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Detroit's Ford Field, long the home of bowl game featuring a Mid-American Conference team, will be getting some regular-season MACtion, as well.
Detroit's Ford Field will host games between the Central Michigan Chippewas and the Eastern Michigan Eagles over the 2026 and 2027 seasons as announced on Wednesday, Jan. 21. The dates of both games have yet to be announced, while the agreement has been dubbed "Motor City MACtion."
ROCK TEH VOTE: 17 coaches leave Michigan football off final ballot, 2 rank WMU higher
The Chippewas had a resurgent season in 2025 under first-year coach Matt Drinkall, who led Central Michigan to a 7-6 season and an appearance in the GameAbove Sports Bowl. The game, a 34-7 Northwestern win, was played at Ford Field on Dec. 26.
The Eagles, meanwhile, finished 4-8 in 2025 under coach Chris Creighton (in his 12th season) while finishing tied for ninth in the MAC standings.
This won't be the first time both teams will have played each other at Ford Field, with Eastern Michigan outlasting Central Michigan in a 61-58 regular-season win in 2004 that required four overtimes.
"This will be an incredible experience for our student-athletes and fans to be able to participate in two regular season games at Ford Field in Detroit," Central Michigan athletic director Amy Folan said in a release. "Our goal is to showcase the entire University in one of our most important markets. We have over 70,000 alumni in the metropolitan Detroit region, and we are happy to bring CMU to them to reconnect."
Eastern Michigan athletic director Scott Wetherbee also boasted a large alumni base in metro Detroit in the release.
"Taking this rivalry to Detroit places Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, and the Mid-American Conference on a major stage in a city with a strong football tradition," he said in a release. "Ford Field offers a championship setting for the student-athletes and improves access for our 98,000 alumni across metro Detroit."
According to the agreement, Eastern Michigan will play as the home team in 2026 with Central Michigan the home team in 2027. The date for the 2026 game (plus the rest of the MAC schedule) will be revealed in the spring.
Central Michigan won the 2025 rivalry game against Eastern Michigan with a 24-13 home victory and leads the overall series against the Eagles 65-32-6 in games dating back to 1902. Eastern Michigan had won two of the three previous meetings, however, including a 38-34 win over the Chippewas in 2024.
Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports!
You can reach Christian at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford Field to host CMU-EMU football game in 2026 and 2027
Continue reading...
Detroit's Ford Field will host games between the Central Michigan Chippewas and the Eastern Michigan Eagles over the 2026 and 2027 seasons as announced on Wednesday, Jan. 21. The dates of both games have yet to be announced, while the agreement has been dubbed "Motor City MACtion."
ROCK TEH VOTE: 17 coaches leave Michigan football off final ballot, 2 rank WMU higher
The Chippewas had a resurgent season in 2025 under first-year coach Matt Drinkall, who led Central Michigan to a 7-6 season and an appearance in the GameAbove Sports Bowl. The game, a 34-7 Northwestern win, was played at Ford Field on Dec. 26.
The Eagles, meanwhile, finished 4-8 in 2025 under coach Chris Creighton (in his 12th season) while finishing tied for ninth in the MAC standings.
This won't be the first time both teams will have played each other at Ford Field, with Eastern Michigan outlasting Central Michigan in a 61-58 regular-season win in 2004 that required four overtimes.
"This will be an incredible experience for our student-athletes and fans to be able to participate in two regular season games at Ford Field in Detroit," Central Michigan athletic director Amy Folan said in a release. "Our goal is to showcase the entire University in one of our most important markets. We have over 70,000 alumni in the metropolitan Detroit region, and we are happy to bring CMU to them to reconnect."
Eastern Michigan athletic director Scott Wetherbee also boasted a large alumni base in metro Detroit in the release.
"Taking this rivalry to Detroit places Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, and the Mid-American Conference on a major stage in a city with a strong football tradition," he said in a release. "Ford Field offers a championship setting for the student-athletes and improves access for our 98,000 alumni across metro Detroit."
According to the agreement, Eastern Michigan will play as the home team in 2026 with Central Michigan the home team in 2027. The date for the 2026 game (plus the rest of the MAC schedule) will be revealed in the spring.
Central Michigan won the 2025 rivalry game against Eastern Michigan with a 24-13 home victory and leads the overall series against the Eagles 65-32-6 in games dating back to 1902. Eastern Michigan had won two of the three previous meetings, however, including a 38-34 win over the Chippewas in 2024.
Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports!
You can reach Christian at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford Field to host CMU-EMU football game in 2026 and 2027
Continue reading...
