 | |
| Association | NCAA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1946; 79 years ago (1946) |
| Commissioner | Jon Steinbrecher (since 2009) |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division I |
| Subdivision | FBS |
| No. of teams | 13 (12 in 2026) |
| Headquarters | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Region | Great Lakes,New England |
| Broadcasters | ESPN CBS Sports (via ESPN) |
| Official website | getsomemaction.com |
| Locations | |
 | |
TheMid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiateathletic conference with a membership base in theGreat Lakes region that stretches from Western Massachusetts toIllinois. Its members compete inNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)Division I. Forfootball, the conference participates in the NCAA'sFootball Bowl Subdivision. Nine of the thirteen full member schools are inOhio andMichigan, with single members located in Illinois,Indiana,Massachusetts andNew York.
The MAC is headquartered in thePublic Square district in downtownCleveland, Ohio, and has two members in the nearbyAkron area. The conference ranks highest among all ten NCAA Division I FBS conferences for graduation rates.[1]
The five charter members of the Mid-American Conference wereOhio University,Butler University, theUniversity of Cincinnati,Wayne University (now Wayne State University), and Western Reserve University, one of the predecessors to today'sCase Western Reserve University. Wayne University left after the first year.Miami University andWestern Michigan University took the place of those charter members for the 1948 season. The MAC added theUniversity of Toledo (1950),Kent State University (1951), andBowling Green State University (1952). The University of Cincinnati resigned its membership February 18, 1953, with an effective date of June 1, 1953. Cincinnati's decision was based on a new requirement that at least 5 conference football games would have to be scheduled each season, university presidentRaymond Walters saying they "...regretfully resign...as the university could not continue under the present setup..."[2]
The membership was steady for the next two decades except for the addition ofMarshall University in 1954 and the departure of Western Reserve in 1955.[3] Marshall was expelled from the conference in 1969 due to NCAA violations.[4] The first major expansion since the 1950s took place in the mid-1970s with the addition ofCentral Michigan University andEastern Michigan University in 1972 andBall State University andNorthern Illinois University in 1973. NIU left after the 1985–86 season. TheUniversity of Akron joined the conference in 1992. The conference became the largest in Division I-A with the re-admittance of Marshall and NIU in 1997 and addition of theBulls from theUniversity at Buffalo in 1998. TheUniversity of Central Florida, a non-football all-sports member in theAtlantic Sun Conference at the time, joined for football only in 2002, becoming the first football-only member in conference history. Marshall and Central Florida left after the 2004–05 academic year, both joiningConference USA in all sports.
In May 2005, theTemple Owls inPhiladelphia signed a six-year contract with the MAC as a football-only school and began play in the East Division in 2007.[5]
TheLouisville Cardinals were a MAC affiliate for field hockey for a number of years when Louisville was a member of theMetro Conference and Conference USA, winning two MAC tourney titles in 2003 and 2004.[6]
TheMissouri State Bears,Evansville Purple Aces, andSouthern Illinois Salukis participate in the MAC for men's swimming and diving.[7] In 2012, theWest Virginia Mountaineers joined theFlorida Atlantic Owls andHartwick College Hawks as men's soccer affiliates.[8] Florida Atlantic departed upon joining Conference USA in 2013. Hartwick's contract was not renewed by the MAC in 2015. Nine schools are wrestling affiliates; most became affiliates when the MAC absorbed the formerEastern Wrestling League in 2019.Appalachian State University andLongwood University are associates in field hockey; Missouri State had also been a member in that sport from 2005 until dropping field hockey after the 2016 season.Binghamton University is an affiliate in men's tennis. In June 2017,SIU Edwardsville (SIUE) was invited to become an affiliate member in both men's soccer and wrestling in 2018.[9] When Buffalo suddenly dropped four sports, including men's soccer, SIUE's move in that sport was made immediately.[10]
TheUMass Minutemen joined the MAC as a football-only member in July 2012; the university announced that the team would leave the MAC at the end of the 2015 season due to contractual issues.[11][12] Meanwhile, Temple ended its affiliation with the MAC in football and joined theBig East for football in July 2012. Following thesplit of the Big East into football-sponsoring and non-football conferences in July 2013, Temple became a full member of the football-sponsoring portion, theAmerican Athletic Conference, ending its membership in theAtlantic 10 at that time.[13][14] TheChicago State Cougars were an affiliate for men's tennis until joining theWestern Athletic Conference, which sponsors that sport, in July 2013.
The conference unveiled the addition of women's lacrosse to its sport sponsorship in November 2019.[15] Lacrosse began competing under the MAC banner with six teams in the 2021 season with MAC members Akron, Central Michigan and Kent State joined by associate members Detroit Mercy, Robert Morris, and Youngstown State. Eastern Michigan became the seventh women's lacrosse member when it added the sport in the 2022 season.[16]
At the end of the 2022 season, the MAC discontinued men's soccer as a sponsored sport. While theconference realignment of the early 2020s did not affect the MAC's core membership up to that time, it significantly impacted the amount of men's soccer sponsoring programs within the conference, and ultimately led to the conference lacking enough teams to maintain its automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.[17] Of the four full MAC members that sponsored men's soccer in the 2022 season, Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, and Western Michigan moved the sport to theMissouri Valley Conference,[18] and Akron moved it to theBig East Conference.[19]
The MAC eliminated its East and West divisions for football in January 2024. The divisions had already been eliminated for other sports in 2020.[20][21] Later that year, in late February, it was announced that theUMass Minutemen and Minutewomen will join the conference as a full member beginning in 2025, returning UMass football to the MAC.[22][23] In July, the conference announced that it would begin sponsoring women's rowing for the 2025–26 season; full members Eastern Michigan, Toledo, and UMass would be joined by affiliate members Delaware, High Point, and Temple.[24]
On January 3, 2025, it was reported that Northern Illinois had accepted an invitation from theMountain West Conference to join as an affiliate member for football in 2026.[25] This move was made official on January 7, after approval by NIU's governing board.[26] Current MAC bylaws stipulate that all members must play football within the conference; correspondingly, multiple media reports in February 2025 indicated that NIU was set to rejoin theHorizon League, a non-football conference in which it had been a member from 1994 to 1997, in 2026. This move was also made official on February 27, after approval by NIU's governing board. NIU applied to maintain MAC affiliate membership in women's gymnastics and men's wrestling, neither of which the Horizon sponsors.[27][28][29] However, this did not come to pass, and NIU instead joined the Mountain West and thePac-12 Conference as an affiliate for those respective sports.
There are thirteen public universities with full membership:
Eighteen schools have MAC affiliate membership status as of 2025. On July 1, 2012, Temple joined theBig East Conference for football only (the school's other sports would join the Big East/American for 2013–14), and Massachusetts replaced Temple as a football-only member in the MAC East Division. On September 19, 2012, the MAC announcedMissouri,Northern Iowa andOld Dominion would join aswrestling affiliates; as the Southeastern and Missouri Valley Conferences do not sponsor wrestling. Missouri and Northern Iowa participated only in the conference tournament in the 2012–13 school year, and began full conference play in 2013–14. Old Dominion did not begin MAC competition until 2013–14, when it left theColonial Athletic Association (which had sponsored wrestling, butno longer does so) forConference USA (which has never sponsored the sport).[32][33] Old Dominion discontinued wrestling in April 2020.[34]
On July 1, 2013, Florida Atlantic's men's soccer program moved with the rest of its athletic program to Conference USA, and Chicago State's men's tennis team followed the rest of its sports to theWestern Athletic Conference.
The 2014–15 school year saw one affiliate member leave for another conference and two new affiliates join. The Hartwick men's soccer team left the MAC for theSun Belt Conference, which had announced in February 2014 that it would reinstate men's soccer, a sport that it last sponsored in 1995, for the 2014 season.[35] The new affiliates for 2014–15 wereBinghamton in men's tennis andLongwood in field hockey.[36]
On July 1, 2017, one associate member left the MAC, another associate member dropped one of its two MAC sports, and two new schools became associate members. Northern Iowa wrestling moved from the MAC to theBig 12 Conference.[37]Missouri State dropped field hockey,[38] but remained a MAC member in men's swimming & diving.Appalachian State joined MAC field hockey,[39] andSIU Edwardsville (SIUE) joined in men's soccer.[40] SIUE was initially announced as joining in both men's soccer and wrestling in 2018, but less than a week after the initial announcement, the conference indicated that SIUE men's soccer would immediately join.[40][10] SIUE wrestling joined on its originally announced schedule.
On March 5, 2019, the conference announced that it would be adding the seven former members of theEastern Wrestling League as affiliate members in wrestling, making the MAC the second-largest wrestling conference for academic year 2019–20.[41]
With the addition of women's lacrosse, the MAC added affiliate membersDetroit Mercy,Robert Morris, andYoungstown State in the 2020–21 academic year. UDM and YSU, all-sports members of theHorizon League, were announced as incoming associates at the same time the MAC announced the addition of lacrosse.[16] RMU was announced as an incoming associate in late June 2020, shortly after the school announced it would join the Horizon League in July 2020.[42]
In June 2020, SIUE announced that it would leave the MAC men's soccer league in 2021 to rejoin its previous men's soccer home of theMissouri Valley Conference.[43] It remains in MAC wrestling to this day.
Also in 2021, Missouri left MAC wrestling and returned to itsformer home of theBig 12 Conference as a wrestling-only member.[44] At the same time, four schools became single-sport MAC members—Bellarmine in field hockey,[45]Georgia Southern andGeorgia State in men's soccer,[46] andValparaiso in men's swimming (the school does not include diving in its men's aquatics program).[47]
In 2022, West Virginia men's soccer was scheduled to leave the MAC for single-sport membership inConference USA (CUSA).[48] However, due to the tenuous future of CUSA at that time, West Virginia opted instead to join theSun Belt Conference (SBC) in 2022 as that league reinstated men's soccer. Georgia Southern and Georgia State, both full SBC members, also returned men's soccer to their home conference in 2022.[49] In response, the MAC announced thatChicago State would join as a men's soccer affiliate as of the 2022–23 season, as the Cougars prepared to depart theWestern Athletic Conference in all sports, including soccer.[50] Also in 2022, the MAC gained another affiliate when another Chicago institution,UIC, joined for men's swimming & diving.[51] Ultimately, Chicago State's tenure as a MAC affiliate lasted only for the 2022 season, as the conference dropped men's soccer at season's end.[17] 2023 saw UIC adding men's tennis to its affiliate membership, as well as the announcement thatJames Madison would be joining as an affiliate for field hockey in 2024.[52][53]
In 2024, theMissouri Valley Conference announced it would begin sponsoring men's swimming & diving for the 2024–25 season. At the time, the MAC men's swimming programs consisted of 2 MAC schools and 5 affiliates from the MVC; correspondingly, all of these programs would move to the MVC for the following season, with the 2 MAC schools (Ball State and Miami) joining the MVC as affiliates for that sport.[54] However, shortly after dropping men's swimming, the MAC announced it would begin sponsoring a new sport, women's rowing, in 2025–26. Accordingly, it brought on 3 new affiliates for that sport:Delaware,High Point, and former football affiliateTemple.[24]
School names, nicknames, and colors listed here reflect those used during each school's MAC tenure.
| Institution | Location | Founded | Type | Nickname | Joined[a] | Left[b] | Colors | Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler University | Indianapolis, Indiana | 1855 | Nonsectarian | Bulldogs | 1946 | 1950 | Big East[c] | |
| University of Cincinnati | Cincinnati, Ohio | 1819 | Public | Bearcats | 1946 | 1953 | Big 12 | |
| Marshall University | Huntington, West Virginia | 1837 | Public | Thundering Herd | 1954 | 1969 | Sun Belt | |
| 1997 | 2005 | |||||||
| Wayne University[d] | Detroit, Michigan | 1868 | Public | Tartars[e] | 1946 | 1947 | GLIAC[f] | |
| Western Reserve University[g] | Cleveland, Ohio | 1826 | Nonsectarian | Red Cats[h] | 1946 | 1955 | UAA[i] |
School names, nicknames, and colors listed here reflect those used during each school's MAC tenure.
Full members Full members (non-football) Associate members (football only) Independent Other conference 1 Other conference 2
One of the current full member schools, theUniversity at Buffalo, is a member of theAssociation of American Universities (AAU).[59] All members of the MAC areclassified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research spending and doctorate production" except for the University at Buffalo,Kent State University, theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst, andOhio University, which are classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research spending and doctorate production".[60] Member schools are also ranked nationally and globally by various groups, includingU.S. News & World Report andTimes Higher Education.
| University | Location | Affiliation | Carnegie[60] | Endowment[61][62] | USN Nat.[63] | URAP Global[64] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Akron | Akron, Ohio | Public | Research (High) | $236,000,000 | 293–381 | 763 |
| Ball State University | Muncie, Indiana | Public | Research (High) | $325,000,000 | 192 | 1,437 |
| Bowling Green State University | Bowling Green, Ohio | Public | Research (High) | $200,000,000 | 246 | 1,443 |
| University at Buffalo | Buffalo, New York | Public | Research (Very High) | $1,020,000,000 | 79 | 279 |
| Central Michigan University | Mount Pleasant, Michigan | Public | Research (High) | $246,000,000 | 240 | 1,335 |
| Eastern Michigan University | Ypsilanti, Michigan | Public | Research (High) | $78,000,000 | 293–381 | 2,187 |
| Kent State University | Kent, Ohio | Public | Research (Very High) | $188,000,000 | 211 | 801 |
| Miami University | Oxford, Ohio | Public | Research (High) | $736,000,000 | 91 | 1,061 |
| Northern Illinois University | DeKalb, Illinois | Public | Research (High) | $99,000,000 | 293–381 | 1,078 |
| Ohio University | Athens, Ohio | Public | Research (Very High) | $943,400,000 | 176 | 701 |
| University of Toledo | Toledo, Ohio | Public | Research (Very High) | $551,000,000 | 293–381 | 745 |
| Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo, Michigan | Public | Research (High) | $495,000,000 | 246 | 1,292 |
The Mid-American Conference sponsors championship competition in 9 men's and 13 women's NCAA sanctioned sports, with women's lacrosse becoming the newest sport in 2020–21.[65] As of the 2024–25 school year, 16 schools are associate members for four sports.
As the MAC is an FBS conference, its full members are subject to the NCAA requirement that FBS members field teams in at least 16 NCAA-recognized sports. However, as of 2017, the MAC itself required sponsorship of only four sports: football, men's and women's basketball, and women's volleyball.[66] This may have since changed, as UMass was accepted as a new conference member effective in 2025 despite not sponsoring women's volleyball.
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball | 11 | – |
| Basketball | 12 | 12 |
| Cross country | 9 | 12 |
| Field hockey | – | 8 |
| Football | 12 | – |
| Golf | 8 | 10 |
| Gymnastics | – | 7 |
| Lacrosse | – | 7 |
| Soccer | – | 12 |
| Softball | – | 12 |
| Swimming anddiving | – | 8 |
| Tennis | 6 | 7 |
| Track and field (indoor) | 4 | 12 |
| Track and field (outdoor) | 5 | 12 |
| Volleyball | – | 12 |
| Wrestling | 13 | – |
| School | Baseball | Basketball | Cross country | Football | Golf | Tennis | Track and field (indoor) | Track and field (outdoor) | Wrestling | Total MAC sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | 6 |
| Ball State | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | 5 |
| Bowling Green | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | 5 |
| Buffalo | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 |
| Central Michigan | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | 6 |
| Eastern Michigan | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | 7 |
| Kent State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 |
| Miami (OH) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | 6 |
| Northern Illinois | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | 6 |
| Ohio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | 6 |
| Toledo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | 6 |
| UMass | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | 6 |
| Western Michigan | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | 4 |
| Totals | 12 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 8 | 5+1[a] | 5 | 6 | 5+7[b] | 76+8 |
Future members in gray.
| School | Ice hockey | Lacrosse | Rifle[a] | Soccer | Swimming & diving | Volleyball |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | No | No | GARC | Big East | No | No |
| Ball State | No | No | No | No | MVC | MIVA |
| Bowling Green | CCHA | No | No | MVC | No | No |
| Miami | NCHC | No | No | No | MVC | No |
| Northern Illinois | No | No | No | MVC | No | No |
| UMass | Hockey East | A-10 | No | Summit | MVC | No |
| Western Michigan | NCHC | No | No | MVC | No | No |
| School | Basketball | Cross country | Field hockey | Golf | Gymnastics | Lacrosse | Rowing | Soccer | Softball | Swimming | Tennis | Track and field (indoor) | Track and field (outdoor) | Volleyball | Total MAC sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 |
| Ball State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 12 |
| Bowling Green | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 11 |
| Buffalo | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9 |
| Central Michigan | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 11 |
| Eastern Michigan | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 11 |
| Kent State | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 11 |
| Miami | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 |
| Northern Illinois | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 |
| Ohio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 |
| Toledo | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 11 |
| UMass | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 11 |
| Western Michigan | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 10 |
| Totals | 13 | 13 | 6+4[a] | 10 | 7 | 5+3[b] | 3+3[c] | 13 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 137+10 |
| School | Lightweight rowing[a] | Rifle[b] | Synchronized skating[c] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | No | GARC | No |
| Eastern Michigan | No[d] | No | No |
| Miami | No | No | Independent |
Notes:
On November 30, 2023, the MAC approved a new scheduling format for football effective for the 2024 season, eliminating its East and West Divisions for the first time since 1996 in favor of a pod-based protected rivalry system. Under the new system, teams will be divided into 4 pods of 3 teams each, and each team will be guaranteed to face the other 2 teams in its pod every season. Additionally, every team in the MAC will be guaranteed to face every other team in the MAC at least once every three years. TheMAC Football Championship Game, which previously matched the winner of the East Division against the winner of the West Division, will instead put the two teams in the MAC with the highest conference winning percentage. The pods are as follows:[68][69]
| School 1 | School 2 | School 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pod 1 | Akron | Buffalo | Kent State |
| Pod 2 | Ball State | Miami (OH) | Ohio |
| Pod 3 | Bowling Green | Northern Illinois | Toledo |
| Pod 4 | Central Michigan | Eastern Michigan | Western Michigan |
For the current season, see2025 Mid-American Conference football season. | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(June 2017) |
| Team | First season | All-time record | All-time win % | Bowl appearances | Bowl record | MAC titles | Other conference titles | Stadium | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | 1891 | 534–602–36 | .471 | 3 | 1–2 | 1 | 0 | InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field | Joe Moorhead |
| Ball State | 1924 | 479–461–32 | .509 | 9 | 1–8 | 5 | 5 | Scheumann Stadium | Mike Uremovich |
| Bowling Green | 1919 | 570–432–52 | .565 | 15 | 5–10 | 12 | 5 | Doyt Perry Stadium | Eddie George |
| Buffalo | 1894 | 415–561–28 | .427 | 7* | 4–3 | 1 | 1 | University at Buffalo Stadium | Pete Lembo |
| Central Michigan | 1896 | 651–454–37 | .586 | 13 | 4–9 | 7 | 9 | Kelly/Shorts Stadium | Jim McElwain |
| Eastern Michigan | 1891 | 495–630–47 | .442 | 8 | 2–6 | 1 | 9 | Rynearson Stadium | Chris Creighton |
| Kent State | 1920 | 365–608–28 | .379 | 5 | 1–4 | 1 | 0 | Dix Stadium | Kenni Burns |
| Miami (OH) | 1888 | 743–489–44 | .600 | 16 | 9–7 | 15 | 7 | Yager Stadium | Chuck Martin |
| Northern Illinois | 1899 | 617–531–51 | .536 | 16 | 6–10 | 6 | 8 | Huskie Stadium | Thomas Hammock |
| Ohio | 1894 | 608–587–47 | .508 | 16 | 8–8 | 5 | 6 | Peden Stadium | Tim Albin |
| Toledo | 1917 | 588–456–24 | .562 | 22 | 12–10 | 12 | 3 | Glass Bowl | Jason Candle |
| Western Michigan | 1905 | 603–488–24 | .552 | 12 | 2–10 | 3 | 1 | Waldo Stadium | Tim Lester |
Bowl games
In 2017, the MAC was contracted to provide a team for each of five college footballbowl games: theBahamas Bowl,LendingTree Bowl,Famous Idaho Potato Bowl,Camellia Bowl (later renamed theSalute to Veterans Bowl) andQuick Lane Bowl (later renamed the GameAbove Sports Bowl). The MAC also has secondary agreements with severalESPN-owned bowls.
The MAC champion, like the other "Group of 5" conferences receives an automatic berth in one of the so-calledNew Year's Six bowl games associated with theCollege Football Playoff under either of the following circumstances:
The first "Access Bowl" berth in 2014 went to Boise State (MW); the 2015 berth went to Houston (American). The MAC got its first berth in 2016 with Western Michigan, who had an undefeated regular season that year and finished ranked at No. 15 in theAP Poll.
During the era of the now-defunctBowl Championship Series (BCS), one MAC team appeared in a BCS bowl game. In2012,NIU qualified by being ranked in the top 16 (15th) in the season's final BCS standings, and also higher than at least one champion of a conference that received an automatic berth in a BCS game. In the 2012 season, two such conference champions were ranked below NIU:Big East championLouisville, who was ranked 22nd, andBig Ten championWisconsin, who was unranked. NIU lost toFlorida State in theOrange Bowl.
Football rivalries involving MAC teams include:
| Teams | Rivalry name | Trophy | Meetings | First Played | Record | Series leader | Current streak | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | Kent State | – | Wagon Wheel | 67 | 1923 | 37–28–2 | Akron | Akron won 2 |
| Akron | Youngstown State | – | Steel Tire | 35 | 1982 | 19–14–2 | Youngstown State | Youngstown State won 3 |
| Ball State | Indiana State | – | Blue Key Victory Bell | 64 | 1924 | 39–24–1 | Ball State | Ball State won 1 |
| Ball State | Miami | The Redbird Rivalry | Redbird Rivalry Trophy | 38 | 1931 | 13–24–1 | Miami | Miami won 5 |
| Ball State | Northern Illinois | Battle for the Bronze Stalk | Bronze Stalk Trophy | 53 | 1941 | 25–25–2 | Tie | Ball State won 3 |
| Bowling Green | Kent State | – | Anniversary Award | 92 | 1920 | 62–24–6 | Bowling Green | Bowling Green won 2 |
| Bowling Green | Toledo | Battle of I-75 | Battle of I-75 Trophy | 90 | 1919 | 43–42–4 | Toledo | Bowling Green won 1 |
| Buffalo | UMass | The Flagship Cup | – | 16 | 1964 | 9–6 | Buffalo | Buffalo won 2 |
| Central Michigan | Eastern Michigan | Rivalry | – | 102 | 1902 | 64–32–6 | Central Michigan | Eastern Michigan won 1 |
| Central Michigan | Western Michigan | Battle of the Cannon Trophy | Victory Cannon | 95 | 1907 | 53–40–2 | Western Michigan | Central Michigan won 1 |
| Miami | Cincinnati | Battle for the Bell | Victory Bell | 128 | 1888 | 61–60–7 | Cincinnati | Cincinnati won 1 |
| Miami | Ohio | Battle of the Bricks | – | 101 | 1908 | 56–43–2 | Miami | Ohio won 1 |
| Miami | Northern Illinois | Battle for the Mallory Cup | Mallory Cup | 21 | 1970 | 12-9 | Miami | Miami won 4 |
| Ohio | Marshall | Battle for the Bell | The Bell | 60 | 1905 | 33–21–6 | Ohio | Marshall won 1 |
| UMass | Boston College | Rivalry | – | 27 | 1899 | 23–4–1 | Boston College | Boston College won 11 |
| UMass | New Hampshire | Colonial Clash | – | 74 | 1897 | 43–28–3 | UMass | New Hampshire won 2 |
| UMass | UConn | Rivalry | The Southwick Jug | 78 | 1897 | 38–38–2 | Tie | UConn won 3 |
In addition,Central Michigan,Eastern Michigan, andWestern Michigan compete for theMichigan MAC Trophy, which is awarded to the team with the best head-to-head record each year. Since the inception of the trophy in 2005, Western Michigan has won 7 times, Central Michigan has won 5 times, and Eastern Michigan has won the trophy 4 times. Western Michigan has won the trophy three straight years (2018–2020) as well as six of seven years from 2014 to 2020 (2014–2016, 2018–2020).
In August 2010, Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher and theCleveland Cavaliers announced that the Mid-American Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments would remain in Cleveland at the venue then known as Quicken Loans Arena and now asRocket Arena through 2017.[71] Both tournaments have flourished since moving to Cleveland in 2000, with the men's semi-finals and championship regularly drawing large crowds at Quicken Loans Arena.[72] In 2007, the MAC also announced a format change for both tournaments, bringing all twelve men's and women's teams to Cleveland. The MAC also co-hosted the2007 Women's Final Four at Quicken Loans Arena after successfully hosting the2006 NCAA Women's Basketball Regional at the same facility.
On May 12, 2020, Steinbrecher announced a suite of major changes to the conference's competitive format across multiple sports in response to fallout from theCOVID-19 pandemic. Specific to men's and women's basketball, the following changes took effect in 2020–21 and will continue through at least 2023–24:[21]
The following are the most recent conference champions of each MAC sport. Champions from the previous academic year are indicated with the calendar year of their title.
In sports in which regular-season and tournament champions are recognized, "RS" indicates regular-season champion and "T" indicates tournament champion.
Fall 2025
| Winter 2024–25
| Spring 2025
|
Total revenue includes ticket sales, contributions and donations, rights and licensing, student fees, school funds and all other sources including TV income, camp income, concessions, and novelties.
Total expenses includes coach and staff salaries, scholarships, buildings and grounds, maintenance, utilities and rental fees, recruiting, team travel, equipment and uniforms, conference dues, and insurance.
The following table shows institutional reporting to theU.S. Department of Education as shown on the DOE Equity in Athletics website for the 2023–24 academic year.[74]
| Institution | 2023–24 total revenue from athletics | 2023–24 total expenses on athletics |
|---|---|---|
| University of Massachusetts Amherst | $49,525,166 | $49,525,166 |
| University at Buffalo | $42,271,934 | $42,113,971 |
| Miami University | $40,819,194 | $40,819,194 |
| Western Michigan University | $40,487,398 | $40,487,398 |
| University of Toledo | $37,298,170 | $37,298,170 |
| Eastern Michigan University | $37,094,526 | $37,094,526 |
| Central Michigan University | $36,647,135 | $36,647,135 |
| Kent State University | $34,453,185 | $34,453,185 |
| Ohio University | $32,958,838 | $32,958,838 |
| Bowling Green State University | $32,044,229 | $31,864,946 |
| University of Akron | $30,010,416 | $30,010,416 |
| Ball State University | $29,737,219 | $29,737,219 |
| Northern Illinois University | $24,939,848 | $24,939,848 |
The Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame was the firstDivision I conference Hall of Fame.[75] It was established in 1987 and classes have been inducted in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 2012 and 2013.[76][77]
In order to be eligible, a person must have participated during the time the university was in the MAC and five years must have passed from the time the individual participated in athletics or worked in the athletic department.[75]
The following is a list of the members of the MAC Hall of Fame, along with school affiliation, sport(s) for which they were inducted, and year of induction.
A number of MAC sports, including football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, soccer, wrestling and volleyball, are telecast onSpectrum Sports, replacingSportsTime Ohio andFox Sports Ohio as the MAC TV partner.[78] Along with Spectrum Sports,ESPN, as well as theAmerican Sports Network, retain the "local and regional" syndication telecast rights to the MAC for football and basketball.
In 2000, ESPN began broadcasting MAC football games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. The conference agreed to the unusual windows to help improve viewership, as the games would face less competition than games in traditional windows such as on Saturdays); fans would nickname the midweek gamesMACtion. In 2014, the conference and ESPN agreed to a new 13-year contract, where each school receives more than $800,000 annually, and plays most November football games on weekday nights; 16 of 18 games in 2016 were not on Saturdays, for example. While these mid-week games have a decreased stadium attendance, they benefit from prominent, national television coverage on an ESPN network, as opposed to having to air on lesser-viewed channels orstreaming platforms.[79] While noting the smaller attendance, coaches say that midweek games are good for the conference, and give players a break on Saturdays.[80]
Ball State produces its own comprehensive television package withBall State Sports Link. Affiliate stations includeWIPB inMuncie,WNDY inIndianapolis,WPTA inFort Wayne,WHME inSouth Bend,WTVW inEvansville,WYIN inMerrillville andComcast inMichigan. All Ball State Sports Link games are also broadcast on student radio stationWCRD and on the Ball State Radio Network produced byWLBC-FM andBackyard Broadcasting.
NIU has multiple football and basketball games telecast by Comcast SportsNet Chicago. In addition, most NIU football and basketball games can be heard on WSCR-AM 670 "The Score"—Chicago's powerful 50,000-watt, top-rated all-sports station, which reaches 38 states and Canada.
MAC Properties (a division of ISP Sports) is the sponsorship arm of the Mid-American Conference, and handles all forms of sponsorship and advertising for the MAC which includes managing and growing its stable of official corporate partners. As of 2010, the MAC has five official corporate partners: FirstEnergy, Marathon, PNC Bank, AutoTrader.com and Cleveland Clinic Sports Health. There are approximately 20 other companies engaged as sponsors of the conference at the non-official level. MAC Properties also assists with the management of the conference's television and radio contracts, including those with ESPN Regional, FOX Sports Ohio and ESPN 850 WKNR among others.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)The most recent renovation transformed the stadium into a major community asset, while increased its capacity to 22,500 and added permanent lighting for night games.
