MAC Football Championship Game
Football game
The MAC Football Championship Game is an annual postseason college football game played to determine the champion of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
History
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 and since 2020 has been sponsored by Rocket Mortgage (officially known as the Rocket Mortgage MAC Football Championship ). 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.[ 1] [ 2]
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.[ 3]
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
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.[ 4]
Year
West
East
Site
Attendance
1997
Toledo Rockets 14
Marshall Thundering Herd 34
Marshall University Stadium • Huntington, WV
28,021
1998
Toledo Rockets 17
Marshall Thundering Herd 23
28,085
1999
Western Michigan Broncos 30
11 Marshall Thundering Herd 34
28,069
2000
Western Michigan Broncos 14
Marshall Thundering Herd 19
24,816
2001
Toledo Rockets 41
20 Marshall Thundering Herd 36
Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH
20,025
2002
Toledo Rockets 45
24 Marshall Thundering Herd 49
Marshall University Stadium • Huntington, WV
24,582
2003
20 Bowling Green Falcons 27
13 Miami RedHawks 49
Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH
24,813
2004
Toledo Rockets 35
Miami RedHawks 27
Ford Field • Detroit, MI
22,138
2005
Northern Illinois Huskies 30
Akron Zips 31
12,051
2006
Central Michigan Chippewas 31
Ohio Bobcats 10
25,483
2007
Central Michigan Chippewas 35
Miami RedHawks 10
25,013
2008
12 Ball State Cardinals 24
Buffalo Bulls 42
12,871
2009
Central Michigan Chippewas 20
Ohio Bobcats 10
23,714
2010
24 Northern Illinois Huskies 21
Miami RedHawks 26
12,031
2011
Northern Illinois Huskies 23
Ohio Bobcats 20
13,052
2012
19 Northern Illinois Huskies 44 2OT
18 Kent State Golden Flashes 37
18,132
2013
16 Northern Illinois Huskies 27
Bowling Green Falcons 47
21,106
2014
Northern Illinois Huskies 51
Bowling Green Falcons 17
15,110
2015
Northern Illinois Huskies 14
Bowling Green Falcons 34
16,425
2016
13 Western Michigan Broncos 29
Ohio Bobcats 23
45,615
2017
Toledo Rockets 45
Akron Zips 28
16,225
2018
Northern Illinois Huskies 30
Buffalo Bulls 29
10,255
2019
Central Michigan Chippewas 21
Miami RedHawks 26
22,427
2020
Ball State Cardinals 38
23 Buffalo Bulls 28
0‡
2021
Northern Illinois Huskies 41
Kent State Golden Flashes 23
10,317
2022
Toledo Rockets 17
Ohio Bobcats
7
15,550
2023
Toledo Rockets
14
Miami RedHawks 23
20,200
Year
No. 1 seed
No. 2 seed
Site
Attendance
2024
Ford Field • Detroit, MI
‡ 2020 game attendance was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
Results by team
Appearances
School
Wins
Losses
Win %
Year(s) Won
Year(s) Lost
9
Northern Illinois 5
4
.556
2011, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2021
2005, 2010, 2013, 2015
8
Toledo 4
4
.500
2001, 2004, 2017, 2022
1997, 1998, 2002, 2023
6
Marshall 5
1
.833
1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002
2001
6
Miami 4
2
.667
2003, 2010, 2019, 2023
2004, 2007
5
Ohio 0
5
.000
2006, 2009, 2011, 2016, 2022
4
Central Michigan 3
1
.750
2006, 2007, 2009
2019
4
Bowling Green 2
2
.500
2013, 2015
2003, 2014
3
Buffalo 1
2
.333
2008
2018, 2020
3
Western Michigan 1
2
.333
2016
1999, 2000
2
Akron 1
1
.500
2005
2017
2
Ball State 1
1
.500
2020
2008
2
Kent State 0
2
.000
2012, 2021
Eastern Michigan is the only team currently in the conference to have not qualified for a Championship Game. 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 (was a member of the West Division prior to Marshall's departure from the MAC). Temple , UCF and UMass were previously in the conference during this era and never reached the championship game; UMass will return to the MAC in 2025.
Common matchups
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
Game records
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
7, Ohio vs. Toledo
2022
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
2008
Most points scored in a half (both teams)
49, Marshall vs. Toledo (2nd half)
2002
Largest margin of victory
34, Northern Illinois (51) vs. Bowling Green (17)
2014
Smallest margin of victory
1, Akron (31) vs. Northern Illinois (30)
2005
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
30, Western Michigan vs. Marshall
1999
Fewest yards allowed
224, Central Michigan vs. Ohio (137 passing, 87 rushing)
2006
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
16, shared by:
Sacks
2, shared by nine players, most recent:
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:
Miscellaneous
Record, Team vs. Team
Year
Game attendance
45,615, Ohio vs. Western Michigan
2016
Source:[ 5]
Photo gallery
See also
References
^ "MAC Announces Three Year Contract Extension With Ford Field" . getsomemaction.com . Mid-American Conference . July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022 .^ Kelly, Kyle (November 30, 2023). "MAC signs three-year extension to keep football title game at Ford Field" . FBS Schedules. Retrieved December 5, 2023 . ^ Paul, Tony (November 30, 2023). "Mid-American Conference to go to pods alignment for 2024" . Detroit News. Retrieved December 5, 2023 . ^ Kelly, Kevin (2023-11-30). "MAC Championship Game to remain in Detroit through 2025 season" . FBS Schedules . Retrieved 2024-05-13 . ^ "C-USA Records Master" (PDF) . conferenceusa.com . pp. 35–36. Retrieved December 3, 2021 .
Current teams Future teams Championships and awards Seasons
Mid-American Conference championships
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