DETROIT – The Central Michigan Chippewas (MAC) and Northwestern Wildcats (Big Ten) are set to face off in the 2025 GameAbove Sports™ Bowl at Ford Field on Friday, December 26 at 1:00 PM EST. Tickets start at $29 and are available at www.gameabovesportsbowl.com or in person at the Ford Field Ticket Office, Monday through Friday between 10 AM and 6 PM. The game will air on ESPN and ESPN+.
"The GameAbove Sports Bowl annually showcases the energy of Detroit and the passion of its football fan base. GameAbove remains committed to giving back to the community and we are again honored to work with the Lions to bring college football fans one of the most exciting bowl games on the schedule," said Matt Shepard, Chief Outreach Officer at GameAbove.
The Central Michigan Chippewas enter their 16th bowl game in program history following a 7-5 overall record this season and a fifth-place finish in the Mid-American Conference with a 5-3 league record. With seven wins, the Chippewas have already won more games than they did in each of the last three seasons and their seven victories are the most since they finished 9-4 in 2021. Central Michigan has forced at least one turnover in all 12 games this season and also have a plus-8 turnover margin (20-12), which ranks among the nation's best marks. The team will play its 11th all-time football game in Detroit, including five bowl games, four MAC Championship games, and one regular season contest, all taking place at Ford Field. The Chippewas previously competed in this bowl game in 2015 when they faced Minnesota. The two most attended bowl games in Detroit history were contests that featured Central Michigan against Purdue in the 2007 Motor City Bowl, which drew a collegiate-record 60,624 fans, and the 2006 Motor City Bowl that paired Central Michigan vs. Middle Tennessee, a matchup that drew 54,113 fans. Central Michigan last played at Ford Field on Dec. 7, 2019 against Miami (Ohio) in the MAC Championship Game. The 2025 GameAbove Sports bowl marks Central Michigan's first bowl game appearance since the 2021 season when it defeated Washington State 24-21 in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
Northwestern finished the regular season with a 6-6 record (4-5 Big Ten), reaching bowl eligibility for the second time in three seasons under third-year Dan & Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach David Braun. Braun is the first coach in program history to secure a bowl bid in two of his first three seasons. Northwestern has boasted one of the conference's premier defensive units in the second season under defensive coordinator Tim McGarigle, allowing only 20.9 points per game, which ranks seventh in the Big Ten and 34th nationally. Seven Wildcats — Robert Fitzgerald, Mac Uihlein, Josh Fussell, Michael Kilbane, Braden Turner, Carmine Bastone and Anto Saka — earned All-Big Ten defensive honors, the most since the 2017 season. Northwestern has won five straight bowl games (2016 Pinstripe Bowl, 2017 Music City Bowl, 2018 Holiday Bowl, 2021 Citrus Bowl, 2023 Las Vegas Bowl), tied for the third-longest streak in the nation behind Minnesota (8) and Ohio (6). This will be Northwestern's first appearance in the GameAbove Sports Bowl but second trip to Detroit for a bowl game, with its last trip coming for the 2003 Motor City Bowl in which the Wildcats fell to Bowling Green, 28-24, despite Jason Wright posting 237 rushing yards on 21 carries and 336 all-purpose yards en route to being named the game's co-MVP.
The participating teams will be introduced to Detroit through various activities, including a welcome dinner and private tour at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, and a friendly face-off at the Fowling Warehouse in Hamtramck. Both teams will also take a trip to Gleaners Community Food Bank to help pack potatoes for families in Southeastern Michigan. Since 2014, participating schools have packaged more than 300,000 pounds of food and provided over 200,000 meals for the local community.
2025 marks the 11th anniversary of this bowl game, which is owned, hosted and operated by the Detroit Lions. The Detroit Lions welcomed GameAbove Sports as the new title sponsor in 2024. GameAbove Sports focuses on global sports business development and strategic investments. They seek to grow the global presence of the athletes, teams, leagues, youth academies and sports-related entities they partner with. GameAbove Sports' partnership with the bowl game underscores its commitment to supporting and helping grow the sports ecosystem in the Detroit area and throughout Michigan.
GameAbove Sports Bowl Social Media:
- Website– gameabovesportsbowl.com
- Facebook– GameAbove Sports Bowl
- X– @GameAboveBowl
- Instagram– @GameAboveSportsBowl
- TikTok – @GameAboveSportsBowl
For additional questions, please contact bowlgamemedia@lions.nfl.net.
