MAC Football Championship Game

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For the basketball championships, see Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament and Mid-American Conference women's basketball tournament
MAC Football
Championship Game
SportCollege football
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Current stadiumFord Field
Current locationDetroit, Michigan
Played1997–present
Last contest2024
Current championOhio Bobcats
Most championshipsMarshall, Northern Illinois (5)
TV partnerESPN/ESPN2
Official websiteMAC-Sports.com football
Sponsors
Marathon Petroleum (2003–2019)
Rocket Mortgage (2020–2022)
Host stadiums
Marshall University Stadium (1997–2000, 2002)
Glass Bowl (2001)
Doyt Perry Stadium (2003)
Ford Field (2004–present)
Host locations
Huntington, West Virginia (1997–2000, 2002)
Toledo, Ohio (2001)
Bowling Green, Ohio (2003)
Detroit, Michigan (2004–present)

The MAC Football Championship Game is an annual postseason college football game played to determine the champion of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

History

[edit]
Locations of the full members of the Mid-American Conference.

The game has been played since 1997, when the conference was first divided into divisions. For the 2024 season the MAC eliminated divisions and the game now features the teams with the best conference records.[1] A new tiebreaker system was established to compare teams with the same conference record.[2] The winner of the game is guaranteed a berth in a bowl game which the MAC has contractual obligations to field a team. Unlike the MAC's Group of Five contemporaries, which hold their respective championship games on campus sites, the MAC Championship Game is held at a neutral site. Ford Field in Detroit has been the venue since 2004 and is scheduled to host through at least 2025.[3][4]

In 2000, 2001, and 2007, due to an unbalanced conference schedule, the team with best division record within each division was awarded that division's championship game berth. In other years, the teams with the best overall conference records received a berth. Starting in 2024 the MAC will eliminate divisions and include the two teams with the best overall conference records.[5]

The game is held on the first Saturday in December, on the same weekend that other NCAA Division I FBS conferences hold their championship games.

Results

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Below are the results from all MAC Football Championship Games played. The winning team appears in bold font, on a background of their primary team color. Rankings are from the AP Poll released prior to the game.

From 1997 through 2003, the championship game was played at campus sites. Since 2004, the game has been played at Ford Field in Detroit where it is scheduled to be held through at least 2025.[6] From 1997 to 2015, a MAC Championship MVP award was given to a player from each team. Since 2016, three player were awarded a Player of the Game award: Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams.[7]

Year West Division East Division Site Attendance MVP(s)
1997 Toledo Rockets 14 Marshall Thundering Herd 34 Marshall University Stadium • Huntington, WV 28,021 WR Randy Moss, Marshall
RB Dwayne Harris, Toledo
1998 Toledo Rockets 17 Marshall Thundering Herd 23 28,085 QB Chad Pennington, Marshall
DL Gregg King, Toledo
1999 Western Michigan Broncos 30 11 Marshall Thundering Herd 34 28,069 QB Chad Pennington, Marshall
QB Tim Lester, Western Michigan
2000 Western Michigan Broncos 14 Marshall Thundering Herd 19 24,816 QB Byron Leftwich, Marshall
WR Steve Neal, Western Michigan
2001 Toledo Rockets 41 20 Marshall Thundering Herd 36 Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH 20,025 WR Denero Marriott, Marshall, WR
RB Chester Taylor, Toledo
2002 Toledo Rockets 45 24 Marshall Thundering Herd 49 Marshall University Stadium • Huntington, WV 24,582 QB Byron Leftwich, Marshall
RB Trinity Dawson, Toledo
2003 20 Bowling Green Falcons 27 13 Miami RedHawks 49 Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH 24,813 QB Ben Roethlisberger, Miami, QB
QB Josh Harris, Bowling Green
2004 Toledo Rockets 35 Miami RedHawks 27 Ford Field • Detroit, MI 22,138 WR Michael Larkin, Miami
QB Bruce Gradkowski, Toledo
2005 Northern Illinois Huskies 30 Akron Zips 31 12,051 QB Luke Getsy, Akron, QB
TB Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois
2006 Central Michigan Chippewas 31 Ohio Bobcats 10 25,483 DL Jameson Hartke, Ohio
WR Damien Linson, Central Michigan
2007 Central Michigan Chippewas 35 Miami RedHawks 10 25,013 LB Clayton Mullins, Miami
QB Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan
2008 12 Ball State Cardinals 24 Buffalo Bulls 42 12,871 DB Mike Newton, Buffalo
QB Nate Davis, Ball State
2009 Central Michigan Chippewas 20 Ohio Bobcats 10 23,714 LB Noah Keller, Ohio, LB
QB Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan
2010 24 Northern Illinois Huskies 21 Miami RedHawks 26 12,031 RB Tom Merriweather, Miami
QB Chandler Harnish, Northern Illinois
2011 Northern Illinois Huskies 23 Ohio Bobcats 20 13,052 LB Noah Keller, Ohio
WR Nathan Palmer, Northern Illinois
2012 19 Northern Illinois Huskies 442OT 18 Kent State Golden Flashes 37 18,132 DB Darius Polk, Kent State, DB
QB Jordan Lynch, Northern Illinois
2013 16 Northern Illinois Huskies 27 Bowling Green Falcons 47 21,106 QB Matt Johnson, Bowling Green
QB Jordan Lynch, Northern Illinois
2014 Northern Illinois Huskies 51 Bowling Green Falcons 17 15,110 WR Gehrig Dieter, Bowling Green
QB Drew Hare, Northern Illinois
2015 Northern Illinois Huskies 14 Bowling Green Falcons 34 16,425 DB Shawun Lurry, Northern Illinois
RB Travis Greene, Bowling Green
2016 13 Western Michigan Broncos 29 Ohio Bobcats 23 45,615 Offensive: Corey Davis (Western Michigan)
Defensive: Bradd Ellis (Ohio)
Special Teams: Butch Hampton (Western Michigan)
2017 Toledo Rockets 45 Akron Zips 28 16,225 Offensive: Logan Woodside (Toledo)
Defensive: Ulysses Gilbert (Akron)
Special Teams: Danzel McKinley-Lewis (Toledo)
2018 Northern Illinois Huskies 30 Buffalo Bulls 29 10,255 Offensive: Marcus Childers (NIU)
Defensive: Sutton Smith (NIU)
Special Teams: Matt Ference (NIU)
2019 Central Michigan Chippewas 21 Miami RedHawks 26 22,427 Offensive: Jack Sorenson (Miami)
Defensive: Emmanuel Rugamba (Miami)
Special Teams: Sam Sloman (Miami)
2020 Ball State Cardinals 38 23 Buffalo Bulls 28 0‡ Offensive: Drew Plitt (Ball State)
Defensive: Jimmy Daw (Ball State)
Special Teams: Nathan Snyder (Ball State)
2021 Northern Illinois Huskies 41 Kent State Golden Flashes 23 10,317 Offensive: Jay Ducker (NIU)
Defensive: CJ Brown (NIU)
Special Teams: John Richardson (NIU)
2022 Toledo Rockets 17 Ohio Bobcats 7 15,550 Offensive: QB Dequan Finn (Toledo)
Defensive: LB Dyontae Johnson (Toledo)
Special Teams: P Jonathon Batzke (Toledo)
2023 Toledo Rockets 14 Miami RedHawks 23 20,200 Offensive: QB Aveon Smith (Miami)
Defensive: LB Matt Salopek (Miami)
Special Teams: PK Graham Nicholson (Miami)
Year No. 1 seed No. 2 seed Site Attendance MVP
2024 Miami RedHawks 3 Ohio Bobcats 38 Ford Field • Detroit, MI 15,478 Offensive: QB Parker Navarro (Ohio)
Defensive: LB Bradley Weaver (Ohio)
Special Teams: PK Gianni Spetic (Ohio)
2025 Western Michigan Broncos Miami RedHawks

‡ 2020 game attendance was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results by team

[edit]
Appearances School Wins Losses Win % Year(s) Won Year(s) Lost
9 Northern Illinois Huskies 5 4 .556 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2021 2005, 2010, 2013, 2015
8 Toledo Rockets 4 4 .500 2001, 2004, 2017, 2022 1997, 1998, 2002, 2023
7 Miami RedHawks 4 3 .571 2003, 2010, 2019, 2023 2004, 2007, 2024
6 Marshall Thundering Herd 5 1 .833 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002 2001
6 Ohio Bobcats 1 5 .167 2024 2006, 2009, 2011, 2016, 2022
4 Central Michigan Chippewas 3 1 .750 2006, 2007, 2009 2019
4 Bowling Green Falcons 2 2 .500 2013, 2015 2003, 2014
4 Western Michigan Broncos 1 2 .333 2016 1999, 2000
3 Buffalo Bulls 1 2 .333 2008 2018, 2020
2 Akron Zips 1 1 .500 2005 2017
2 Ball State Cardinals 1 1 .500 2020 2008
2 Kent State Golden Flashes 0 2 .000   2012, 2021
0 Eastern Michigan Eagles 0 0 –    
0 UMass Minutemen 0 0 –    

No results by team

[edit]
School
Temple Owls
UCF Knights

Eastern Michigan and UMass are the only teams currently in the conference to have not yet qualified for a Championship Game. (UMass had been a football-only MAC member in the 2012–2015 seasons before returning in 2025 as a full member.) Marshall is the only Championship Game Winner to not be a current member of the MAC. Bowling Green is the only team that has represented both the East and West Divisions in the Championship Game, as they were a member of the West Division prior to the departure of Marshall from the MAC. Temple and UCF were previously in the conference during this era and never reached the championship game.

Common matchups

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Matchups that have occurred more than once:

# of Times East Division West Division Record Years played
4 Marshall Toledo Marshall, 3–1 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002
3 Bowling Green Northern Illinois Bowling Green, 2–1 2013, 2014, 2015
2 Marshall Western Michigan Marshall, 2–0 1999, 2000
2 Ohio Central Michigan Central Michigan, 2–0 2006, 2009
2 Miami Central Michigan Tied, 1–1 2007, 2019
2 Buffalo Ball State Tied, 1–1 2008, 2020
2 Kent State Northern Illinois Northern Illinois, 2–0 2012, 2021

MVPs

[edit]
Year MVP(s) Team Position
1997 Randy Moss Marshall WR
1998 Chad Pennington QB
1999
2000 Byron Leftwich
2001 Chester Taylor Toledo RB
2002 Byron Leftwich Marshall QB
2003 Ben Roethlisberger Miami
2004 Bruce Gradkowski Toledo
2005 Luke Getsy Akron
2006 Damien Linson Central Michigan WR
2007 Dan LeFevour QB
2008 Mike Newton Buffalo DB
2009 Dan LeFevour Central Michigan QB
2010 Thomas Merriweather Miami RB
2011 Nathan Palmer Northern Illinois WR
2012 Jordan Lynch QB
2013 Matt Johnson Bowling Green
2014 Drew Hare Northern Illinois
2015 Travis Greene Bowling Green RB
2016 Corey Davis Western Michigan WR
2017 Logan Woodside Toledo QB (Offensive)
Danzel McKinley-Lewis WR (Special Teams)
2018 Marcus Childers Northern Illinois QB (Offensive)
Sutton Smith LB (Defensive)
2019 Jack Sorenson Miami WR (Offensive)
Emmanuel Rugamba LB (Defensive)
2020 Drew Plitt Ball State QB (Offensive)
Jimmy Daw LB (Defensive)
2021 Jay Ducker Northern Illinois RB (Offensive)
C.J. Brown DB (Defensive)
John Richardson PK (Special Teams)
2022 Dequan Finn Toledo QB (Offensive)
Dyontae Johnson LB (Defensive)
Jonathon Batzke P (Special Teams)
2023 Aveon Smith Miami QB (Offensive)
Matt Salopek LB (Defensive)
Graham Nicholson K (Special Teams)
2024 Parker Navarro Ohio QB (Offensive)
Bradley Weaver DE (Defensive)
Gianni Spetic K (Special Teams)

Game records

[edit]
Team Record, Team vs. Opponent Year
Most points scored (one team) 51, Northern Illinois vs. Bowling Green 2014
Most points scored (losing team) 45, Toledo vs. Marshall 2002
Fewest points scored (winning team) 17, Toledo vs. Ohio 2022
Fewest points scored 3, Miami vs. Ohio 2024
Most points scored (both teams) 94, Marshall (49) vs. Toledo (45) 2002
Fewest points scored (both teams) 24, Toledo (17) vs. Ohio (7) 2022
Most points scored in a half 35, Buffalo (2nd half) vs. Ball State
Ball State (1st half) vs. Buffalo 		2008
2020
Most points scored in a half (both teams) 49, Marshall vs. Toledo (2nd half) 2002
Largest margin of victory 35, Ohio (38) vs. Miami (3) 2024
Smallest margin of victory 1, Akron (31) vs. Northern Illinois (30)
Northern Illinois (30) vs. Buffalo (29) 		2005
2018
Total yards 576, Miami (440 passing, 136 rushing) vs. Bowling Green 2003
Rushing yards 334, Northern Illinois vs. Bowling Green 2014
Passing yards 440, Miami vs. Bowling Green 2003
First downs 32, Ohio vs. Miami 2024
Fewest yards allowed 189, Ohio vs. Miami (127 passing, 62 rushing) 2024
Fewest rushing yards allowed 37, Western Michigan vs. Ohio 2016
Fewest passing yards allowed 102, Kent State vs. Northern Illinois 2021
Individual Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent Year
All-purpose yards 448, Ben Roethlisberger, Miami vs. Bowling Green 2003
Touchdowns (all-purpose) 5, Matt Johnson, Bowling Green vs. Northern Illinois 2013
Rushing yards 270, Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois vs. Akron 2005
Rushing touchdowns 4, Trinity Dawson, Toledo vs. Marshall 2002
Passing yards 440, Ben Roethlisberger, Miami vs. Bowling Green 2003
Passing touchdowns 5, Matt Johnson, Bowling Green vs. Northern Illinois 2013
Receiving yards 191, Damien Linson, Central Michigan vs. Ohio 2006
Receiving touchdowns 4, Denero Marriott, Marshall vs. Toledo 2001
Tackles 17, Ty Wise, Miami vs. Ohio 2024
Sacks 2, shared by nine players, most recent:
Tyrece Woods Jr., Buffalo vs. Ball State		 2020
Interceptions 2, Dechane Durante, Northern Illinois vs. Bowling Green 2014
Long Plays Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent Year
Touchdown run 96, Ontario Sneed, Central Michigan vs. Ohio 2006
Touchdown pass 86, Randy Moss from Chad Pennington, Marshall vs. Toledo 1997
Kickoff return 64, Clint Stephens, Bowling Green vs. Northern Illinois 2014
Punt return 48, Danzel McKinley-Lewis, Toledo vs. Akron 2017
Interception return 64, Shawun Lurry, Northern Illinois vs. Bowling Green 2015
Fumble return 92, Mike Newton, Buffalo vs. Ball State 2008
Punt 75, Curtis Head, Marshall vs. Toledo 2001
Field goal 52, shared by:
Chris Nendick, Northern Illinois vs. Akron
Tyler Tate, Bowling Green vs. Northern Illinois
Gianni Spetic, Ohio vs. Miami
2005
2013
2024
Miscellaneous Record, Team vs. Team Year
Game attendance 45,615, Ohio vs. Western Michigan 2016

Source:[8]

[edit]
  • Before 2006 MAC Championship Game
    Before 2006 MAC Championship Game
  • 2006 MAC Championship: Central Michigan vs. Ohio
    2006 MAC Championship: Central Michigan vs. Ohio

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ Ramsey, Jared (November 30, 2023). "MAC to replace divisions with new system for 2024". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  2. ^ "MAC Announces New Football Tiebreaker Procedures". MAC. September 18, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  3. ^ "MAC Announces Three Year Contract Extension With Ford Field". getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference. July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  4. ^ Kelly, Kyle (November 30, 2023). "MAC signs three-year extension to keep football title game at Ford Field". FBS Schedules. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  5. ^ Paul, Tony (November 30, 2023). "Mid-American Conference to go to pods alignment for 2024". Detroit News. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  6. ^ Kelly, Kevin (2023-11-30). "MAC Championship Game to remain in Detroit through 2025 season". FBS Schedules. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  7. ^ https://getsomemaction.com/sports/2025/11/18/FB_1118250348.aspx
  8. ^ "C-USA Records Master" (PDF). conferenceusa.com. pp. 35–36. Retrieved December 3, 2021.