On the surface, the Eastern Michigan Eagles are just another overlooked MAC program. Most fans probably assume it’s easy to find cheap Eastern Michigan football tickets any time they want. However, the program has a long history that has included plenty of shining moments. More importantly, the Eagles are a team on the rise. In the years to come, the program expects to contend for MAC championships while the demand for last-minute Eastern Michigan football tickets continues to rise.

Once Upon a Time

During the early days of EMU football, the program was known as the Michigan State Normal College Normalities. While that name is ridiculous, the team’s performance on the field was no joke. Under longtime coach Elton Rynearson, the Normalities won five conference titles from 1925 to 1930. When all was said and done, Rynearson coached the team for 26 seasons, amassing 114 wins and leading the program to 17 winning seasons.

A New Era

Decades after Rynearson led the best era in school history, Eastern Michigan made the jump to Division I, joining the MAC in 1976. The early years in the MAC were rough on the Eagles, but Jim Harkema was able to get things turned around. In 1987, Harkema led Eastern Michigan to the program’s first MAC championship and first bowl game since they made the jump to Division I. The success was short-lived but a big step forward for EMU football.

Look Out, World!

Nowadays, there is little doubt that Eastern Michigan is a program on the rise. In 2014, Chris Creighton took over the Eagles. He inherited a program that won four games in the two seasons before his arrival and three games in his first two seasons. But that was followed by a swift turnaround. In 2016, Creighton took the Eagles to a bowl game for the first time in 30 games. When Creighton led Eastern Michigan back to bowl games in 2018 and 2019, it became clear that the Eagles are going places and that the rest of the MAC needs to look out for them in the years to come.