With fall sports in full swing, here’s a look at some of this week's top story lines from Eastern Michigan University’s various athletic disciplines.
Football | Eastern Michigan begins Mid-American Conference play against Central Michigan
Fresh off their first win in 336 days, Eastern Michigan’s football team aims to continue riding their wave of momentum directly into conference play with a date against a familiar opponent.
The green and white will hit the road once more to face off against the Central Michigan University Chippewas, the team the Eagles had most recently defeated prior to their dramatic triumph against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette last Saturday.
In their last meeting, Eastern Michigan outscored the Chippewas 22-7 in the fourth quarter to complete an immaculate comeback, winning against their in-state foe and scoring their fourth consecutive homecoming victory at the time.
This meeting between the two Michigan schools will be in Mount Pleasant, however, a place in which the Eagles have not won since 2011.
Kickoff for this match up is slated for 1 p.m. on Sept. 27, 2025, with viewers being able to stream all the action live on ESPN+.
Volleyball | Eastern Michigan goes 1-2 competing in Butler Invitational
It was a mixed bag for the Eastern Michigan women’s volleyball team on their most recent trip to Indianapolis over the weekend. They took home another win over Oakland University but fell to IU Indianapolis and Butler University along the way.
Despite the losses, Hatteras Welker continued her early season dominance with her 11 block performance against Butler, the second most by any player in a single match in school history. Ashlynn Belcher also reached more than 500 digs in her collegiate career, posting nine digs in that same match.
The Eagles’ 1-2 mark in the tournament drops them to 8-5 on the campaign, with conference play now looming large and in-state foe Western Michigan University next on the schedule for Sept. 25, 2025, at 6 p.m. Viewers can stream all the action live on YouTube under Western Michigan’s YouTube channel.
Women’s Golf | Janae Leovao named MAC Golfer of the Week
Welcome to Ypsilanti, Janae Leovao.
It did not take long for the former Long Beach State University transfer to make her impact felt on the Eastern Michigan women’s golf team. The senior won back-to-back individual titles to open 2025 and propelled the program as a whole to their first sequential tournament wins since 2021-22.
Leovao, who had not won an individual title prior to this season, boasts a 151-0-1 record through the first two tournaments in 2025. Neither she nor her sister Jasmine Leovao will compete in the team’s next event, the Golfweek Red Sky Classic from Sept. 22-24, 2025, as the pair take preliminary steps to qualify for the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour next year.
