Sports • cmuchippewas.com
BY KYLE TERWILLEGAR, '11
More than 35,000 watch in Kelly/Shorts Stadium the group were 61 years of CMU gridiron history, with alumni from as recently as 2011 and as early as 1950.
A stadium-record 35,127 fans were on hand for the Michigan State Spartans' first visit to Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Prior to Sept. 8, the largest crowd for a Chippewas football game had been 30,302 for the Central Michigan- Western Michigan showdown during the 2008 season.
Among the record crowd were more than 200 CMU football alumni who made the trip from 14 different states and Canada. Represented amongst
Prior to the game, the alumni socialized in the newly created Tailgate Village before filing onto the field just before the game to form a tunnel for the players to run through for their entrance to the field.
"This was a monumental day that could not have come together as well as it did without the cooperation of many different people from the city and
the university," says Central Michigan Director of Athletics Dave Heeke. "Many months of planning went into creating a memorable event for a record number of fans. Our central location in the state gives us a great opportunity to be a gathering spot for many events in the region, and we hope to provide more of these opportunities in the future."
In the coming years, the Chippewas are scheduled to host North Carolina State (2014), Oklahoma State (2015), UNLV (2016) and Kansas (2018). •
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