The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members located in Illinois, Indiana, and New York. For football, the MAC participates in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision.
National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision independent schools are four-year institutions whose football programs are not part of an NCAA-affiliated conference. This means that FBS independents are not required to schedule each other for competition like conference schools do.
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference in the Midwestern United States that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the current CCHA recognizes as part of its history, existed from 1971 to 2013. Four of its nine members are located in the state of Michigan, with three in Minnesota and one each in Ohio and South Dakota. It has also had teams located in Alaska, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Nebraska over the course of its existence.
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's-only conference.
Barry James Melrose is a Canadian–American retired broadcaster and former professional ice hockey player and head coach. Melrose played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and National Hockey League (NHL). After retiring from playing, he became a head coach and is best known for being the coach of the Los Angeles Kings in their run to the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals. Until 2023, he was a long-time commentator and hockey analyst for ESPN as well as a contributor for the NHL Network.
Christos Konstantinos Chelios is a Greek-American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He was one of the longest-tenured players in the National Hockey League (NHL), and is a three-time Stanley Cup champion—one with the Montreal Canadiens and two with the Detroit Red Wings.
ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications. The channel is primarily dedicated to coverage of college athletics, and is also used as an additional outlet for general ESPN programming. ESPNU is based alongside its sister networks at ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.
Raymond Vincent Ferraro is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current broadcaster for ESPN/ABC and select Vancouver Canucks games on CBC Sports/Sportsnet. He played for 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Hartford Whalers (1984–1990), New York Islanders (1990–1995), New York Rangers (1995–1996), Los Angeles Kings (1996–1999), Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2002), and St. Louis Blues (2002).
Richard Alan Rodriguez, also known as Rich Rod, is an American college football coach and former player. He is the current head football coach at West Virginia University, his second stint with his alma mater. Rodriguez previously was the head football coach at Salem University, Glenville State College, the University of Michigan, the University of Arizona, and Jacksonville State University. In 2011, Rodriguez worked as an analyst for CBS Sports.
Mark Steven Howe is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and left winger who played sixteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) following six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA).
FanDuel Sports Network Detroit is an American regional sports network owned by Main Street Sports Group and operated as an affiliate of FanDuel Sports Network. It provides coverage of local sports teams in the state of Michigan, primarily focusing on those in Metro Detroit. The network airs exclusive broadcasts of games involving the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Pistons, and Detroit Red Wings; repeats of Detroit Lions preseason games; and some high school sports.
Jan Hejda is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman who played with the Edmonton Oilers, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Colorado Avalanche in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Craig Robert Roh was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Arizona for the 2008–2009 academic year and received the 2009 Scholar-Athlete Award from the College Football Hall of Fame. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines beginning in 2009, starting all 12 games at the "hybrid linebacker" position as a true freshman. He earned second-team all-conference honors in the Big Ten in 2012.
The 2014 NHL Winter Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on January 1, 2014, at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The sixth edition of the Winter Classic, it matched the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Detroit Red Wings; the Maple Leafs defeated the Red Wings, 3–2, in a shootout to move past the Red Wings in the Atlantic Division. The game was televised nationally in Canada on CBC and nationally in the United States on NBC. The game set an NHL attendance record of 105,491, surpassing the previous record set during the 2008 NHL Winter Classic.
Daniel Christopher DeKeyser is an American former professional hockey defenseman. He played as an alternate captain for the Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anaheim Arsenal in 2006, before relocating to Springfield, Massachusetts, in 2009, becoming the Springfield Armor. After five seasons in Springfield, the franchise moved to Grand Rapids in 2014 and were subsequently renamed the Grand Rapids Drive, before changing their name again to the Gold in 2021.
Greg Wyshynski is an American sportswriter and radio personality, best known for creating Yahoo! Sports’ ice hockey blog Puck Daddy. He has written two books, Glow Pucks and 10-Cent Beer and Take Your Eye Off the Puck.
The Athletic is a subscription-based sports journalism department of The New York Times.
Craig Reynolds is an American professional football running back and kickoff returner for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Kutztown, and signed with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent following the 2019 NFL draft.
The NHL on TNT is an American presentation of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by TNT Sports, and televised on TNT and streamed on Max in the United States.
