YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Eastern Michigan University Athletics and Head Football Coach Chris Creighton have agreed to terms on a contract extension that runs through the 2025 football season, Vice President/Director of Athletics Scott Wetherbee announced today, Sept. 2.
Creighton is the only coach in EMU history to lead the program to multiple bowl appearances with the 2016 Bahamas Bowl, the 2018 Camellia Bowl, and the 2019 Quick Lane Bowl. Currently the fifth-winningest coach in program history, Creighton is just 11 victories away from tying Jim Harkema for fourth-best at Eastern.
"Coach Creighton has helped change the culture and the direction of our football program during his tenure at Eastern Michigan," said Wetherbee. "We are excited about continuing to build upon a foundation that has seen our teams compete in three postseason bowl games, upset a trio of 'Power Five' opponents, and reach unprecedented new heights in the classroom. Winning a Mid-American Conference Championship and future bowl games continues to drive our football program and athletic department. We believe Coach Creighton is the best leader to accomplish those goals and continue to make our alumni, university, and community proud."
One of eight active Football Bowl Subdivision coaches to record more than 160 wins, Creighton helped the Eagles to the program's first win over a Big Ten Conference or Power Five team with a 16-13 victory over Rutgers, Sept. 9, 2017. Nearly one year later, EMU used a 24-yard field goal as time expired for a stunning 20-19 win over Purdue, Sept. 8, 2018, for Eastern's first walk-off win in two decades. The magic continued in 2019, when Eastern posted its third-consecutive Big Ten road victory with a 34-31 walk-off triumph at Illinois, Sept. 14.
Named the 37th head football coach at Eastern Michigan on Dec. 11, 2013, Creighton and his staff have made tremendous strides in changing the culture and mindset surrounding the program. Now the 21st-longest tenured coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) ranks, he is now just eight days shy of Miami's Chuck Martin for the top-spot in the Mid-American Conference.
"I am very fortunate to get to lead the football program here at EMU," Creighton remarked. "We are very proud of the progress we have made and believe deeply that we will realize the vision of making this program a source of pride for our department, the university, Ypsilanti and this region."
Recently, ESPN ranked all 130 FBS programs in order of stability. Eastern Michigan checked in at No. 9 overall and tied with Miami University for the top-spot in the Mid-American Conference. Overall, EMU was considered one of 17 programs to have "extreme stability" and the only program inside the state of Michigan to make the "extreme stability" list.
In the classroom, Eastern Michigan led the MAC in mean grade point average (GPA) for the third time in the last seven years. Eastern notched an impressive 3.158 GPA in 2020-21 when combining the fall and winter terms. The next closest MAC school recorded a 3.148.
In recent years, the Green and White have taken home the league's football academic crown in 2014-15, 2015-16, and now in 2020-21.
A MAC-leading 106 EMU football student-athletes have landed on the league's Academic All-MAC teams since 2014 when Creighton arrived. EMU's number is two ahead of Western Michigan (104) and four ahead of Ball State (102) as the only conference institutions to surpass the century mark over that span.
Furthermore, Eastern Michigan continues to give back with weekly service appearances in the Ypsilanti community. In addition, Creighton has installed yearly traditions such as Youth Day as well as Victory Day, which is designed for cognitively and physically impaired children.
Inspired by the region and the student-athlete's own backgrounds, Creighton has continued to challenge the program to be "E Tough," committed to great effort, sacrifice and triumphing in the face of adversity. In this spirit, EMU nicknamed Rynearson Stadium "The Factory," a place where coaches and staff will go to work each day to help "E Tough" student-athletes become scholars, leaders, champions and impact men. "The Factory" is also highlighted by Division I Football's first gray FieldTurf playing surface.
Grab your green and white, put on your hard hat, and paint your face loud and proud, because college football is back in Ypsilanti! The 2021 Eastern Michigan University football season is set to begin Friday, Sept. 3, when EMU welcomes Saint Francis University to town for a 7 p.m. matchup at The Factory inside Rynearson Stadium.
The Sept. 3 contest has been designated as CommUniversitE Night. An event designed to spotlight the unique relationship between the local community and the University. This is a special event where we are inviting the entire community to come out and support the football team. Pregame festivities will feature food, music, kid-friendly activities, and more. Throughout the game, Eastern Athletics will be recognizing frontline workers and celebrating our return to Rynearson Stadium.
