Mid-American Conference

The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Bowl Subdivision football 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.

The MAC is headquartered in the Public Square district in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The MAC has been referred to as the Conference of Quarterbacks 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.

Member schools
There are twelve schools with full membership:

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. Marshall was kicked out of the conference in 1969. 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 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.

Former members

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

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–present

Conference facilities
 * Football affiliate