Virginia from 2005-2006. Jones was hired as the Central Michigan head coach in 2007 going 8-6 with a MAC title in his first year with the program. The Chippewas won another MAC title in 2009 going 11-2 and finishing in the top 25 in both major polls. Jones then left in similar fashion to Brian Kelly, taking the Cincinnati job after three years at CMU and a 27-13 overall record.

With back-to-back great hires, CMU went after Michigan State assistant Dan Enos. Enos struggled to a 3-9 season in 2010 immediately following Jones' 11-2 season in 2009. Following that season up with another 3-9 record in 2011, Enos was on the hot seat in 2012. Despite a slow start, the Chippewas improved throughout the season and went 7-6 with a Little Caesar's Bowl win over Western Kentucky to end the season. Enos parlayed that bowl season into a contract extension making him head coach until 2016.

NFL/CFL Players:

• Nick Bellore - Linebacker, New York Jets
• Antonio Brown - Wide Receiver, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Josh Gordy - Cornerback, Indianapolis Colts
• Cullen Jenkins – Defensive End, Philadelphia Eagles
• Joe Staley – Offensive Tackle, San Francisco 49ers
• Frank Zombo - Outside Linebacker, Green Bay Packers
• Tory Humphrey - Tight End, Oakland Raiders
• Colin Miller - Center, Oakland Raiders
• Rocky Weaver - Offensive Tackle, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Vince Agnew - Cornerback, Dallas Cowboys
• Matt Berning - Linebacker, New York Jets
• Dan LeFevour – Quarterback, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• Isaac Brown - Linebacker, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• Obed Cétoute - Wide Receiver, Saskatchewan Roughriders
• Eric Fraser - Safety, Calgary Stampeders
• Greg Wojt - Offensive Tackle, Edmonton Eskimos
• Kito Poblah - Wide Receiver, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
• Carl Volny - Running Back, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
• Pacino Horne - Cornerback, Toronto Argonauts
• Curtis Adams - Retired NFL running back.
• Walter Beach - Retired NFL safety.
• Ray Bentley – Sports radio personality, former ABC College Football and NFL on Fox broadcaster, former Arena Football League head coach, retired NFL linebacker.
• Novo Bojovic - Retired NFL kicker.
• Jim Bowman - Retired NFL safety.
• Mike Franckowiak – Retired NFL quarterback.
• Brock Gutierrez - Retired NFL offensive tackle.
• Gary Hogeboom – Survivor contestant, retired NFL quarterback.
• Robert Jackson – Retired NFL safety.
• Adam Kieft - Retired NFL offensive tackle.
• Drew Mormino - Former NFL center
• Jim Podoley - Retired NFL halfback.-
• Brian Pruitt - First ever AP All-American in school history (running back).
• Scott Rehberg - Retired NFL offensive guard.