====== Mid-American Conference (MAC) ====== The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates mostly in the Great Lakes region. The league was created in 1946 and began men's basketball play in the 1946-47 season. On February 29, 2024, UMass announced((https://umassathletics.com/news/2024/2/29/athletics-department-university-of-massachusetts-accepts-invitation-to-join-the-mid-american-conference-as-full-member)) that they would leave the [[Atlantic 10]] and join the MAC, effective July 1, 2025, for most sports.((Exceptions: Hockey (would remain in Hockey East), men's soccer (will join the [[wp>Summit League]] as an associate member), men's lacrosse and women's rowing (both men's lax and women's rowing have requested to remain in the A-10 as associate members.)) The move was driven entirely by UM's desire to elevate the football program, which had been languishing as an [[wp>NCAA Division I FBS independent schools|FBS independent]] between 2016 and 2024. Ironically, UMass Football was an affiliate member of the MAC from 2012 through 2015, but when the MAC asked that UMass either fully join the conference, or football must leave, and UMass chose to leave.((https://umassathletics.com/news/2014/3/26/UMass_Football_Will_Leave_Mid_American_Conference_at_End_of_2015)) As part of the agreement for the MAC accepting UMass as a football-only member in the 2010s, the MAC also required UMass to play four MAC basketball teams in each of the [[season_2012-13|2012-13]] and [[season_2013-14|2013-14]] seasons, hosting two and visiting two. That agreement ended in 2014 when UMass chose not to become a full member at that time. ===== Men's Basketball ===== ==== Current members and alignment ==== ^School^Location^Home Venue^Basketball Capacity^ |[[opponent_akron|Akron]]|[[wp>Akron, Ohio|Akron, OH]]|[[wp>James A. Rhodes Arena|Rhodes Arena]]|5,500((https://gozips.com/facilities/james-a.-rhodes-arena-/2))| |[[opponent_ball_state|Ball State]]|[[wp>Muncie, Indiana|Muncie, IN]]|[[wp>Worthen Arena]]|11,500((https://ballstatesports.com/facilities/worthen-arena/10))| |[[opponent_bowling_green|Bowling Green]]|[[wp>Bowling Green, Ohio|Bowling Green, OH]]|[[wp>Stroh Center]]|4,387((https://bgsufalcons.com/facilities/stroh-center/12))| |[[opponent_buffalo|Buffalo]]|[[wp>Amherst, New York|Amherst, NY]]|[[wp>Alumni Arena (University at Buffalo)|Alumni Arena]]|6,100((https://ubbulls.com/facilities/alumni-arena/3))| |[[opponent_central_michigan|Central Michigan]]|[[wp>Mount Pleasant, Michigan|Mount Pleasant, MI]]|[[wp>McGuirk Arena]]|5,300((https://cmuchippewas.com/facilities/mcguirk-arena/33))| |[[opponent_eastern_michigan|Eastern Michigan]]|[[wp>Ypsilanti, Michigan|Ypsilanti, MI]]|[[wp>George Gervin GameAbove Center]]|8,800((https://emueagles.com/facilities/gervin-gameabove-center/1))| |[[opponent_kent_state|Kent State]]|[[wp>Kent, Ohio|Kent, OH]]|[[wp>Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center|M.A.C. Center]]|6,327((https://kentstatesports.com/sports/2013/7/18/MAC%20Center.aspx))| |Massachusetts|[[wp>Amherst, Massachusetts|Amherst, MA]]|[[wp>Mullins Center]]|9,493((https://umassathletics.com/facilities/mullins-center/3))| |[[opponent_miami_oh|Miami]]|[[wp>Oxford, Ohio|Oxford, OH]]|[[wp>Millett Hall]]|6,400((https://miamiredhawks.com/facilities/millett-hall/15))| |[[opponent_northern_illinois|Northern Illinois]]|[[wp>DeKalb, Illinois|DeKalb, IL]]|[[wp>Convocation Center (Northern Illinois University)|Convocation Center]]|9,100((https://niuhuskies.com/sports/2020/6/22/convo))| |[[opponent_ohio|Ohio]]|[[wp>Athens, Ohio|Athens, OH]]|[[wp>Convocation Center (Ohio University)|Convocation Center]] (a.k.a. "The Convo")|13,000((https://ohiobobcats.com/facilities/convocation-center/5))| |[[opponent_toledo|Toledo]]|[[wp>Toledo, Ohio|Toledo, OH]]|[[wp>Savage Arena]]|7,014((https://utrockets.com/facilities/savage-arena/8))| |[[opponent_western_michigan|Western Michigan]]|[[wp>Kalamazoo, Michigan|Kalamazoo, MI]]|[[wp>University Arena (Western Michigan University)|University Arena]]|5,421((https://wmubroncos.com/facilities/university-arena/5))| All members are located in the [[wp>Eastern Time Zone]], except for Northern Illinois. ==== Champions ==== * [[wp>List_of_Mid-American_Conference_champions#Basketball_(men's)|List on Wikipedia]] * [[wp>Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament|MAC men's basketball tournament]] The men's basketball tournament will be hosted at Cleveland's [[wp>Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse]] through at least 2030.((https://www.cleveland19.com/2021/03/12/mac-tournament-staying-downtown-cleveland-through/)) ==== Membership history ==== For earlier history, see [[wp>Mid-American_Conference#Membership_timeline|the MAC's Wikipedia page]]. ^Season^Members^Notes^ |[[wp>2005–06 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season|2005-06]] - [[wp>2019–20 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season|2019-20]]| 12 |League played a two-division (East & West) format, six teams in each. The conference schedule varied between 16 and 18 games.| |[[wp>2020–21 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season|2020-21]] - [[wp>2021–22 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season|2021-22]]| 12 |League abandoned the two divisions, and expanded to a 20-game schedule.| |[[wp>2022–23 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season|2022-23]] - [[wp>2024–25 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season|2024-25]]| 12 |League reduced the schedule back to 18 games, but keeps the single division alignment.| |[[wp>2025–26 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season|2025-26]]| 13 |UMass joins the league in 2025.| |[[wp>2026–27 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season|2026-27]] -| 12 |[[opponent_northern_illinois|Northern Illinois]] will leave in 2026 and join the [[wp>Horizon League]] for most sports, including basketball.| ===== External links ===== * [[https://getsomemaction.com/|Official site]] * Wikipedia: [[wp>Mid-American Conference]] * Sports-Reference.com: [[https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/mac/men/|MAC Men's Basketball]]