Football Lands 26 Student-Athletes on Academic All-MAC Team
Making the Academic All-MAC team were: sophomore Darius Boone Jr. (Tulsa, Okla.-Union), senior Ben Bryant (La Grange, Ill.-Lyons Twp. (Cincinnati)), sophomore Matthew Buschman (Brighton, Mich.-Brighton), junior Jordan Crawford (Houston, Texas-Pearland (Tyler)), junior Dyland Drummond (Cleveland, Ohio-Cuyahoga Heights), sophomore Samson Evans (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Prairie Ridge (Iowa)), sophomore Jere Getzinger (West Branch, Mich.-Ogemaw Heights), junior Alex Howie (Canton, Mich.-Salem), junior Preston Hutchinson (Mason, Ohio-Mason), sophomore Marcellus Johnson (Normal, Ill.-Normal Community), sophomore Tanner Knue (Mason, Ohio-Mason), sophomore Jimi McAdams (Parma, Ohio-Padua Franciscan), senior Freddie McGee III (Canton, Mich.-Salem), sophomore Alex Merrit (Cincinnati, Ohio-Moeller), senior Thomas Odukoya (Almere, Netherlands-Helen Parkhurst (Garden City)), junior Jarrett Paul (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Paramus Catholic (Rutgers)), sophomore TJ Peavy (Fayettville, Ga.-Sandy Creek), sophomore Will Racely (Flushing, Mich.-Flushing), junior Chad Ryland (Lebanon, Pa.-Cedar Crest), senior Michael Smith Jr. (Lakeland, Fla.-Frostproof), sophomore DJ Smith (Dallas, Texas-Frisco Lone Star), junior Carter Stagner (Birmingham, Mich.-Seaholm), junior I’Shawn Stewart (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Bolingbrook (Oregon State)), junior Dylan Summers (Chicago, Ill.-Brother Rice (Cornell)), senior Mike Van Hoeven (Paw Paw, Mich.-Paw Paw), and junior Jalen Weathers (Chicago, Ill.-Mount Carmel (Trinity)).
The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport.
Van Hoeven, a CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) First Team Academic All-American in 2021, is a four-time recipient of the All-MAC academic honor.
A total of 217 student-athletes from around the conference earned the distinction.
EMU put together yet another impressive season in 2021, adding to the success that has come to define the last eight years. Eastern (7-6) clinched a winning record, the third under Creighton; Prior to Creighton’s arrival, EMU had not had a winning record since the 1989 season.
The Eagles also played in their fourth bowl game in the previous six seasons when it faced Liberty in the LendingTree Bowl, Dec. 18, in Mobile, Ala. Prior to 2016, Eastern had reached bowl eligibility just twice in its history and had earned the opportunity to play in a postseason bowl just once (1987 California Bowl). Additionally, Eastern earned bowl eligibility for the third consecutive season in 2021 (excluding COVID-shortened 2020 season), the first such occurrence in program history.
The 2021 regular season had plenty of exciting moments. One of the most memorable occasions in recent EMU history, the Eagles erupted for a 52-49 win over MAC-West rival Toledo, Nov. 2. It was the program’s first victory inside the Glass Bowl (UT’s home stadium) since the 1999 season. Coming into the game, Eastern had lost 10 consecutive road games to Toledo. EMU’s most impressive home win came in Week 11, when the Green and White used late-game defensive heroics to upend in-state foe Western Michigan, 22-21, on Senior Night in the Factory. The victory marked the third straight for Eastern over Western, the best stretch for the program since it notched the same number between 2011-13.
Looking ahead to the 2022 slate, EMU has four non-conference games set, beginning with a season-opening home game against Eastern Kentucky, Sept. 2. Following road games at Louisiana, Sept. 10, and Arizona, Sept. 17, the Eagles will return to Rynearson Stadium to host UMass, Oct. 1.
Eight Mid-American Conference games will also be played, with dates and game themes to be announced in the coming months.
Eastern Michigan will host Buffalo, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, and Toledo. The team will travel to Akron, Ball State, Kent State, and Western Michigan.
2021 Academic All-MAC Team
Akron (17)
1. Ethan Slike, So. (R), Financial Management, 3.961 GPA
2. Jaylen Kelly-Powell, Jr. (R), Sport Science/Coaching, 3.914 GPA
3. Kyle Bauman, So. (R), Emergency Management & Homeland Security, 3.793 GPA
4. Charles Amankwaa, Jr., Organizational Supervision, 3.697 GPA
5. Ronan Chambers, Fr. (R), Financial Management, 3.687 GPA
6. Zach DiLaurio, So. (R), Accounting, 3.684 GPA
7. Tony Georges, Fr. (R), Finance, 3.644 GPA
8. Julian Richardson, So., Sport Management, 3.60 GPA
9. Logan Hawkins, So. (R), Sport Management, 3.553 GPA
10. Nate Williams, Fr. (R), Business Administration, 3.553 GPA
11. Blake Hester, Fr. (R), Pre-Physical Therapy, 3.538 GPA
12. Corey Thomas, Fr. (R), Marketing, 3.416 GPA
13. Alex Robarge, Fr. (R), Civil Engineering, 3.361 GPA
14. Shawn Naim, Fr. (R), Biology, 3.354 GPA
15. Kyle Romenick, Fr. (R), Sport Management, 3.347 GPA
16. Xavior Gray, Fr. (R), Sport Management, 3.254 GPA
17. Michael Mathison, So., Marketing, 3.216 GPA
Ball State (22)
1. Chris Agyemang, Gr., Business Administration, 3.436 GPA
2. Christian Albright, Gr., Athletic Coaching Education, 3.667 GPA
3. Curtis Blackwell, Post-Bachelor, Business Administration, 3.747 GPA
4. Brock Burns, Gr., Selling Sales Management, 4.00 GPA
5. Jake Chanove, Sr., Finance, 3.21 GPA
6. Clayton Coll, Jr., Biology, 3.774 GPA
7. Bryce Cosby, Sr., Psychological Science, 3.433 GPA
8. Jimmy Daw, Gr., Business Administration, 3.381 GPA
9. Ben Egenolf, Sr., Construction Management, 3.947 GPA
10. Anthony Ekpe, Gr., Business Administration, 3.733 GPA
11. Trevor Hohlt, Gr., Business Administration, 3.333 GPA
12. Will Jones, Gr., Business Administration, 3.50 GPA
13. Jacob Lewis, So., Economics, 3.845 GPA
14. Ryan Lezon, So., Professional Selling, 3.353 GPA
15. Cole Pearce, Jr., Geography, 3.50 GPA
16. Drew Plitt, Gr., Athletic Coaching Education, 3.619 GPA
17. Jack Sape, Sr., Business Administration, 3.511 GPA
18. Dylan Seiler, Jr., Biology, 3.919 GPA
19. Nathan Snyder, Gr., Business Administration, 3.546 GPA
20. Anthony Todd, Gr., Business Administration, 3.70 GPA
21. JT Wahee, Gr., Athletic Coaching Education, 3.567 GPA
22. Jordan Williams, Gr., Accounting, 3.80 GPA
Bowling Green (14)
1. Darren Anders, Jr., Management, 3.375 GPA
2. Dontrez Brown, So, Pre-Social Work, 3.491 GPA
3. James Carolan, Sr., Master of Business Administration, 3.394 GPA
4. Matthew Fortner, R-Fr., Pre-Visual Communication Tech, 3.909 GPA
5. Levi Gazarek, R-Fr., Sport Management, 3.312 GPA
6. Demetrius Hardamon, Jr., Construction Management & Technology, 3.476 GPA
7. Brock Horne, So., Construction Management & Technology, 3.871 GPA
8. Matt McDonald, Sr., Sport Management, 3.383 GPA
9. Jordan Murphy, Sr., Construction Management & Technology, 3.434 GPA
10. Matt Naranjo, Sr., Aviation Studies, 3.251 GPA
11. Nate Needham, Sr., Master of Business Administration, 3.823 GPA
12. Austin Osborne, Jr., Master of Education (Sport Admin), 4.00 GPA
13. Jordan Porter, So., Pre-Business Administration, 3.588 GPA
14. Malone VanGorder, R-Fr., Sport Management, 3.282 GPA
Buffalo (19)
1. Tajay Ahmed, Junior, Business Administration, 3.202 GPA
2. Jackson Balter, Junior, Business Administration, 3.349 GPA
3. Trevor Borland, Sophomore, History, 3.537 GPA
4. Evan Davis, Junior, Criminology, 3.27 GPA
5. Deondre Doiron, R-Freshman, History, 3.464 GPA
6. Shaun Dolac, Sophomore, Criminology, 3.632 GPA
7. Evan Finegan, Senior, Real Estate Development, 3.459 GPA
8. Jake Fuzak, R-5th Year, English, 3.244 GPA
9. Evan Gantley, Senior, Real Estate Development, 3.647 GPA
10. Cory Gross, Junior, Legal Studies, 3.426 GPA
11. Dominic Johnson, R-5th Year, Educational Studies, 3.697 GPA
12. Jack Klenk, R-5th Year, International Trade, 3.804 GPA
13. Alex McNulty, Junior, Biological Studies, 3.698 GPA
14. Jake Molinich, R-5th Year, Geography, 3.218 GPA
15. Bence Polgar, Sophomore, History, 3.432 GPA
16. Dom Polizzi, Sophomore, History, 3.729 GPA
17. Alain Schaerer, Junior, Sociology, 3.371 GPA
18. Kyle Vantrease, Senior, Geography, 3.378 GPA
19. Keith Woetzel, Graduate Student, Finance, 3.667 GPA
Central Michigan (10)
1. Hunter Buczkowski, Sr., Health and Physical Education, 3.32 GPA
2. Luke Elzinga, R-Fr., Accounting, 3.37 GPA
3. Tyden Ferris, Jr., Marketing, 3.31 GPA
4. Cory Gildersleeve, R-Fr., Exercise Science, 3.45 GPA
5. Luke Goedeke, Jr., Mechanical Engineering, 3.74 GPA
6. Cade Klimczak, R-Fr., Mechanical Engineering, 3.55 GPA
7. Gage Kreski, Sr., Master of Science- Exercise Physiology, 3.70 GPA
8. Alonzo McCoy,…
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