The 2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 26, 2025, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. It was the eleventh and final annual GameAbove Sports Bowl (though only the second under that name). The game began at approximately 1:00 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2025âÂÂ26 bowl games concluding the 2025 FBS football season. The title sponsor for the bowl game was GameAbove Sports, a company that invests in sports teams, academies, and initiatives.
The 2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl featured the Northwestern Wildcats (6âÂÂ6) from the Big Ten Conference and the Central Michigan Chippewas (7âÂÂ5) from the Mid-American Conference. Northwestern beat Central Michigan by a score of 34âÂÂ7.
Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game featured a team from the Big Ten Conference, the Northwestern Wildcats, and a team from the Mid-American Conference (MAC), the Central Michigan Chippewas. The teams had met only once previously, on September 25, 2010, at Northwestern's Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, where Northwestern won, 30âÂÂ25.
Central Michigan lost two of their first three games, the won four of their next five; their record stood at 5âÂÂ3 at the end of October. The Chippewas won two of their final four regular-season games and entered the GameAbove Sports Bowl with a 7âÂÂ5 record.
Northwestern opened their season with two loses in their first three games, then had a four-game winning streak to improve their record to 5âÂÂ2. They finished their regular season with four losses in five games, and entered the GameAbove Sports Bowl with a 6âÂÂ6 record.