The 2018 MAC football TV schedule has been announced, which features 16 nationally televised games in October and November on the ESPN and CBS networks.
The season kicks off on Thursday, Aug. 30 when Ball State hosts Central Connecticut at 7:00pm ET on ESPN+.
Dec 03, 2018 Here's how to watch the college football conference championships this year, from OSU taking on Northwestern in the Big Ten to Alabama and Georgia duking it out in the SEC.
The 2018 Marathon MAC Football Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan will be played on Friday, Nov. 30 and will be televised by ESPN2.
- 2018 MAC football TV schedule announced. By - May 30, 2018. The 2018 MAC football TV schedule has been announced, which features 16 nationally televised games in October and November on the ESPN and CBS networks. The season kicks off on Thursday, Aug. 30 when Ball State hosts Central Connecticut at 7:00pm ET on ESPN+.
- Check out how to watch all the conference title games, from the MAC championship to the Big Ten. College football schedule: Conference championship TV coverage Sporting News.
Listed below are the MAC games that have been selected for television as of May 31. All remaining MAC controlled games will be announced 12 days prior to the date of the game.
2018 MAC Football TV Schedule
*All times Eastern.
Thursday, Aug. 30
Central Connecticut at Ball State – 7pm, ESPN+
Friday, Aug. 31
Syracuse at Western Michigan – 6pm, CBSSN
Monmouth at Eastern Michigan – 6:30pm, ESPN+
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62413894/450973049.jpg.0.jpg "Alabama 2018 championship game")
Saturday, Sept. 1
Kent State at Illinois – Noon, BTN
Howard at Ohio – 2pm, ESPN+
Central Michigan at Kentucky – 3:30pm, ESPNU
Marshall at Miami – 3:30pm, ESPN+
NIU at Iowa – 3:30pm, BTN
Delaware State at Buffalo – 6pm, ESPN3
VMI at Toledo – 7pm, ESPN3
Akron at Nebraska – 8pm, FOX
Bowling Green at Oregon – 8pm, Pac-12 Network
Saturday, Sep. 8
Eastern Michigan at Purdue – Noon, BTN
Western Michigan at Michigan – Noon, FS1
Kansas at Central Michigan – 3pm, ESPN+
Ball State at Notre Dame – 3:30pm, NBC
Buffalo at Temple – 3:30pm, ESPN3
Howard at Kent State – 3:30pm, ESPN+
Morgan State at Akron – 3:30pm, ESPN+
Maryland at Bowling Green – 6pm, ESPN+
Utah at NIU – 7:30pm, ESPNews
Cincinnati at Miami – 8pm, Raycom/ESPN3
– at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
Saturday, Sep. 15
Ball State at Indiana – Noon, BTN
Kent State at Penn State – Noon, FS1
Miami (FL) at Toledo – Noon, ABC/ESPN/2/U
Ohio at Virginia – 3pm, ACCNExtra
Central Michigan at NIU – 3:30pm, ESPN+
Miami at Minnesota – 3:30pm, BTN
Eastern Kentucky at Bowling Green – 4pm, ESPN3
Eastern Michigan at Buffalo – 6pm, ESPN+
Delaware State at Western Michigan – 7pm, ESPN+
Akron at Northwestern – 7:30pm, BTN
Saturday, Sep. 22
Eastern Michigan at San Diego State – 10:30pm, CBSSN
Saturday, Sep. 29
Western Michigan at Miami – 3:30pm, TV TBA
NIU at Eastern Michigan – 6pm, ESPN+
Toledo at Fresno State – Time TBA, ESPN network
Saturday, Oct. 6
Bowling Green at Toledo – 3:30pm, ESPN+
Miami at Akron – 3:30pm, ESPN+
Ohio at Kent State – 3:30pm, ESPN+
Saturday, Oct. 13
Western Michigan at Bowling Green – 3pm, ESPN+
Ohio at NIU – 3:30pm, ESPN network
Saturday, Oct. 20
Miami at Army – Noon, CBSSN
Bowling Green at Ohio – 2pm, ESPN3
Eastern Michigan at Ball State – 3pm, ESPN+
Western Michigan at Central Michigan – 3pm, ESPN+
Sec Championship Game 2018
Thursday, Oct. 25
Ball State at Ohio – 7pm, ESPN2/CBSSN
Toledo at Western Michigan – 7pm, ESPN2/CBSSN
Tuesday, Oct. 30
Kent State at Bowling Green – 8pm, ESPN2/ESPNU
Miami at Buffalo – 8pm, ESPN2/ESPNU
Wednesday, Oct. 31
Ball State at Toledo – 7:30pm, ESPN2
Thursday, Nov. 1
NIU at Akron – 7pm, ESPNU/CBSSN
Ohio at Western Michigan – 7pm, ESPNU/CBSSN
Tuesday, Nov. 6
Kent State at Buffalo – 7:30pm, ESPNU
Wednesday, Nov. 7
Ohio at Miami – 7 or 8pm, ESPN2/ESPNU
Toledo at NIU – 7 or 8pm, ESPN2/ESPNU
Tuesday, Nov. 13
Western Michigan at Ball State – 6pm, ESPN2
Wednesday, Nov. 14
Buffalo at Ohio – 7 or 8pm, ESPN2/ESPNU
Miami at NIU – 7 or 8pm, ESPN2/ESPNU
Thursday, Nov. 15
Toledo at Kent State – 6pm, CBSSN
Mac Championship Game 2018 On Tv Series
Tuesday, Nov. 20
Ball State at Miami – 7pm, ESPNU/ESPN+
NIU at Western Michigan – 7:00pm, ESPNU/ESPN+
Friday, Nov. 30
MAC Football Championship Game – 7pm, ESPN2
Ford Field, Detroit, Mich.
Football Schedules
| Marathon MAC Football Championship Game | |
|---|---|
| Conference Football Championship | |
| Sport | College football |
| Conference | Mid-American Conference |
| Current stadium | Ford Field |
| Current location | Detroit, Michigan |
| Played | 1997–present |
| Last contest | 2019 |
| Current champion | Miami RedHawks |
| Most championships | Marshall Thundering Herd (5) |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN2 |
| Official website | MAC-Sports.com football |
| Sponsors | |
| Marathon Petroleum (2003–present) | |
| 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 a football game between the winners of the East and West divisions of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) to determine the conference champion. The game has been played since 1997, when the conference was first divided into divisions and since 2003 has been sponsored by Marathon Petroleum (officially known as the Marathon MAC Football Championship Game). 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, Michigan since 2004.
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.
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 by year[edit]
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.
| Year | East | West | Site | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Marshall Thundering Herd | 34 | Toledo Rockets | 14 | Marshall University Stadium • Huntington, WV | 28,021 |
| 1998 | Marshall Thundering Herd | 23 | Toledo Rockets | 17 | 28,085 | |
| 1999 | 11Marshall Thundering Herd | 34 | Western Michigan Broncos | 30 | 28,069 | |
| 2000 | Marshall Thundering Herd | 19 | Western Michigan Broncos | 14 | 24,816 | |
| 2001 | 20Marshall Thundering Herd | 36 | Toledo Rockets | 41 | Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH | 20,025 |
| 2002 | 24Marshall Thundering Herd | 49 | Toledo Rockets | 45 | Marshall University Stadium • Huntington, WV | 24,582 |
| 2003 | 13Miami RedHawks | 49 | 20Bowling Green Falcons | 27 | Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH | 24,813 |
| 2004 | Miami RedHawks | 27 | Toledo Rockets | 35 | Ford Field • Detroit, MI | 22,138 |
| 2005 | Akron Zips | 31 | Northern Illinois Huskies | 30 | 12,051 | |
| 2006 | Ohio Bobcats | 10 | Central Michigan Chippewas | 31 | 25,483 | |
| 2007 | Miami RedHawks | 10 | Central Michigan Chippewas | 35 | 25,013 | |
| 2008 | Buffalo Bulls | 42 | 12Ball State Cardinals | 24 | 12,871 | |
| 2009 | Ohio Bobcats | 10 | Central Michigan Chippewas | 20 | 23,714 | |
| 2010 | Miami RedHawks | 26 | 24Northern Illinois Huskies | 21 | 12,031 | |
| 2011 | Ohio Bobcats | 20 | Northern Illinois Huskies | 23 | 13,052 | |
| 2012 | 18Kent State Golden Flashes | 37 | 19Northern Illinois Huskies | 442OT | 18,132 | |
| 2013 | Bowling Green Falcons | 47 | 16Northern Illinois Huskies | 27 | 21,106 | |
| 2014 | Bowling Green Falcons | 17 | Northern Illinois Huskies | 51 | 15,110 | |
| 2015 | Bowling Green Falcons | 34 | Northern Illinois Huskies | 14 | 16,425 | |
| 2016 | Ohio Bobcats | 23 | 13Western Michigan Broncos | 29 | 45,615 | |
| 2017 | Akron Zips | 28 | Toledo Rockets | 45 | 16,225 | |
| 2018 | Buffalo Bulls | 29 | Northern Illinois Huskies | 30 | 10,255 | |
| 2019 | Miami RedHawks | 26 | Central Michigan Chippewas | 21 | 22,427 | |
Results by team[edit]
| Appearances | School | Wins | Losses | Win % | Year(s) Won | Year(s) Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Northern Illinois | 4 | 4 | .500 | 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018 | 2005, 2010, 2013, 2015 |
| 6 | Marshall | 5 | 1 | .833 | 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002 | 2001 |
| 6 | Toledo | 3 | 3 | .500 | 2001, 2004, 2017 | 1997, 1998, 2002 |
| 5 | Miami | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2003, 2010, 2019 | 2004, 2007 |
| 4 | Central Michigan | 3 | 1 | .750 | 2006, 2007, 2009 | 2019 |
| 4 | Bowling Green | 2 | 2 | .500 | 2013, 2015 | 2003, 2014 |
| 4 | Ohio | 0 | 4 | .000 | 2006, 2009, 2011, 2016 | |
| 3 | Western Michigan | 1 | 2 | .333 | 2016 | 1999, 2000 |
| 2 | Akron | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2005 | 2017 |
| 2 | Buffalo | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2008 | 2018 |
| 1 | Kent State | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2012 | |
| 1 | Ball State | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2008 |
Eastern Michigan is the only team currently in the conference to have not attended a Championship Game. Marshall is the only Championship Game Winner to not be a current member of the MAC.
MVPs[edit]
| Year | MVP(s) | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Randy Moss | Marshall | WR |
| 1998 | Chad Pennington | Marshall | QB |
| 1999 | Chad Pennington | Marshall | QB |
| 2000 | Byron Leftwich | Marshall | QB |
| 2001 | Chester Taylor | Toledo | RB |
| 2002 | Byron Leftwich | Marshall | QB |
| 2003 | Ben Roethlisberger | Miami | QB |
| 2004 | Bruce Gradkowski | Toledo | QB |
| 2005 | Luke Getsy | Akron | QB |
| 2006 | Damien Linson | Central Michigan | WR |
| 2007 | Dan LeFevour | Central Michigan | 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 | Northern Illinois | QB |
| 2013 | Matt Johnson | Bowling Green | QB |
| 2014 | Drew Hare | Northern Illinois | QB |
| 2015 | Travis Greene | Bowling Green | RB |
| 2016 | Corey Davis | Western Michigan | WR |
Photo gallery[edit]
Before 2006 MAC Championship Game
2006 MAC Championship: Central Michigan vs. Ohio