Donor Spotlight: Andy Korytkowski

Pedigree, familial connections, tradition and memories.

Central Michigan athletics in general and football in particular are all of that and more for Andy Korytkowski.

Korytkowski, a member of the 1896 Society and the Chippewa Athletic Fund, has made a substantial contribution to the Chippewa Champions Center, the under-construction transformational facility at the north end of Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The wide receivers coaches office will bear his name in the new Champions Center. The 1896 Society is a recognition for Chippewa Athletics' top supporters and so named for the year that the university began competing in intercollegiate athletics.

"We've been blessed to be in a position to help the university," said Korytkowski of his family. "We wanted to see first-hand the project completed and knowing that we were a small part of it is wonderful; it's for the betterment of the entire athletic program. We're definitely blessed to be able to help out."

Korytkowski joins an ever-growing list of former CMU athletes as well as program supporters to get behind the project, which will transform the game-day experience at Kelly/Shorts and elevate the university's ability to attract the next generation of Chippewas.

And when it comes to generations, Korytkowski and his family are living proof. His father, Al, earned four letters as a Chippewa baseball player in the 1960s; Korytkowski was a three-year letter winner in football, capping his career with a Mid-American Conference championship in 1994; and now Korytkowski's nieces, triplets Peyton, Shelby and Taylor, are incoming freshmen who will compete on the Chippewa women's track & field team.

Both of Korytkowski's parents are CMU alums, and his immediate family – wife Sarah, daughter Ashtyn and son Callen – are "adopted Chippewas," he said.

Korytkowski came by his love of CMU early and honestly, attending CMU football games as a child with his father, then a football coach at Northview High School in Grand Rapids.

"My earliest memory was being in the stadium in 1979, my dad took me up to a football game to watch (quarterback) Gary Hogeboom play, and Gary's actually the only individual from my high school, Grand Rapids Northview, who's ever made it to the NFL," Korytkowski said. "We went up to watch Gary play and got to go into the locker room after the game. I think I was probably 7 years old. You can only imagine the wide-eyed excitement I had for seeing CMU Chippewa football up close for the first time."

Hogeboom led that '79 team, coached by the legendary Herb Deromedi, to an unbeaten 10-0-1 season and the Chippewas' first MAC title. A decade or so later, Korytkowski became a Chippewa himself, turning down an opportunity to compete in track & field at CMU for a chance to walk on to the football team.

He eventually earned a scholarship, and he was part of some of the most-memorable moments in program history, including back-to-back upsets at Michigan State and the league championship in Dick Flynn's first year in charge of the program. That championship was delivered with a 36-33 win at Bowling Green, during which Craig Fischer faked a punt and raced 73 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown to put the Chippewas in front.

"I remember that day coming off the field, giving my helmet a little bit of a toss and grabbing a water bottle because we weren't able to convert the first down so we had to send the punting unit out," Korytkowski said. "I'm just kind of hanging my head a little bit, trying to figure out how we're going to win this game, win the championship, accomplish our goals, and I hear the crowd noise and all of a sudden I look up and there goes Fischer and the rest is history.

"Memories are more about the relationships, whether it was with teammates, classmates, various coaches – just everybody involved had a real sense of pride for the university, the community and everything that went with that," said Korytkowski, who resides in Plymouth, a Detroit suburb. "There was a very large group of seniors that were a part of that championship team. It's hard to put into words, but we didn't have to be really vocal.

"The group of guys there led by example and the younger guys followed suit. It was just kind of an unspoken, unwritten rule that when we showed up we were there to work, to get better, and to win. That competitive drive that we learned there has definitely carried over to the rest of our lives."

Korytkowski regularly attended Chippewa games long after his playing days were complete, though with marriage and two active children trips to Mount Pleasant on football Saturdays became less frequent. Still, as the years have passed, Korytkowski's love for CMU, his passion for the athletics program and his former teammates are as strong as ever.

"It's always special when you catch up with (teammates)," said Korytkowski, who earned his CMU degree in finance and serves as the vice president of sales and marketing for SCI Floor Covering. "I think we're all at that age in life where the families are taking more priority right now. But I can see in as little as another four or five years getting back there more often and reconnecting with the guys more often.

"We're starting to see the next generation. A couple of the guys that I played with, their kids have been on the roster or are on the roster right now. When you see that next generation coming through, the thought is you want to see them succeed and be given every opportunity to thoroughly enjoy the experience and compete at a high level.

"The university needs the support. If we all can do that to help these kids, in the end it's just going to make the world a better place."

Central Michigan University Athletics

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