Mid-American Conference

The Mid-American Conference, also known as the MAC, was first created in 1946 and is one of the first NCAA conferences to be founded. The conference features a total of 12 teams from five different states and has over 15 sports that the schools compete in.

History of the MAC

The MAC originally started off with five schools: Ohio University, Butler University, the University of Cincinnati, Wayne State University, and Case Western University. Within the first year of the conference being created, Wayne State University and the University of Butler left the conference, with Miami University (OH) and Western Michigan University taking their place.

Later, in 1953, the University of Cincinnati left the MAC, and the University of Toledo, Kent State University, and Bowling Green State University made the decision to join. Then next year Western Reserve University had left the MAC, and Marshall University took their place in the conference. But, in 1969, Marshall University ultimately ended up getting kicked out due to NCAA violations.

Then, in 1972 and 1973, the MAC decided to expand by adding Central Michigan University, Eastern Michigan University, Ball State University, and Northern Illinois University. Northern Illinois ended up leaving the MAC in 1992, and the University of Akron joined to take their place in the conference.

In 1997 Northern Illinois and Marshall made the decision to re-join the MAC, while the University of Buffalo decided to join the conference that same year. In 2001, the University of Central Florida had made the decision to join the conference strictly for football but later ended up leaving the conference in 2004, along with Marshall. The last team to join and leave the MAC conference was Temple University. In 2007, Temple had signed a six-year contract for just their football team to be a part of the MAC.

What schools are in the MAC?

The MAC conference is currently made up of 12 schools located in the Great Lakes region of the United States. In football, the teams are split into the MAC East Division and the MAC West Division. The MAC East Division includes Bowling Green University, Kent State University, Miami University, Ohio University, the University of Akron, and the University of Buffalo. The MAC West Division includes Ball State University, Central Michigan University, Eastern Michigan University, Northern Illinois University, the University of Toledo, and Western Michigan University.

The conference also features 22 affiliate schools that compete within the Mid-American Conference in select sports. The MAC affiliate schools are as follows:

• Appalachian State University (field hockey)
• Bellarmine University (field hockey)
• Longwood University (field hockey)
• Georgia State University (men’s soccer)
• Georgia Southern University (men’s soccer)
• West Virginia University (men’s soccer)
• Binghamton University (men’s tennis)
• Missouri State University (swimming and diving)
• Southern Illinois University Carbondale (swimming and diving)
• University of Evansville (swimming and diving)
• Valparaiso University (swimming and diving)
• Robert Morris University (women’s lacrosse)
• University of Detroit Mercy (women’s lacrosse)
• Youngstown State University (women’s lacrosse)
• Bloomsburg University (wrestling)
• Clarion University (wrestling)
• Cleveland State University (wrestling)
• Edinboro University (wrestling)
• George Mason University (wrestling)
• Lock Haven University (wrestling)
• Rider University (wrestling)
• Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (wrestling)

List of MAC Teams By Division

MAC East Division:

• Bowling Green University
• Kent State University
• Miami University (OH)
• Ohio University
• University of Akron
• University at Buffalo

MAC West Division:

• Ball State University
• Central Michigan University
• Eastern Michigan University
• Northern Illinois University
• University of Toledo
• Western Michigan University

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