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2025 MAC football schedule announced

By Kevin Kelley - March 5, 2025
MAC Football

Photo: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The 2025 MAC Football Schedule has been officially announced. Conference play begins on Saturday, Sept. 13 with Buffalo at Kent State.

The UMass Minutemen join the MAC this season, which will bring the conference roster to 13 teams. That will last for the 2025 season only, as the Northern Illinois Huskies are moving to the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member in 2026.

Returning MAC members include Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, and Western Michigan.

The two teams with the best conference winning percentage will compete in the MAC Football Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich., on Saturday, Dec. 6.

Featured non-conference games for each MAC team in 2025 include Akron at Nebraska, Ball State at Auburn, Bowling Green at Louisville, Buffalo at Minnesota, Central Michigan at Michigan, Eastern Michigan at Kentucky, Kent State at Oklahoma, Miami OH at Wisconsin, Northern Illinois at Maryland, Ohio at Ohio State, Toledo at Kentucky, UMass at Missouri, and Western Michigan at Michigan State.

The MAC will release an updated schedule later this spring with game times and television for the first three weeks of the regular season and its midweek MACtion schedule. All remaining game times and television details will be announced 12 days prior to the scheduled game. Games will air on ESPN platforms (ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/ESPN+) and CBS Sports Network.

2025 MAC Football Schedules

2025 MAC Football Schedule

Thursday, Aug. 28
Wyoming at Akron
Buffalo at Minnesota
Central Michigan at San Jose State
Lafayette at Bowling Green

Saturday, Aug. 30
Ball State at Purdue
Eastern Michigan at Texas State
Merrimack College at Kent State
Temple at UMass
Miami (Ohio) at Wisconsin
Holy Cross at Northern Illinois
Ohio at Rutgers
Toledo at Kentucky
Western Michigan at Michigan State

Saturday, Sept. 6
Akron at Nebraska
Ball State at Auburn
Bowling Green at Cincinnati
Saint Francis at Buffalo
Central Michigan at Pitt
Long Island at Eastern Michigan
Kent State at Texas Tech
Bryant at UMass
Miami (Ohio) at Rutgers
Northern Illinois at Maryland
West Virginia at Ohio
Western Kentucky at Toledo
North Texas at Western Michigan

Saturday, Sept. 13
Buffalo at Kent State
Akron at UAB
New Hampshire at Ball State
Liberty at Bowling Green
Central Michigan at Michigan
Eastern Michigan at Kentucky
UMass at Iowa
Ohio at Ohio State
Morgan State at Toledo
Western Michigan at Illinois

Saturday, Sept. 20
Toledo at Western Michigan
Duquesne at Akron
Ball State at UConn
Bowling Green at Louisville
Troy at Buffalo
Wagner at Central Michigan
Louisiana at Eastern Michigan
Kent State at Florida State
UNLV at Miami (Ohio)
Northern Illinois at Mississippi State
Gardner Webb at Ohio

Saturday, Sept. 27
Akron at Toledo
Bowling Green at Ohio
Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan
UConn at Buffalo
UMass at Missouri
Lindenwood at Miami (Ohio)
San Diego State at Northern Illinois
Rhode Island at Western Michigan

Saturday, Oct. 4
Central Michigan at Akron
Ohio at Ball State
Eastern Michigan at Buffalo
Western Michigan at UMass
Miami (Ohio) at Northern Illinois
Kent State at Oklahoma

Saturday, Oct. 11
Miami (Ohio) at Akron
Ball State at Western Michigan
Toledo at Bowling Green
Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan
UMass at Kent State

Saturday, Oct. 18
Akron at Ball State
Central Michigan at Bowling Green
Buffalo at UMass
Eastern Michigan at Miami (Ohio)
Kent State at Toledo
Northern Illinois at Ohio

Saturday, Oct. 25
Akron at Buffalo
Ball State at Northern Illinois
Bowling Green at Kent State
UMass at Central Michigan
Ohio at Eastern Michigan
Western Michigan at Miami (Ohio)
Toledo at Washington State

Saturday, Nov. 1
Buffalo at Bowling Green
Central Michigan at Western Michigan

Tuesday, Nov. 4
UMass at Akron
Miami (Ohio) at Ohio

Wednesday, Nov. 5
Kent State at Ball State
Northern Illinois at Toledo

Saturday, Nov. 8
Bowling Green at Eastern Michigan

Tuesday, Nov. 11
Kent State at Akron
Ohio at Western Michigan

Wednesday, Nov. 12
Buffalo at Central Michigan
Northern Illinois at UMass
Toledo at Miami (Ohio)

Saturday, Nov. 15
Eastern Michigan at Ball State

Tuesday, Nov. 18
Akron at Bowling Green
UMass at Ohio
Western Michigan at Northern Illinois

Wednesday, Nov. 19
Miami (Ohio) at Buffalo
Central Michigan at Kent State

Saturday, Nov. 22
Ball State at Toledo

Tuesday, Nov. 25
Bowling Green at UMass
Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan

Friday, Nov. 28
Ohio at Buffalo
Kent State at Northern Illinois

Saturday, Nov. 29
Ball State at Miami (Ohio)
Toledo at Central Michigan

Saturday, Dec. 6
MAC Football Championship Game

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Comments (10)

I do not care when Bowling Green-Toledo play as long this Northwestern Ohio rivalry gives us plenty of MACation.

Why would you want that? They’ve already played it the last game of the season midweek and Black Friday and the attendance is never as good as when they play it on a Saturday in October. It will never be on the last Saturday of the season since that’s the same day as Ohio State vs Michigan

No one in Northwest Ohio wants BG vs Toledo the last week of the season, on a weeknight, or on Black Friday, we want it on a Saturday in October. I went to BG and live in NW Ohio, trust me.

In 2026, Illinois State, Richmond and UConn should join for football only, Youngstown State for all sports including football, and Cleveland State and Robert Morris as non-football members, provided NIU can stay as a non-football member as well.

The football rivalry pods would then be these:

Akron, Illinois State, Kent State, Youngstown State
Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan
Bowling Green, Miami (Ohio), Ohio, Toledo
Buffalo, Richmond, UConn, UMass

These games would be played on Thanksgiving week:

Akron-Kent State
Ball State-Western Michigan
Bowling Green-Toledo
Buffalo-Richmond
Central Michigan-Eastern Michigan
Illinois State-Youngstown State
Miami (Ohio)-Ohio
UConn-UMass

For basketball the MAC would go to a 20-game conference schedule with each school having five opponents they play twice every year for half of their allotted conference games as follows:

Akron: Cleveland State, Kent State, Toledo, UMass, Youngstown State
Ball State: Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois, Western Michigan
Bowling Green: Buffalo, Central Michigan, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois, Toledo
Buffalo: Bowling Green, Cleveland State, Ohio, Robert Morris, UMass
Central Michigan: Ball State, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan
Cleveland State: Akron, Buffalo, Kent State, Robert Morris, Youngstown State
Eastern Michigan: Ball State, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Western Michigan
Kent State: Akron, Cleveland State, Miami (Ohio), UMass, Youngstown State
Miami (Ohio): Ball State, Bowling Green, Kent State, Ohio, Toledo
Northern Illinois: Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan
Ohio: Buffalo, Miami (Ohio), Robert Morris, Toledo, Western Michigan
Robert Morris: Buffalo, Cleveland State, Ohio, UMass, Youngstown State
Toledo: Akron, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio), Ohio
UMass: Akron, Buffalo, Kent State, Robert Morris, Youngstown State
Western Michigan: Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Ohio
Youngstown State: Akron, Cleveland State, Kent State, Robert Morris, UMass

Reply

Forget about MAC expansion Z All Thanksgiving Man MAC will be excellent even when Northern Illinois leaves for Mountain West & have twelve teams that they would normally have for G5.

“provided NIU can stay as a non-football member as well.”

Can you at least do some research but you post your crazy ideas that will never happen. It was announced a full week before you posted this that NIU is joining the Horizon League for the 26-27 school year