EMU football: Eagles to be featured at least four times on the ESPN networks
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) — The Mid-American Conference has announced game times and television selections for seven Eastern Michigan University football games during the 2019 season. Included among those games are home contests against Ball State and Central Connecticut State, along with away games at Akron, Coastal Carolina, Illinois, Kentucky, and Northern Illinois. All remaining game kick times and television appearances will be announced 12 days prior to the scheduled games.
The 2019 campaign features nine Saturday contests, two Tuesday #MACtion games, and a regular-season finale on Black Friday. Furthermore, EMU plays at home four-of-seven weekends between Sept. 21 and Nov. 2.
Since the start of the 2008 campaign, Eastern Michigan has had 101 games televised. A total of 69 of those small-screen appearances have occurred on the ESPN-family of networks (42 ESPN3, 8 ESPNU, 6 ESPN+, 5 ESPN Regional, 3 SEC Network, 2 ESPN, 1 ESPN2, 1 ESPN Classic, and 1 ABC). Eastern has also been a part of 11 nationally televised games on the CBS Sports Network.
EMU’s 2019 season will feature a year-long series of events, initiatives, and programming centered around fans, student-athletes, and the community. The celebration will salute the five decades of student-athletes that have played inside Rynearson Stadium, as well as the more than 2.8 million fans who have passed through the turnstiles to watch one of the 252 home games in the venue. Furthermore, the College Football 150th Anniversary celebration will be recognized at all divisions of the collegiate game during the 2019 season.
EMU kicks off the year at 3:30 p.m. on the “surf turf” of Coastal Carolina, Aug. 31, before heading to Lexington, Ky. to battle Kentucky, Sept. 7. The 7:30 p.m. matchup against the Wildcats will appear on either ESPNU or the SEC Network Alternate with the network designation to be decided after the games of Aug. 31. From there, the Eagles then look for their third consecutive victory over a Big Ten Conference opponent, Sept. 14, with a noon visit to Illinois.
After three weeks on the road, the Eagles return home Saturday, Sept. 21, against Central Connecticut State to open a new-look Rynearson Stadium that will feature the Student-Athlete Performance Center in the north endzone. It will also be Family Weekend and Band Day with a 3 p.m. kickoff.
After a bye week, EMU opens MAC play on the road at Central Michigan, Oct. 5, before returning to Ypsilanti to host Ball State, Oct. 12. The 2 p.m. contest will serve as EMU’s 99th homecoming after it was established in 1920.
Sixth-year Head Coach Chris Creighton and crew host in-state rival Western Michigan, Oct. 19, before making the short trip south the battle Toledo, Oct. 26. Eastern then hosts defending MAC East Division Champion Buffalo, Nov. 2, before the return of midweek football.
EMU makes its first trip to Akron since 2014 with a Tuesday, Nov. 12, 7:30 or 8 p.m. affair against the Zips. On the following Tuesday, Nov. 19, the Eagles trek to DeKalb, Ill. to square off against the defending MAC Champion Huskies at 7:30 p.m. ET. EMU and NIU have needed overtime to decide the winner the previous three seasons, a mark which is tied for the longest such streak in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) history.
Both the Akron and NIU matchups will be showcased nationwide as a part of the phenomenon known as MACtion on either ESPN2 or ESPNU.
Eastern closes out the regular season by hosting Kent State on “Black Friday”, Nov. 29. EMU will honor its 28-member senior class prior to the contest. The home finale will be televised by either CBS Sports Network, ESPNU, or ESPN3.
The 23rd Marathon MAC Football Championship game will again take place in downtown Detroit on Dec. 7. This will mark the 16th Marathon MAC Football Championship game at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, Super Bowl XL, and the 2009 NCAA Men’s Final Four.
Eastern football season tickets are on sale now. Single-game tickets for all home games will go on sale on Monday, Aug. 5. For more information, go online at EMUEagles.com, call 734.487.3669, or stop by the EMU Athletic Ticket Office during business hours.
2019 EMU Football Schedule
Aug.
31 at Coastal Carolina, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sept.
7 at Kentucky, 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU or SEC Network Alternate)
14 at Illinois, Noon ET (Big Ten Network)
21 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE, 3 p.m. (12-day selection)
Oct.
5 at Central Michigan*
12 BALL STATE*, 2 p.m. (12-day selection)
19 WESTERN MICHIGAN*
26 at Toledo*
Nov.
2 BUFFALO*
12 at Akron*, 7:30 or 8 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPNU)
19 at Northern Illinois*, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2/ESPNU)
29 KENT STATE*
2019 Postseason Schedule
Dec.
7 at MAC Championship, Noon (ESPN/ESPN2)
20 at Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl (Nassau, Bahamas), 2 p.m. ET (ESPN)
20 at Frisco Bowl (Frisco, Texas), 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
21 at Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl (Boca Raton, Fla.), 11 a.m. ET (ESPN)
21 at Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.), 5:45 p.m. ET (ESPN)
26 at Quick Lane Bowl (Detroit, Mich.), 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Jan.
3 at Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, Ida.), 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
6 at Mobile Alabama Bowl (Mobile, Ala.), 7:30 or 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)
* Mid-American Conference game
Home games in BOLD CAPS
