Editing Mid-American Conference (section)

==Football==
===Scheduling===
On November 30, 2023, the MAC approved a new scheduling format for football effective for the 2024 season, eliminating its East and West Divisions for the first time since 1996 in favor of a pod-based protected rivalry system. Under the new system, teams will be divided into 4 pods of 3 teams each, and each team will be guaranteed to face the other 2 teams in its pod every season. Additionally, every team in the MAC will be guaranteed to face every other team in the MAC at least once every three years. The [[MAC Football Championship Game]], which previously matched the winner of the East Division against the winner of the West Division, will instead put the two teams in the MAC with the highest conference winning percentage. The pods are as follows:<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://getsomemaction.com/news/2023/11/30/mac-establishes-new-football-schedule-model.aspx |title=MAC Establishes New Football Schedule Model |publisher=Mid-American Conference |date=November 30, 2023 |access-date=December 29, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hustlebelt.com/2023/11/30/23982931/mid-american-conference-to-scrap-divisions-in-football-starting-in-2024 |title=Mid-American Conference to scrap divisions starting in 2024 in favor of 3-team pods |last1=Jimenez |first1=James |last2=Helwick |first2=Steve |publisher=[[SB Nation]] |date=November 30, 2023 |access-date=December 29, 2023}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ MAC Pods
|-
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | School 1
! scope="col" | School 2
! scope="col" | School 3
|-
! '''Pod 1'''
| Akron
| Buffalo
| Kent State
|-
! '''Pod 2'''
| Ball State
| Miami (OH)
| Ohio
|-
! '''Pod 3'''
| Bowling Green
| Northern Illinois
| Toledo
|-
! '''Pod 4'''
| Central Michigan
| Eastern Michigan
| Western Michigan
|}

===All-time results===
: [[File:AmericanFootball current event.svg|40px|alt=|link=2023 Mid-American Conference football season]] ''For the most recent season, see [[2024 Mid-American Conference football season]].''
<!-- This chart has been fully updated (all teams are up to date) on April 20, 2012. PLEASE DO NOT UPDATE WITHOUT UPDATING THE ENTIRE CHART. This throws the entire table out of whack and produces incorrect information. All team records can be found at the reference listed above. Thanks.-->
{{Update|section|date=June 2017}}
<ref>[http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/misc/div_ia_wins.php All time Division I-A football records] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040406131740/http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/misc/div_ia_wins.php |date=April 6, 2004}}, College Football Data Warehouse</ref>{{when|date=June 2017}}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! Team
! First season
! All-time record
! All-time win %
! Bowl appearances
! Bowl record
! MAC titles
! Other conference titles
! Stadium
! Head coach
|-
| '''[[Akron Zips football|Akron]]'''
| 1891
| 518–545–36
| {{Winning percentage|518|545|36}}
| 3
| 1–2
| 1
| 0
| [[InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field]]
| [[Joe Moorhead]]
|-
| '''[[Ball State Cardinals football|Ball State]]'''
| 1924
| 439–402–32
| {{Winning percentage|439|402|32}}
| 8
| 1–7
| 5
| 5
| [[Scheumann Stadium]]
| [[Mike Neu]]
|-
| '''[[Bowling Green Falcons football|Bowling Green]]'''
| 1919
| 533–364–52
| {{Winning percentage|533|364|52}}
| 13
| 5–8
| 12
| 5
| [[Doyt Perry Stadium]]
| [[Scot Loeffler]]
|-
| '''[[Buffalo Bulls football|Buffalo]]'''
| 1894
| 385–514–28
| {{Winning percentage|385|514|28}}
| 6*
| 3–3
| 1
| 1
| [[University at Buffalo Stadium]]
| [[Pete Lembo]]
|-
| '''[[Central Michigan Chippewas football|Central Michigan]]'''
| 1896
| 603–400–37
| {{Winning percentage|603|400|37}}
| 9
| 3–6
| 7
| 9
| [[Kelly/Shorts Stadium]]
| [[Jim McElwain]]
|-
| '''[[Eastern Michigan Eagles football|Eastern Michigan]]'''
| 1891
| 443–576–47
| {{Winning percentage|443|576|47}}
| 4
| 1–3
| 1
| 9
| [[Rynearson Stadium]]
| [[Chris Creighton]]
|-
| '''[[Kent State Golden Flashes football|Kent State]]'''
| 1920
| 335–535–28
| {{Winning percentage|335|535|28}}
| 3
| 1-2
| 1
| 0
| [[Dix Stadium]]
| [[Kenni Burns]]
|-
| '''[[Miami RedHawks football|Miami (OH)]]'''
| 1888
| 674–446–44
| {{Winning percentage|674|446|44}}
| 10
| 7–3
| 15
| 7
| [[Yager Stadium (Miami University)|Yager Stadium]]
| [[Chuck Martin (American football)|Chuck Martin]]
|-
| '''[[Northern Illinois Huskies football|Northern Illinois]]'''
| 1899
| 566–475–51
| {{Winning percentage|566|475|51}}
| 11
| 4–7
| 6
| 8
| [[Huskie Stadium]]
|[[Thomas Hammock]]
|-
| '''[[Ohio Bobcats football|Ohio]]'''
| 1894
| 579–566–47
| {{Winning percentage|579|566|47}}
| 13
| 5–8
| 5
| 6
| [[Peden Stadium]]
| [[Tim Albin]]
|-
| '''[[Toledo Rockets football|Toledo]]'''
| 1917
| 517–416–24
| {{Winning percentage|517|416|24}}
| 15
| 10–5
| 12
| 3
| [[Glass Bowl]]
| [[Jason Candle]]
|-
| '''[[Western Michigan Broncos football|Western Michigan]]'''
| 1905
| 556–439–24
| {{Winning percentage|556|439|24}}
| 7
| 1–6
| 3
| 1
| [[Waldo Stadium]]
| [[Tim Lester (American football coach)|Tim Lester]]

|}
* - Buffalo invited to Tangerine Bowl in 1958 / Declined due to Florida's segregation laws at the time which would not have allowed Buffalo's two black players to participate.

===MAC champions===
{{main|MAC Championship Game}}

'''Bowl games'''

In 2017, the MAC was contracted to provide a team for each of five college football [[bowl games]]: the [[Bahamas Bowl]], [[LendingTree Bowl]], [[Famous Idaho Potato Bowl]], [[Camellia Bowl (2014–present)|Camellia Bowl]] (later renamed the [[Salute to Veterans Bowl]]) and [[Quick Lane Bowl]] (later renamed the GameAbove Sports Bowl). The MAC also has secondary agreements with several [[ESPN Events#Events|ESPN-owned bowls]].

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! style="width:200px;"| Name
! style="width:200px;"| Location
! style="width:200px;"| Opposing conference
|-
| '''[[Bahamas Bowl]]'''
| [[Nassau, Bahamas]]
| [[C-USA]]
|-
| '''[[LendingTree Bowl]]'''
| [[Mobile, Alabama]]
| [[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]]
|-
| '''[[Famous Idaho Potato Bowl]]'''
| [[Boise, Idaho]]
| [[Mountain West Conference|Mountain West]]
|-
| '''[[Salute to Veterans Bowl]]'''
| [[Montgomery, Alabama]]
| [[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]]
|-
| '''[[GameAbove Sports Bowl]]'''
| [[Detroit, Michigan]]
| [[Big Ten]]
|}

;Notes
* The MAC champion (if not invited to the College Football Playoff or its associated bowls) is not contractually obligated to any specific bowl. The conference and the universities select which teams will play in which of the league's affiliated bowls.

===College Football Playoff===
The MAC champion, like the other "Group of 5" conferences receives an automatic berth in one of the so-called [[New Year's Six]] bowl games associated with the [[College Football Playoff]] under either of the following circumstances:
* Selected as one of the top four teams overall by the CFP selection committee, in which case the team will play in a CFP national semifinal.
* Ranked by the committee as the top champion among the five conferences ([[American Athletic Conference|American]], [[C-USA]], MAC, [[Mountain West Conference|MW]], [[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]]) given access to one of the CFP bowls, in which case the team will play in the so-called "Access Bowl" as an at-large selection.

The first "Access Bowl" berth in 2014 went to Boise State (MW); the 2015 berth went to Houston (American). The MAC got its first berth in 2016 with Western Michigan, who had an undefeated regular season that year and finished ranked at No. 15 in the [[AP Poll]].

During the era of the now-defunct [[Bowl Championship Series]] (BCS), one MAC team appeared in a BCS bowl game. In [[2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2012]], [[2012 Northern Illinois Huskies football team|NIU]] qualified by being ranked in the top 16 (15th) in the season's final BCS standings, and also higher than at least one champion of a conference that received an automatic berth in a BCS game. In the 2012 season, two such conference champions were ranked below NIU: [[2012 Big East Conference football season|Big East]] champion [[2012 Louisville Cardinals football team|Louisville]], who was ranked 22nd, and [[2012 Big Ten Conference football season|Big Ten]] champion [[2012 Wisconsin Badgers football team|Wisconsin]], who was unranked. NIU lost to [[2012 Florida State Seminoles football team|Florida State]] in the [[2013 Orange Bowl|Orange Bowl]].

===Rivalries===
Football rivalries involving MAC teams include:

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan=2|Teams !! Rivalry name !! Trophy !! Meetings !! Record !! Series leader !! Current streak
|-
| [[Akron Zips football|Akron]] || [[Kent State Golden Flashes football|Kent State]]
| –
| [[Wagon Wheel (trophy)|Wagon Wheel]] || 67 || 37–28–2 || Akron || Akron won 2
|-
| [[Akron Zips football|Akron]] || [[Youngstown State Penguins football|Youngstown State]]
| –
| [[Steel Tire]] || 35 || 19–14–2 || Youngstown State || Youngstown State won 3
|-
| [[Ball State Cardinals football|Ball State]] || [[Indiana State Sycamores football|Indiana State]]
| –
| [[Blue Key Victory Bell]] || 64 || 39–24–1 || Ball State || Ball State won 1
|-
| [[Ball State Cardinals football|Ball State]] || [[Northern Illinois Huskies football|Northern Illinois]]
| –
| [[Bronze Stalk Trophy]] || 53 || 25–25–2 || Tie || Ball State won 3
|-
| [[Bowling Green Falcons football|Bowling Green]] || [[Kent State Golden Flashes football|Kent State]]
| 
| [[Anniversary Award]] || 92 || 62–24–6 || Bowling Green || Bowling Green won 2
|-
| [[Bowling Green Falcons football|Bowling Green]] || [[Toledo Rockets football|Toledo]]
| [[Bowling Green–Toledo football rivalry|Battle of I-75]]
| Battle of I-75 Trophy || 90 || 43–42–4 || Toledo || Bowling Green won 1
|-
| [[Central Michigan Chippewas football|Central Michigan]]
| [[Eastern Michigan Eagles football|Eastern Michigan]]
| [[Central Michigan–Eastern Michigan football rivalry|Rivalry]]
|– || 102 || 64–32–6 || Central Michigan || Eastern Michigan won 1
|-
| [[Central Michigan Chippewas football|Central Michigan]] || [[Western Michigan Broncos football|Western Michigan]]
| [[Central Michigan–Western Michigan football rivalry|Rivalry]]
| Victory Cannon || 95 || 53–40–2 || Western Michigan || Central Michigan won 1
|-
| [[Miami RedHawks football|Miami]] || [[Cincinnati Bearcats football|Cincinnati]]
| Battle for the Bell
| [[Victory Bell (Cincinnati–Miami)|Victory Bell]] || 128 || 61–60–7 || Cincinnati || Cincinnati won 1
|-
| [[Miami RedHawks football|Miami]] || [[Ohio Bobcats football|Ohio]]
| [[Battle of the Bricks]]
| – || 101 || 56–43–2 || Miami || Ohio won 1
|-
| [[Ohio Bobcats football|Ohio]] || [[Marshall Thundering Herd football|Marshall]]
| [[Battle for the Bell (Marshall–Ohio)|Battle for the Bell]]
| The Bell || 60 || 33–21–6 || Ohio || Marshall won 1
|-bgcolor=lightgray
| [[UMass Minutemen football|UMass]] || [[Boston College Eagles football|Boston College]]
| [[Boston College–UMass football rivalry|Rivalry]]
| – || 27 || 22–5 || Boston College || Boston College won 11
|-bgcolor=lightgray
| [[UMass Minutemen football|UMass]] || [[New Hampshire Wildcats football|New Hampshire]]
| [[Colonial Clash]]
| – || 74 || 43–28–3 || UMass || New Hampshire won 2
|-bgcolor=lightgray
| [[UMass Minutemen football|UMass]] || [[UConn Huskies football|UConn]]
| [[UConn–UMass rivalry|Rivalry]]
| – || 78 || 38–38–2 || Tie || UConn won 3
|}

In addition, [[Central Michigan Chippewas football|Central Michigan]], [[Eastern Michigan Eagles football|Eastern Michigan]], and [[Western Michigan Broncos football|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, Western Michigan has won 7 times, Central Michigan has won 5 times, and Eastern Michigan has won the trophy 4 times. Western Michigan has won the trophy three straight years (2018–2020) as well as six of seven years from 2014 to 2020 (2014–2016, 2018–2020).