Nov 30, 2018 Northern Illinois scores late to win MAC title game 30-29. Marcus Childers threw a touchdown pass - his fourth of the game - to D.J. Brown with 1:09 to go and Northern Illinois rallied from a 20-point, second-half deficit to take a 30-29 victory over Buffalo in the Mid-American Conference championship game. Led by quarterback Dan LeFevour and future NFL receiver Antonio Brown, Central defeated Ohio 20-10 in the MAC title game and then Troy 44-41 in the GMAC Bowl in double-overtime.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65850390/mac18.0.jpg "Mac Championship Title Game")
| 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.
Mac Championship Game 2019
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]
Mac Championship Title Game Free
| 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 |
Mac Championship Title Game Online
Photo gallery[edit]
Before 2006 MAC Championship Game
2006 MAC Championship: Central Michigan vs. Ohio
See also[edit]
References[edit]
The 2018 MAC Championship Game is set. The Northern Illinois Huskies will take on the Buffalo Bulls on Friday, Nov. 30 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.
The Northern Illinois Huskies clinched the West Division title of the Mid-American Conference with a 6-2 record, which was one game ahead of Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and Toledo. NIU won the MAC Championship Game in 2011, 2012, and 2014 and made their last appearance in the game in 2015.
Buffalo finished 7-1 in the MAC’s East Division, just ahead of Miami and Ohio, which both posted 6-2 records. The Bulls won their first and only MAC Championship back in 2008 over Ball State, 42-24.
In their most recent meeting last season, NIU went on the road and defeated Buffalo 14-13. The Huskies lead the overall series with the Bulls 11-1.
In his latest bowl projections, Stadium’s Brett McMurphy has Northern Illinois facing Troy in the Dollar General Bowl and Buffalo taking on Georgia Southern in the Camellia Bowl.
MAC Championship Game
- Matchup: NIU vs. Buffalo
- Date: Friday, Nov. 30, 2018
- Time: 7:00pm ET
- TV: ESPN2
- Crew: Clay Matvick, Dan Orlovsky, and Paul Carcaterra
Football Schedules