Andy Bronkema is on leave, and Raymoan McAfee coaches Central Michigan against Alma

MOUNT PLEASANT — Central Michigan said Thursday that associate head coach Raymoan McAfee will run the men’s basketball team while head coach Andy Bronkema is on leave.

Amy Folan, the Zyzelewski Family vice president and athletic director, announced the change. It took effect Thursday, Nov. 5. The athletic department’s release does not say whether Bronkema requested the leave or the university placed him on it, and it does not give a reason.

The timing sits on top of a game the department had already posted. The Chippewas’ published schedule had them opening the season at Louisiana-Monroe on Nov. 2 and hosting Alma at McGuirk Arena at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6. Thursday’s release says the Alma game is still at home at 7 p.m. Friday. It does not say whether Bronkema will be in the building.

What Folan said

“Since joining our program in April 2025, Coach McAfee has built strong relationships with our student-athletes and brings deep experience developing student-athletes and preparing champions and I have full confidence that our team is in good hands under his leadership,” Folan said in the release. She added that she is confident Chippewa fans will keep supporting the players.

That is the whole public account. McAfee is described as the associate head coach stepping into the interim job. The release does not list a roster change, a length of the leave, or a date when Bronkema would return. Greg Hotchkiss is listed as the contact on the release, for CMU Athletics.

Friday at McGuirk

The only game detail in Thursday’s announcement is the opponent and the clock: the Alma Scots, at home, at 7 p.m. Friday. Alma is named, and the site is not restated beyond “at home.” McGuirk Arena is the building on the schedule this site already published for that Friday date. The release does not give a ticket price, a television outlet, or a radio station.

Readers looking for a reason will not find one in the document CMU posted. Adding one would be a guess. The fact pattern that is on the page is short on purpose: a named interim coach, a named athletic director, a start date of Thursday, and a Friday home tip against Alma.

What the file photo is

The photograph with this story is a Central Michigan men’s game against Buffalo on Feb. 8, 2020, in Buffalo. The Chippewas are in gold. It is not McGuirk Arena, it is not Alma, and it does not show Bronkema. It is a file photo of the program, not of Thursday’s announcement.

Until CMU says otherwise, the public record of the leave is Folan’s statement and the interim assignment. The Friday tip is a dated game, not a claim about who will be on the sideline after that night.

Sources:
Central Michigan Athletics, “Central Michigan Men’s Basketball Announcement,” Nov. 5, 2026 (McAfee interim, Bronkema on leave, Folan quotes, Alma at 7 p.m. Friday, no reason given), https://cmuchippewas.com/news/2026/11/5/central-michigan-mens-basketball-announcement
Photo: Cay North, “Buffalo vs. Central Michigan Feb 8, 2020.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped and resized; derivative shared under the same license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buffalo_vs._Central_Michigan_Feb_8,_2020.jpg

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Tags: Mount Pleasant · Central Michigan · Andy Bronkema · Men's basketball · McGuirk Arena