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Mid-American Conference (MAC)
Established: 1946
NCAA	Division I FBS
Members	12
Sports fielded	23 (men's: 11; women's: 12)
Region	Great Lakes
Headquarters	Cleveland, Ohio
Commissioner	Jon Steinbrecher (since 2009)
Website	http://www.mac-sports.com/
Locations

The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members located in Illinois, Indiana and New York. For football, the MAC participates in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision.

The MAC is headquartered in the Public Square district in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The MAC has been referred to as the Conference of Quarterbacks^[1] because of the accomplishments of numerous former players in the National Football League. The MAC ranks highest among all eleven NCAA Division I FBS conferences for graduation rates.^[2]

Member schools participate in baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross-country, field hockey, football, men's and women's golf, women's gymnastics, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track, women's volleyball and wrestling.

Contents 1 Member schools 1.1 Division breakdown 2 History 2.1 Former members 2.2 Membership time line 2.3 Commissioners 3 Championships 3.1 Football 3.2 Basketball 4 Hall of Fame 5 Conference facilities 6 Broadcasts 7 MAC Properties 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Member schools

There are twelve schools with full membership:

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Endowment
East Division
University of Akron	Zips	Akron, Ohio (217,074)	1870	Public	25,942[3]	$212 million
Bowling Green State University	Falcons	Bowling Green, Ohio (29,636)	1910	Public	22,882	$70 million
University at Buffalo	Bulls	Buffalo, New York (292,648)	1846	Public	28,054	$566 million
Kent State University	Golden Flashes	Kent, Ohio (27,946)	1910	Public	34,411[3]	$158 million
Miami University	RedHawks	Oxford, Ohio (21,943)	1809	Public	20,126	$409 million
Ohio University	Bobcats	Athens, Ohio (21,342)	1804	Public	20,437	$240 million
West Division
Ball State University	Cardinals	Muncie, Indiana (65,287)	1918	Public	20,113	$222 million
Central Michigan University	Chippewas	Mount Pleasant, Michigan (25,946)	1892	Public	26,788	$82 million
Eastern Michigan University	Eagles	Ypsilanti, Michigan (22,362)	1849	Public	22,974	$50 million
Northern Illinois University	Huskies	DeKalb, Illinois (39,018)	1895	Public	25,313	$150 million
University of Toledo	Rockets	Toledo, Ohio (295,029)	1872	Public	19,706	$173 million
Western Michigan University	Broncos	Kalamazoo, Michigan (77,145)	1903	Public	24,818	$197 million

Five schools have affiliate membership status:

Institution	Nickname	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Sport	Endowment
Chicago State University	Cougars	Chicago, Illinois	1867	Public	7,131	Men's tennis	$3 million
Florida Atlantic University	Owls	Boca Raton, Florida	1961	Public	26,245	Men's soccer	$194 million
Hartwick College	Hawks	Oneonta, New York	1797	Private	1,520	Men's soccer	$65 million
Missouri State University	Lady Bears	Springfield, Missouri	1905	Public	21,425	Field hockey	$55 million
Temple University	Owls	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	1884	Public	34,218	Football	$204 million

[edit] Division breakdown

MAC East Akron Zips Bowling Green Falcons Buffalo Bulls Kent State Golden Flashes Miami RedHawks Ohio Bobcats Temple Owls (football only)

MAC West Ball State Cardinals Central Michigan Chippewas Eastern Michigan Eagles Northern Illinois Huskies Toledo Rockets Western Michigan Broncos

[edit] History

The Mid-American Conference charter members were Ohio University, Butler University, the University of Cincinnati, Wayne State University and Western Reserve University, one of the predecessors to today's Case Western Reserve University. Wayne State never participated and quickly bowed out. Butler left after the first year. Miami University and Western Michigan University took the place of those charter members for the 1948 season. By the time the University of Cincinnati left after the 1952–1953 season, the MAC had already added University of Toledo (1950), Kent State University (1951) and Bowling Green State University (1952).

The membership stayed steady for the next two decades except for the addition of Marshall University in 1954 and the departure of Western Reserve, which chose to de-emphasize intercollegiate athletics.^{[citation needed]} Marshall was kicked out of 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 of Central Michigan University and Eastern Michigan University in 1972 and Ball State University and Northern Illinois University in 1973. Northern Illinois left after the 1986 season. The University of Akron joined the conference in 1992. The conference became the largest in Division I-A with the re-admittance of Marshall and Northern Illinois and addition of the University at Buffalo's Bulls in 1997 and 1998, respectively. The University of Central Florida joined for football only in 2001, becoming the first football-only member in conference history. Marshall (a second time) and Central Florida would leave after the 2004–2005 academic year, both joining Conference USA in all sports.

In May 2005, Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania signed a six year contract with the MAC as a football-only school and began play in the East Division in 2007.

University of Louisville was a MAC affiliate for field hockey for a number of years when Louisville was a member of the Metro Conference and Conference USA, winning two MAC tourney titles in 2003 and 2004.

In addition to football affiliate Temple, Missouri State University is an affiliate for field hockey, Hartwick College is an affiliate for men's soccer and Chicago State University is an affiliate for men's tennis.

[edit] Former members

• Butler Bulldogs
• Cincinnati Bearcats
• Marshall Thundering Herd
• UCF Golden Knights
• Wayne State Tartars
• Western Reserve Red Cats

[edit] Membership time line

[edit] Commissioners

• Dave Reese, 1946–1964
• Bob James, 1964–1971
• Fred Jacoby, 1971–1982
• Jim Lessig, 1982–1990
• Karl Benson, 1990–1994
• Jerry Ippoliti, 1994–1999
• Rick Chryst, 1999–2009
• Jon Steinbrecher, 2009–present

It was announced in January 2009 that Chryst will step down from the position in June 2009.^[5] He was replaced by Jon Steinbrecher.^[6]

[edit] Championships

[edit] Football

The MAC is contracted to provide a team for three college football bowl games, the GMAC Bowl, Little Caesars Pizza Bowl and International Bowl. The MAC also had a contract with the Papajohns.com Bowl to provide an alternate team if the Big East Conference could not fulfill its obligation, but the contract was not renewed.

[edit] Basketball

In March 2006, Commissioner Rick Chryst and Cleveland Cavaliers president Len Komoroski announced that the Mid-American Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments would remain in Cleveland at Quicken Loans Arena through 2011. 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.^[7] 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 the 2007 Women's Final Four at Quicken Loans Arena after successfully hosting the 2006 NCAA Women's Basketball Regional at the same facility.

[edit] Hall of Fame

The Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame was the first Division I conference Hall of Fame.^[8] It was established in 1987 and classes have been inducted in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1994.

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.^[8]

The following list are the members of the MAC Hall of Fame, along with the school they were affiliated with, the sport(s) they were inducted for and the year they were inducted.

Harold Anderson, Bowling Green, Basketball, 1991 Janet Bachna, Kent State, Gymnastics, 1992 Joe Begala, Kent State, Wrestling, 1991 Tom Beutler, Toledo, Football, 1994 Kermit Blosser, Ohio, Golf, 1988 Jim Corrigall, Kent State, Football, 1994 Hasely Crawford, Eastern Michigan, Track and field, 1991 Caroline (Mast) Daugherty, Ohio, Basketball, 1994 Chuck Ealey, Toledo, Football, 1988 Fran Ebert, Western Michigan, Softball, Basketball, 1992 John Gill, WMU Athlete, Coach, Administrator, 1994 Maurice Harvey, Ball State, Football, 1992 Bill Hess, Ohio, Football coach, 1992 Gary Hogeboom, Central Michigan, Football, 1994 Fred Jacoby, MAC Commissioner, 1990 Bob James, MAC Commissioner, 1989 Ron Johnson, Eastern Michigan, Football, 1988 Ted Kjolhede, Central Michigan, Basketball, 1988 Ken Kramer, Ball State, Football, 1991 Bill Lajoie, Western Michigan, Baseball, 1991 Jack Lambert, Kent State, Football, 1988 Frank Lauterbur, Toledo, Football, 1990 Mel Long, Toledo, Football, 1992 Charlier Maher, Western Michigan, Baseball, 1989 Ray McCallum, Ball State, Basketball, 1988 Jack McLain, MAC Football Official, 1992

Karen Michalak, Central Michigan, Basketball, Track and field, Field hockey, 1992 Gordon Minty, Eastern Michigan, Track and field, 1994 Steve Mix, Toledo, Basketball, 1989 Thurman Munson, Kent State, Baseball, 1990 Ira Murchinson, Western Michigan, Track and field, 1990 Don Nehlen, Bowling Green, Football, 1994 Manny Newsome, Western Michigan, Basketball, 1988 Bob Owchinko, Eastern Michigam, Baseball, 1992 Ara Parseghian, Miami, Football, 1988 Doyt Perry, Bowling Green, Football, 1988 John Pont, Miami, Football Player/Coach, 1992 John Pruis, Ball State, President, 1994 Trevor Rees, Kent State, Football, 1989 David Reese, MAC Commissioner, 1988 George Rider, Miami, Track and field, 1989 William Rohr, Miami, Basketball coach 1994 Don Roundfield, Central Michigan, Basketball, 1990 Bo Schembechler, Miami, Football Coach, 1991 Dick Shrider, Miami, Basketball, 1990 Jim Snyder, Ohio, Basketball, 1991 Shafer Suggs, Ball State, Football, 1989 Phil Villapiano, Bowling Green, Football, 1992 Nate Thurmond, Bowling Green, Basketball, 1989 Bob Welch, Eastern Michigan, Baseball, 1990 Dave Wottle, Bowling Green, Track and field, 1990 Bob Wren, Ohio, Baseball, 1989

[edit] Conference facilities

School	Football stadium	Capacity	Basketball arena	Capacity
Akron	Summa Field at InfoCision Stadium	30,000	James A. Rhodes Arena	5,500
Ball State	Scheumann Stadium	25,400	John E. Worthen Arena	11,500
Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium	23,724	Anderson Arena	5,000
Buffalo	University at Buffalo Stadium	31,000	Alumni Arena	6,100
Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium	30,199	Daniel P. Rose Center	5,200
Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium	30,200	Convocation Center	8,800
Kent State	Dix Stadium	25,000	Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center	6,327
Miami	Yager Stadium	24,286	Millett Hall	9,200
Northern Illinois	Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium	31,000	Convocation Center	10,000
Ohio	Peden Stadium	24,000	Convocation Center	13,080
Temple *	Lincoln Financial Field	68,532	Liacouras Center †	10,224
Toledo	Glass Bowl	26,248	Savage Hall	9,000
Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium	30,200	University Arena	5,421

* Football affiliate
† Atlantic Ten Conference member for basketball

[edit] Broadcasts

A number of MAC sports, including football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, soccer, wrestling and volleyball, are telecast on FSN Ohio.

Ball State produces its own comprehensive television package with the Ball State Sports Network. Affiliate stations include WIPB in Muncie, WNDY in Indianapolis, The CW in Fort Wayne, WHME in South Bend, WTVW in Evansville, WYIN in Merrillville and Comcast in Michigan. All Ball State games are also broadcast on the Ball State Radio Network and are produced by WLBC-FM and Backyard Broadcasting.

NIU also has a network station.

[edit] MAC Properties

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 2009, the MAC has eight official corporate partners: FirstEnergy, Marathon, National City, GMAC, AutoMart.com, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Sirius XM and Kraft. MAC Properties also assists with the management of the conference's television and radio contracts, including ESPN, FOX Sports Ohio and ESPN 850 WKNR among others. Matt Molde took over as General Manager of MAC Properties in October 2007, and handles day-to-day management as well as the overall partnership with the MAC. Molde is a MAC graduate (BSJ from Ohio University) and is the son of Hall of Fame Western Michigan football coach Al Molde.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Athletic Site of the Mid-American Conference

v • d • e Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division Akron (Zips) • Bowling Green (Falcons) • Buffalo (Bulls) • Kent State (Golden Flashes) • Miami (RedHawks) • Ohio (Bobcats) West Division Ball State (Cardinals) • Central Michigan (Chippewas) • Eastern Michigan (Eagles) • Northern Illinois (Huskies) • Toledo (Rockets) • Western Michigan (Broncos) Affiliates Chicago State (men's tennis) • Florida Atlantic (men's soccer) • Hartwick (men's soccer) • Missouri State (field hockey) • Temple (football) Seasons 2007–08 • 2008–09 • 2009–10 Football championship game • List of champions • Men's basketball tournament • Women's basketball tournament

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