Central Michigan University Athletics
Celebrating Academic and Community Service Success
1/30/2026 4:08:00 PM | General, Our Stories
Hello and welcome to the first Maroon & Gold Memo of 2026!
I'm excited to share some tremendous momentum building across CMU Athletics, starting with two outstanding additions to our coaching staff. Please join me in welcoming James DeCosemo and Kelly Terwilliger to the Chippewa family as our new soccer and field hockey coaches.
James comes to us fresh off helping Western Michigan capture the 2025 MAC Women's Soccer title. Before that, he built something special at Aquinas College, leading the Saints to an impressive 55-5-7 record over three years. Kelly brings a wealth of experience from her four seasons at Indiana (Pa.), along with previous coaching stops at Ohio State, Indiana, and Colby College. Her background also includes work with USA Field Hockey, which will be invaluable as she shapes our program.
Beyond the coaching hires, I couldn't be prouder of our student-athletes, who achieved a combined 3.45 GPA this fall—the highest in CMU Athletics history. This surpasses the record they set just one semester earlier (3.39), marking the 54th consecutive semester above 3.0. A special recognition goes to Coach Matt Drinkall, his staff, and the football team for posting their all-time best semester GPA of 3.33. The numbers tell an inspiring story: 84% of our student-athletes maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, 56% are at 3.5 or above, and 57 Chippewas are carrying perfect 4.0s. This success reflects both the dedication of our student-athletes and the exceptional support provided by our Academic Services team.
Our impact extends well beyond the classroom and playing field. This semester, our student-athletes logged 2,196 community service hours, and our fourth annual Fired Up Canned Food Drive set new records—more than 2,000 pounds of food and 4,400 items donated to the CMU Student Food Pantry. What started as a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee initiative has grown into a MAC-wide competition with Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan. I'm grateful for our partnerships with the Mary Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center, CMU Student Activities and Involvement, and the CMU Police Department in making this possible. Athletes from all 17 varsity teams volunteered throughout Mount Pleasant, supporting organizations including Community Church, Clothing Inc., PEAK After School Program, CARE Store, and the Humane Animal Treatment Society.
Tomorrow night marks one of the annual highlights of the CMU Athletics calendar as we host the fourth consecutive Toilet Paper Toss basketball game. We are expecting another sellout crowd of more than 5,000 fans in McGuirk Arena for our 7 p.m. tipoff against Bowling Green. It is always a memorable event for everyone in attendance, and we are excited to have Ervin 'Lightning" Leavy back on campus to participate in the pre-game festivities. 'Lightning' partnered with 'Thunder' Dan Majerle to lead CMU to MAC regular season and tournament championships as well as an NCAA Tournament appearance during the 1986-87 season. I look forward to seeing you there!
As we move into February, we have an exciting month of competition ahead. Our gymnastics team is preparing to defend its MAC championship, our basketball teams are pushing toward the MAC Tournament, and our wrestlers are setting their sights on conference and national titles. Mark your calendars for the MAC Indoor Track & Field Championships on the final weekend of February at Jack Skoog Indoor Track—we'd love to see you there cheering on the Chippewas. Spring sports also kick off this month, with softball and baseball heading south for competition, and lacrosse opening at Notre Dame on February 8.
Fire Up Chips!
Â
I'm excited to share some tremendous momentum building across CMU Athletics, starting with two outstanding additions to our coaching staff. Please join me in welcoming James DeCosemo and Kelly Terwilliger to the Chippewa family as our new soccer and field hockey coaches.
James comes to us fresh off helping Western Michigan capture the 2025 MAC Women's Soccer title. Before that, he built something special at Aquinas College, leading the Saints to an impressive 55-5-7 record over three years. Kelly brings a wealth of experience from her four seasons at Indiana (Pa.), along with previous coaching stops at Ohio State, Indiana, and Colby College. Her background also includes work with USA Field Hockey, which will be invaluable as she shapes our program.
Beyond the coaching hires, I couldn't be prouder of our student-athletes, who achieved a combined 3.45 GPA this fall—the highest in CMU Athletics history. This surpasses the record they set just one semester earlier (3.39), marking the 54th consecutive semester above 3.0. A special recognition goes to Coach Matt Drinkall, his staff, and the football team for posting their all-time best semester GPA of 3.33. The numbers tell an inspiring story: 84% of our student-athletes maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, 56% are at 3.5 or above, and 57 Chippewas are carrying perfect 4.0s. This success reflects both the dedication of our student-athletes and the exceptional support provided by our Academic Services team.
Our impact extends well beyond the classroom and playing field. This semester, our student-athletes logged 2,196 community service hours, and our fourth annual Fired Up Canned Food Drive set new records—more than 2,000 pounds of food and 4,400 items donated to the CMU Student Food Pantry. What started as a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee initiative has grown into a MAC-wide competition with Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan. I'm grateful for our partnerships with the Mary Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center, CMU Student Activities and Involvement, and the CMU Police Department in making this possible. Athletes from all 17 varsity teams volunteered throughout Mount Pleasant, supporting organizations including Community Church, Clothing Inc., PEAK After School Program, CARE Store, and the Humane Animal Treatment Society.
Tomorrow night marks one of the annual highlights of the CMU Athletics calendar as we host the fourth consecutive Toilet Paper Toss basketball game. We are expecting another sellout crowd of more than 5,000 fans in McGuirk Arena for our 7 p.m. tipoff against Bowling Green. It is always a memorable event for everyone in attendance, and we are excited to have Ervin 'Lightning" Leavy back on campus to participate in the pre-game festivities. 'Lightning' partnered with 'Thunder' Dan Majerle to lead CMU to MAC regular season and tournament championships as well as an NCAA Tournament appearance during the 1986-87 season. I look forward to seeing you there!
As we move into February, we have an exciting month of competition ahead. Our gymnastics team is preparing to defend its MAC championship, our basketball teams are pushing toward the MAC Tournament, and our wrestlers are setting their sights on conference and national titles. Mark your calendars for the MAC Indoor Track & Field Championships on the final weekend of February at Jack Skoog Indoor Track—we'd love to see you there cheering on the Chippewas. Spring sports also kick off this month, with softball and baseball heading south for competition, and lacrosse opening at Notre Dame on February 8.
Fire Up Chips!
Â
Chippewa Check-In
Friday, January 30
Chippewa Check-In
Friday, January 23
Chippewa Check-In
Friday, December 05
Chippewa Check-In
Friday, November 21