Amy Folan's Maroon & Gold Memo: Celebrating History and Welcoming Spring (Sports)

Best fans in the MAC
McGuirk Arena was rocking for our toilet paper toss men's basketball game against Western Michigan and the crowd of 5,425 was an arena record! Our team had an outstanding game, with a 70-69 comeback victory against the Broncos. The Snake Pit student section was out in full force (nearly 1,800 strong), legendary alum Dan Majerle was in attendance and the atmosphere was electrifying.

Thank you to all our alumni, students, faculty, staff and community members who attended this memorable event. We made history while celebrating history, and once again proved that CMU — hands down — has the best fans in the Mid-American Conference (and beyond).

Relive the event through this recap of the game.

Finishing winter strong and jumping into spring
We enjoyed a very successful past weekend as five of our teams won games or meets. Here are the highlights:

Wrestling captured its second consecutive MAC West title as it clinched the crown with a 27-6 win at Buffalo.
Men's basketball rallied from a 14-point deficit to win at Miami (Ohio) 66-60, then turned around and defeated Bowling Green 77-74 on Tuesday after trailing by 12 points late in the game.
Mikala Hall hit a jump shot with 7.2 seconds to help Women's Basketball to a 72-71 home win over Buffalo, freshmen Bridget Utberg and Sydney Harris combined for 43 points in CMU's second straight win over Miami (Ohio) 83-80.
Gymnastics won their fourth consecutive meet, defeating Iowa State in front of 5,000 fans in Ames, Iowa.
Track and Field recorded 13 top-8 finishes in competitions at both Vanderbilt and Grand Valley State.

While we're finishing winter sports, we're also jumping into spring sports this week. This spring brings exciting action from men's and women's golf, baseball, softball, lacrosse and indoor/outdoor track and field. What we're looking forward to:

Our baseball team — coming off a 2022 MAC Championship — is ranked among the nation's top-30 teams and is projected to make a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The team's first home games are against Kent State on March 24-26.
Lacrosse is defending its 2022 MAC Championship. The team defeated California 15-12 in its season opener this past weekend as Head Coach Emilia Ward won her first game at Central Michigan. The team is at home Feb. 24 against Butler.
Softball was picked to finish No. 2 in the league — their first home games are against Kent State on March 28-29.

Be sure to check the team schedules on cmuchippewas.com for other great matchups. Good luck to our spring sports — we have a lot to look forward to over the next few months!

ICYMI — podcast highlights
I recently had the privilege of sitting down with some incredible people for my podcast, CMU Athletics Connection. In case you've missed them, here is a recap of two:

Leaders in College Athletics: Roy Kramer, legendary former football CMU coach and SEC Commissioner, as well as Kevin White, former CMU track and field coach and recently retired AD at Duke, joined me to discuss how CMU shaped who they are and prepared them to leave their mark throughout their successful careers.
Health Care Leadership Today and in the Future: To discuss the growing field of health administration, I was joined by CMU alum Marita Hattem-Schiffman, regional president of MyMichigan, as well as two CMU student-athletes studying health administration — gymnast Hannah DeMers and lacrosse player Erin Owens. We talked about Marita's career, the current landscape of the field and the bright futures of these future health care leaders.

Fire Up Chips!

Amy Folan's Maroon & Gold Memo: Celebrating History and Welcoming Spring (Sports)

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