The chairman of the Central Michigan University Biology Department believes the College of Medicine has helped grow the department. Central Michigan Life reported in the last three years, the biology and bio-medical sciences majors have grown from 450 students to 725 students. Biology Department Chairman Stephen Roberts told CM Life he had "little doubt" the school played a part. However, Roberts also said the department endorsed the Academic Senate's vote of no confidence in President George Ross and Provost Gary Shapiro. The faculty-led curriculum policy-making body believes the administration should be more forthcoming about information regarding the medical school.

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A Mount Pleasant man has been indicted and arraigned in the U.S. District Court on charges related to the sexual assault of a minor, the U.S. Attorney's Office reports. Allen Wade Pego Sr., 56, faces three counts of aggravated sexual abuse, three counts of sexual abuse, three counts of sexual abuse of a minor and eight counts of witness tampering. The indictment charges that between November 1989 and November 1993, Pego sexually assaulted a minor victim numerous times and that between June 2008 and July 2011, he sexually abused a different victim, all on the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Reservation.

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Central Michigan hits the road to face the Mid-American Conference team with the league's top overall record in the 18-4 Ohio Bobcats.  Tipoff in the Convocation Center is set for 2 p.m. The game features two of the league's premier playmakers in CMU's Trey Zeigler and Ohio D.J. Cooper.  Both rank among the MAC leaders in scoring with Zeigler averaging 16.1 points per game and Cooper 13.5.  Zeigler also ranks among the rebounding leaders while Cooper is tops in steals and ranks among the best in assists.  Both were preseason All-MAC selections in their respective divisions. The Chippewas are looking to snap a six-game losing skid, which ties as the longest in the last six seasons.

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No. 22 Central Michigan hits the road for a pair of dual meets this weekend, visiting George Mason on Saturday and No. 25 Old Dominion on Sunday. The short turnaround will force the Chippewas to make weight twice in less than 24 hours. Saturday's dual at George Mason begins at 7:30 p.m., while Sunday's meet at ODU begins at 3 p.m. "When you go on the road and have to make weight back-to-back days and wrestle two straight days, it's similar to the NCAA Tournament," said CMU head coach Tom Borrelli. "This weekend is good practice for what we will have to do in that three-day tournament." CMU enters the weekend having dropped three straight dual meets, all to top-20 opponents, after having posted wins in seven straight duals.

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There are a handful of fathers coaching their sons in college basketball, and Central Michigan University has such a pair. The Associated Press reported on the father-son dynamic, including Creighton University coach Greg McDermott and his son, Doug McDermott. CMU men's basketball coach Ernie Zeigler told the AP his goal is to push his son, Trey, as a player and help him become an adult. Trey Zeigler, a sophomore, turned down offers to play at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of California-Los Angeles and Arizona State University to play for CMU and his father. Now he's ranking among the best in the Mid-American conference and said he has no regrets about his decision.

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 Coming off its first loss of the season, Central Michigan will look to bounce back when it travels to Ypsilanti Friday for the Michigan/Illinois Invite. The quad meet will feature the host Eagles (0-2), Illinois State (2-2) and Illinois-Chicago (1-3) and is set to begin at 7 p.m. inside Bowen Field House. The Maroon and Gold suffered its first loss of the season Sunday versus Texas Woman's University despite posting season-best marks on vault, but defeated Eastern Michigan two days prior, 193.325-192.725. Be sure to check CMUChippewas.com Friday evening for a complete recap, including photos and a post-meet interview with coach Reighard.

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Robert "Kool" Bell has plenty of reason to celebrate the good times these days. "Have you heard the news?" he said, calling to talk about Kool and the Gang's upcoming show at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort.
A week to the day after they join The Commodores in Mount Pleasant, Bell and his bandmates hit the road with Van Halen on its 40th anniversary reunion tour with David Lee Roth. "You know there are a lot of people scratching their heads over that one," he said, chuckling. "We were playing the Glastonbury Festival in London - it's a big one, with rockers like U2 and Coldplay and David Lee Roth saw us there."

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Central Michigan men's basketball will host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, Feb. 18. Tipoff in McGuirk Arena will be 7 p.m. The matchup is a result of the pairings for the 10th Annual Sears BracketBusters event presented by ESPN. All 12 Mid-American Conference teams are competing in the 142-team extravaganza and three MAC programs were selected for nationally televised games. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is 4-16 overall, 3-5 in the Southland Conference. Longtime Rice head coach Willis Wilson is in his first season as head coach of the Islanders. Junior guard Terence Jones is averaging 14.1 points per game to lead team in scoring while junior forward Myron Dempsey is averaging 8.8 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds per contest.

So who's this Bernadette Johnson? It was a short question with a long answer a few days ago, when Bill Cosby answered his phone with an enthusiastic "Come in!" Those of us who've known Bill Cosby for years, as much as you can know someone through television and movies, have already met Fat Albert and Little Bill and Alice the Great. But Bernadette pops up in his more recent shows, especially the ones he calls his wheelhouse, speaking at colleges where parents and children come together to hear his insightful commentaries on life. "Parents, mothers and fathers and their kids sit with each other, laughing together and pointing fingers," he said. "It's wonderful to have that time together."

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Central Michigan indoor track and field student-athletes will be scattered throughout the region this weekend representing the university at two different meets. A contingency of multi-event student-athletes will travel to University Park, Pa., for the Penn State National beginning Friday, while the throwers will on Friday take the much shorter trip to Saginaw for The Cardinal at Saginaw Valley State University. The Penn State National begins at 4:45 p.m. Friday, and resumes at 10 a.m. Saturday. Field events at the Cardinal begin at 3 p.m. Friday.

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