The annual Mid-American Conference Media Day occurred on July 23 at Ford Field in Detroit.
Ohio and Toledo selected to win their respective divisions: Ohio (144) and Toledo (127) are officially the conference favorites after being selected to win the MAC East and MAC West, respectively. The Bobcats last won the division in 2016, when they lost to Western Michigan in the championship. Toledo’s most recent division title occurred in 2017 when it also won the conference.
Ohio picked to win the MAC championship game at Ford Field: The Bobcats, led by star QB Nathan Rourke, were picked by the media to finish first in the MAC East and win the conference championship game at Ford Field in Detroit on Dec. 7. Ohio went 9-4 (6-2 MAC) last year and are expected to defeat the Toledo Rockets in the MAC title game.
Eastern Michigan University picked to finish fourth in the MAC West: The Eagles, who tied for second place in the MAC West last year, were selected by the media to finish in fourth place in the division this season. Eastern Michigan (83) is projected to end the season behind Toledo (127), Western Michigan (112) and Northern Illinois (103) in the division. Eastern also returns quarterback Mike Glass III.
MAC partners with the Arizona Bowl: The MAC announced that it will be partnering with the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl beginning in the 2020 bowl cycle, which guarantees the conference six bowl games. The MAC will face off against a team from the Mountain West Conference. The Arizona Bowl has been going since 2015 when Nevada defeated Colorado State, 28-23.
The Quick Lane Bowl will pit the Big Ten against the MAC: The Quick Lane Bowl has taken place in late December every season since 2014. In the previous five years, the bowl game has consisted primarily of ACC and Big Ten teams, but from 2020-2025, the game will feature the Big Ten and MAC. Northern Illinois is the most recent MAC team to be in the bowl, as they lost to Duke in 2017.
MAC and CBS Sports Network announce four-year contract extension: The conference announced today that it has signed a multi-year extension with CBS Sports to televise football and basketball games through the 2022-23 season. The original deal was agreed upon in 2015. CBS Sports Network will televise a maximum of 12 football and men’s basketball games per year.
