Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan to play at Ford Field for 2026, 2027 matchups

One part of the Michigan MAC series in football is coming to Motown, as Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan will play their next two regular season football games against each other in Detroit at Ford Field in 2026 and 2027, the schools announced on Wednesday. 

The two-game set will be treated as a home-and-home series. With the series otherwise set to return to Ypsilanti in 2026, Eastern Michigan will be the home team at Ford Field in 2026, and it will flip to Central Michigan being the home team in 2027. 

The games are expected to be mid-week MACtion games, putting the rivalry matchup in front of national television audiences from an NFL stadium.

Specific date for the 2026 game will be announced by the MAC in March, according to the release from CMU. The entire league schedule is slated to be released around that time, as well.

"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," CMU athletic director Amy Folan said in a release announcing the games being moved to Detroit.

By moving the game to Ford Field, both teams are sacrificing a future home game, but one that would be played on a November weeknight, likely in the cold and in front of sparse crowds. MACtion games are traditionally played on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. 

"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," EMU athletic director Scott Wetherbee said. "Ford Field offers a championship setting for the student-athletes and improves access for our 98,000 alumni across metro Detroit."

It will be the third and fourth times in the five years that FBS teams from Michigan have played a regular season game at Ford Field. Michigan State faced Penn State there in 2023 and the Spartans finished the regular season there against Maryland in 2025.

Most recently, in the postseason, the Chippewas earned a bid to the 2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl, the annual bowl game played in Detroit on Boxing Day at Ford Field. 

That was the 11th all-time appearance at Ford Field for the Chippewas, which fell to 5-6 at Detroit with a loss to Northwestern. 

Eastern Michigan last appeared at Ford Field in 2019, a four-point loss to Pitt in what was then the QuickLane Bowl. 

This will also not be the first time these two teams match up at Ford Field. 

On Nov. 6, 2004, Eastern Michigan prevailed, 61-58, in a four-overtime thriller that was won on an Andrew Wellock field goal. Then-CMU QB Kent Smith tied the program record with five touchdown passes in that game and then-EMU wideout Éric Deslauriers finished with 204 yards and four touchdowns. 

An increased presence in Detroit and Southeast Michigan is, in particular, beneficial to Central Michigan.

"These games are a tremendous way to showcase CMU's connection with the city of Detroit and the metro Detroit area, and the relationships we continue to build in the region. We appreciate the opportunity to partner with EMU and the Detroit Lions," CMU president Neil MacKinnon said in the release announcing the games. "We know CMU Chippewa fans, including our dedicated alumni, will show up to support the maroon and gold on game day in downtown Detroit."

The university itself has a strong alumni presence there and draws much of its student body from the region. Wayne County, where Detroit is located, is the most populous in the state with more than 1.7 million residents, per the 2020 census. And Oakland County and Macomb County, both bordering directly to the north, are at No. 2 and 3, respectively. More than a third of the population of Michigan resides in those three counties.  

Isabella County, where Central Michigan is located, is No. 31, with around 65,000 residents. 

The CMU football team practiced at Detroit Catholic Central’s campus in Novi, Michigan, during the 2025 fall camp, scrimmaging in front of family and friends of players. 

Eastern Michigan also stands to benefit, more closely tying itself in with the region of the state it calls home, and giving fans both in Ypsilanti and Detroit a novel opportunity to watch their teams.

"Playing this game in Detroit strengthens Eastern Michigan's connection to the community where our alumni presence is strongest," EMU president James Smith said in the release. "Wayne County is home to more EMU graduates than anywhere else in Michigan, and Ford Field offers a powerful gathering place for alumni, students, and supporters to come together and show their pride. Partnering with Central Michigan on this stage also sparks the kind of spirited, good-natured rivalry that builds excitement leading up to game week and elevates both universities in the eyes of fans across the state."

Now, the Chippewas and Eagles get a pair of future games in an NFL venue in the most populous corner of the state.