Chippewas Football (MAC, 2000)

2000 Regular Season:
Chippewas vs. Western Michigan Broncos

     The 2000 edition of Central Michigan Chippewas football was a difficult one, to say the least. Since winning the 1994 Mid-American Conference crown, the program had gone into decline, a low point coming in 1997 with a humiliating 82-6 loss at the hands of the Florida Gators. After six seasons as head coach, Dick Flynn resigned in 1999 and was replaced by Michigan offensive coordinator Mike DeBord.
     The DeBord era was an especially weak period in Chippewas football. The team never won more than 4 games per season and saw a steep decrease in attendance, including being nearly placed on probation for low attendance in 2004. The first season was the worst, as the Chippewas finished in last place in the MAC West Division, with a forgettable 2-9 record.
     Central struggled on both sides of the ball that year. Their offense was ranked 114th in Division 1 Football (116 total), averaging a miniscule 12.5 points per game. Pete Shepherd and Derrick Vickers split the quarterback duties that season. Shepherd, a 6'1" senior from Mount Pleasant, had been starter the past two seasons, played 10 games for the Chippewas in 2000. He completed 82 out of 142 passes for 906 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Vickers, a 6'1" freshman out of Miami, Florida, played in 10 games as well, completing 83 out of 180 passes for 1059 yards, 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Vickers was the more mobile quarterback of the two, and added 54 rushing yards and 1 touchdown, compared to Shepherd's -24 yards.
     The running game struggled, as no players accumulated over 500 yards on the ground. The leading rusher was Vince Webber, a junior out of Niagara, Wisconsin. Webber ran for 458 yards and 3 touchdowns. Sophomore Robbie Mixon was next on the list, with just 285 on 89 carries with 1 touchdown. Vickers was third on the list with his 54 yards.

2000 Central Michigan Chippewas team photo

     Defense was pretty awful that year, ranked 104th in the nation and giving up 34.2 points per game. The Chippewas surrendered 40 or more points five times that year, including a 52-3 loss at Ohio in Week 7. Senior Tedaro France, from New Haven, led the team with 5 interceptions, none returned for TD.
     Despite a season as bleak as this one, there was still a memorable moment. This program is from the annual Western-Central game, on November 11th in Mount Pleasant. The Chippewas were 1-8 on the year, buried in the basement, while Western was 8-1, ranked #27 in the nation, and cruising toward the MAC West title. Western was a heavy favorite in this game, but, as it is with most rivalry games, "throw the records out the window". In front of season-high crowd of 26,249, Central stunned the Broncos by jumping out to a 14-0 lead early in the first quarter. Western came back to take the lead early in the fourth, but the Chippewas took the lead for good with 4:40 to play on a Webber TD. Western dropped to 0-13-1 at Mount Pleasant since 1973.
     This was my first year at Central, and while the team was pretty awful, it was still fun going to college football games for the first time. The first game I went to this year was a 47-10 blowout loss to Boise State, so the Western game was easily the best one I saw. It still ranks as one of the best, and most exciting, CMU football games I have ever seen. I saw Coach DeBord shortly after the Western game at the Student Activity Center and congratulated him on the great win.
     This program is 52 pages long, all in black and white, loaded with stats, ads and pictures. Page 2 has a "Senior Profile" of safety Brian Leigeb, who admitted that the changes that came with the new coaching staff were hard to adjust to, but he appreciated the approach DeBord took. Leigeb still is the program leader in career tackles, with 490.
     Page 30 features Mike DeBord's profile article. While DeBord had success at Michigan (including the 1997 National Championship), his time at Central was difficult, as the program was in the middle of a down period. One of his coaches, Butch Jones, would become head coach several years later and lead the Chippewas to multiple MAC Championships.
     Page 31 features Boyden Award Winner Jon Borovich, a member of the basketball team. The Boyden Award is given to the player "who is and will be an exemplary representative of CMU" and comes with a cash grant of at least $3500. Borovich, according to the program, visited critically ill children in hospitals, spent time with their families, and was a voluteer for Special Olympics.
     Local advertisements include C&O Sportswear (highly recommended stop, btw), Baymont Inn (E. Pickard Street), Pixie, The Store (Preston Street) and Ric's Food Center.
   

References:

November 11, 2000 Central Michigan Chippewas Football Program

"The Official 2018 Chippewas Football Media Guide", CMU Athletics

"2000 Central Michigan Chippewas Stats", from SportsReference.com