Directional Michigan

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"Directional Michigan" is a term used in college football, often in a derogatory sense, to describe the three similarly named public universities competing at the Division I-A level in the Mid-American Conference's West Division. While staying competitive in their own conference and against non-BCS conference opponents, all three have traditionally been unsuccessful against BCS conference opponents (who by and large have higher funded football programs).

The three schools that make up the "Directional Michigan" moniker are:

• Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant.
• Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti.
• Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.

In recent years, CMU and WMU have improved. Central Michigan improved their record to 6-5 in 2005 and 10-4 in 2006, culminating with a MAC football championship and a Motor City Bowl victory. Western Michigan increased their win total to 7 in 2005 and finished 2007 8-5, receiving a berth in the 2007 International Bowl. Eastern Michigan has continued to struggle however, finishing 4-7 in 2005 and 1-11 in 2006.

[edit] Reference

• David Duffey, The Bottom 10 jumps the couch, ESPN.com, August 2005, Accessed Sept. 20, 2006.