196 FAMILY WITH MIXED ALLEGIANCES PREPARES FOR MOTOR CITY BOWL

Dec. 13, 2006

MEDIA CONTACT:
Lindsay Allen, CMU Media Relations, 989-774-7327Tom Tozer, MTSU News and Public Affairs, 615-898-5131
FOR COMMENTS, CONTACT:Kevin and Liz Campbell, 989-839-9130Kelly Campbell, 859-258-7772

FAMILY WITH MIXED ALLEGIANCES PREPARES FOR MOTOR CITY BOWL

(MOUNT PLEASANT, MICH)—The Motor City Bowl match-up of the Central Michigan University Chippewas versus the Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders may not be significant to some people, but the Campbell family is preparing for a showdown.
Kevin and Liz Campbell are both CMU graduates—Kevin in 1974 and 1976, and Liz in 1977—while son Kelly, 27, is a 2003 graduate of MTSU. Kevin, a senior information specialist for Dow Corning, also teaches in CMU's School of Broadcast and Cinematic Arts.But the coincidence does not end there. All three football fans have deep connections to their respective teams.During his college days at CMU, Kevin, whose father, George, was a locker room attendant at CMU's Kelly/Shorts Stadium, helped film football games for the Chippewas and often was a sound engineer for home games. He even stood Liz up for what was supposed to be their first date because he had to shoot a game at Ball State University (no, she hasn't forgotten).Similarly, Kelly spent four years on the crew of MTSU's football coaches' show, "which included videotaping home games, assisting in getting feeds from remote trucks, shooting and editing packages, studio components, and just about everything else," he said. Kelly was on the staff of MTSU’s Department of Audio-Visual Services, both while as a student and as a graduate.Given the Campbells' connections to the Motor City Bowl teams, they all knew what their holiday plans would be once MTSU received its bid to face CMU in the game."I just about fell off the couch when the announcement was made that CMU would be playing against MTSU," said Liz. "Before Kelly's years there, I hadn't even heard of MTSU. Kelly's first year at MTSU was the university’s first year as a Division I school [in football], and I remember watching them struggle to be competitive at the Division I level while growing their football program."Kelly, who now works for Kentucky Educational Television and also serves on the video crew for the University of Kentucky's football team, expects to return to his home state with his wife, Michelle, for the holidays, and the entire family—including Kelly’s younger brother Brian, 24, and his girlfriend—plans to be on hand at Detroit's Ford Field when the teams face off Tuesday, Dec. 26."It's pretty exciting, really,” Kelly said. “MTSU football has really fought hard over the past couple of years with the move to Division I-A. It takes a lot of talent and hard work to get a bowl bid, and both of those have happened for MTSU this year."Kelly and his parents may disagree about who will win the game, but don't expect any bets or brawls in this rivalry-torn family."So far no bets between the CMU alums and the MTSU alum," Liz said. "I'm just looking forward to sharing the day and the experience with Kevin and the boys."Kevin agreed, but he also made a bold prediction regarding the game's outcome."No bets going among us because CMU will win, hands down," he said. "A little family rivalry will be fun."As for where the Campbells will sit at Ford Field … well, Kelly might be a bit uncomfortable with that arrangement."I've got a pretty good feeling that I'll be the only one wearing blue and white in a sea of maroon and gold, since my parents bought the tickets," Kelly commented.

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NOTE: A special thanks to Lindsay Allen, CMU Media Relations for this story.