among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". It has more than 14,000 students on its Mount Pleasant campus. CMU offers 200 academic programs at the undergraduate, master's, specialist, and doctoral levels. The Central Michigan Chippewas compete in the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference in six men's and ten women's sports.
== History ==
CMU opened in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute. Prof. Charles F. R. Bellows, a University of Michigan graduate, became the founding principal of the school in June 1892.
For the first year, 31 students attended classes in the Carpenter Building in downtown Mount Pleasant. Bellows surveyed the future location of the campus and was involved in the construction of the original Main Building, which opened in September 1893. Within the first two years, land was acquired, and a $10,000 school building was constructed.
During Bellows' tenure, he organized a separate Conservatory for Music through his own funds, which became incorporated …
