Mid - American Conference 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 Western 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 , with an affiliate member in Massachusetts . The MAC is headquartered in the Public Square district in downtown Cleveland , Ohio , and has two members in the nearby Akron area . 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 conference also ranks highest among all eleven NCAA Division I FBS conferences for graduation rates . History . The five charter members of the Mid - American Conference were Ohio University , Butler University , the University of Cincinnati , Wayne University ( now Wayne State University ) , and Western Reserve University , one of the predecessors to today ' s Case Western Reserve University . Butler University left after the first year . Miami University and Western Michigan University took the place of those charter members for the 1948 season . The MAC added the University of Toledo ( 1950 ) , Kent State University ( 1951 ) , and Bowling 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 President Raymond Walters saying they " . . . regretfully resign . . . as the university could not continue under the present setup . . . " The membership was steady for the next two decades except for the addition of Marshall University in 1954 and the departure of Western Reserve in 1955 . Marshall was expelled from the conference in 1969 due to NCAA violations . 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 , the Temple Owls in Philadelphia signed a six - year contract with the MAC as a football - only school and began play in the East Division in 2007 . The Louisville Cardinals were 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 . The Missouri State Bears , Evansville Purple Aces , and Southern Illinois Salukis participate in the MAC for men ' s swimming and diving . In 2012 , the West Virginia Mountaineers joined the Florida Atlantic Owls and Hartwick College Hawks as men ' s soccer affiliates . Missouri and Northern Iowa are affiliates for wrestling , and Old Dominion will become a wrestling affiliate in July 2013 . The Missouri State Bears are also an affiliate for field hockey and the Chicago State Cougars are an affiliate for men ' s tennis . The UMass Minutemen joined the MAC as a football - only member in July 2012 . Meanwhile , Temple ended its affiliation with the MAC in football and joined the Big East for football in July 2012 ( it will switch all of its other sports to the Big East in July 2013 and end its membership in the Atlantic 10 at that time ) . Member schools . Current members . There are twelve schools with full membership : Affiliate members . Ten schools have MAC affiliate membership status , with one more confirmed to be joining in the future . On July 1 , 2012 , Temple joined the Big East Conference for all sports , starting at the 2013 - 14 season ; and Massachusetts replaced Temple as a football - only member in the MAC East Division . On September 19 , 2012 , the MAC announced Missouri , Northern Iowa and Old Dominion would join as wrestling affiliates ; the Southeastern and Missouri Valley Conferences do not sponsor wrestling . Missouri and Northern Iowa will participate in the conference tournament only in the 2012 – 13 school year , and begin full conference play in 2013 – 14 . Old Dominion will not begin MAC competition until 2013 – 14 , when it leaves the Colonial Athletic Association ( which sponsors wrestling ) for Conference USA ( which does not ) . Former members . Nicknames listed here reflect those used during each school ' s MAC tenure . Two schools have changed their nicknames since leaving the MAC — UCF dropped " Golden " from its nickname , becoming simply Knights , while Wayne State now uses Warriors . Western Reserve merged with Case Institute of Technology in 1967 to form today ' s Case Western Reserve University , with the athletic programs merging in 1971 . With the athletic merger , Case Western abandoned the nicknames of both former institutions and adopted Spartans . Membership timeline . Sports . The Mid - AmericaConference sponsors championship competition in nine men ' s and eleven women ' s NCAA sanctioned sports . Eight schools are Associate members for five sports . Football . MAC champions Bowl games The MAC is contracted to provide a team for three college football bowl games including the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl , GoDaddy . com Bowl , and Famous Idaho Potato Bowl . For the 2012 season , the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl will have the first pick of MAC teams , and the GoDaddy . com Bowl will get the second pick . For the 2013 season , the GoDaddy . com Bowl will receive the first pick of MAC teams , and the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl will receive the second pick . For the 2012 and 2013 seasons , the MAC has secondary bowl tie - ins with New Mexico Bowl , BBVA Compass Bowl , and Beef ' O ' Brady ' s Bowl to select a fourth MAC bowl team if a primary contracted conference cannot fill its bowl spot in one of the aforementioned bowl games . For the 2012 season , the MAC has a secondary tie - in with the Heart of Dallas Bowl to select a potential fifth MAC bowl team if one of the primary contracted spots is not filled . Bowl Championship Series The MAC champion will receive an automatic berth in one of the five BCS bowl games if they are the highest ranked non - automatic qualifying conference champion and either of the following : In 2012 , Northern Illinois became the first MAC team to receive a BCS bowl berth , qualifying by the second criterion . The Huskies were ranked 15th in the final BCS standings , higher than two champions of AQ conferences ( Big East champion Louisville , who was ranked 22nd , and Big Ten champion Wisconsin , who was unranked ) . Northern Illinois lost to Florida State in the Orange Bowl . Rivalries Football rivalries involving MAC teams include : In addition , Central Michigan , Eastern Michigan , and Western Michigan compete for the Michigan 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 , Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan have each won the trophy three times , and Western Michigan has won the trophy once . Basketball . In August 2010 , Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher and the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that the Mid - American Conference Men ' s and Women ' s Basketball Tournaments would remain in Cleveland at Quicken Loans Arena through 2017 . 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 . 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 . Championships . Current MAC champions . Fall 2012 Winter 2012 Spring 2011 Hall of Fame . The Mid - American Conference Hall of Fame was the first Division I conference Hall of Fame . It was established in 1987 and classes have been inducted in 1988 , 1989 , 1990 , 1991 , 1992 , 1994 and 2012 . 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 . 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 . Media . Broadcasts . A number of MAC sports , including football , men ' s and women ' s basketball , baseball , soccer , wrestling and volleyball , are telecast on SportsTime Ohio replacing FSN Ohio as the MAC TV Partner the deal was signed in July 2010 and is for three years . Along with STO , ESPN Regional TV retains the “ local and regional ” syndication telecast rights to the MAC for Football . Ball State produces its own comprehensive television package with Ball State Sports Link . 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 Sports Link games are also broadcast on student radio station WCRD and on the Ball State Radio Network produced by WLBC - FM and Backyard Broadcasting . NIU has multiple football and basketball games telecast by Comcast SportsNet Chicago . In addition , most Northern Illinois 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 . 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 .