The Central Michigan Chippewas are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Central Michigan University (CMU), located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The school fields sixteen men's and women's intercollegiate teams that compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level.

CMU was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1950 to 1970. The school's athletics programs are affiliated with the NCAA and compete in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The women's lacrosse team formerly competed in the Southern Conference, until the MAC began sponsoring that sport in 2020. The school colors are maroon and gold, and the school, and its students and alumni are referred to as Chippewas which is sometimes shortened to Chips.

The nickname is used with the consent of the nearby Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. The university was placed on the NCAA's list of schools with "hostile or abusive" nicknames in August 2005, but appealed the decision, with the support of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Nation. On September 2, 2005, the university announced that their appeal of the decision had been upheld.

The school athletics logo has changed over time, once featuring an Indian spear, but is now a stylized block letter "C". Within the university, this logo is often referred to as the "Action C" or "Flying C". The current version of the athletic trademark was first used in 1997.

The Chippewas nickname was put forth by assistant football coach Lawrence "Doc" Sweeney in 1942 to replace the then-current Bearcats. He argued that Bearcats not only had nothing to do with the school and the area but was also a nearly extinct beast that none of the students had ever seen or heard of. He further argued that not only was Chippewa the name of the school's yearbook, but the Chippewa River flows through Mount Pleasant, and the "American Indian image" would provide "... unlimited opportunities for pageantry and showmanship for the band as well as athletic teams." The new name was passed by a vote of the student body.

When negative reaction to racial stereotypes grew in the 1970s and 1980s, it was recommended by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission that the Chippewas name be dropped. Instead, in 1989 the university instituted several measures to enhance the name, including introducing special educational programs developed in conjunction with the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Council, headquartered on the local Isabella Indian Reservation; orientation programs were set up to familiarize CMU students and staff with traditional American Indian culture; the school's American Indian logos were eliminated along with tom-tom drumbeats by the pep bands and other activities that would reflect racial stereotypes.

A member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), Central Michigan sponsors teams in six men's and eleven women's NCAA sanctioned sports.

Central's baseball team was NCAA Division II runner-up in 1971, having lost to Florida Southern College 4–0 in the championship game.