The Mid-American Conference (MAC) has announced its future football schedule format and opponents for the 2024 through 2026 seasons.
Beginning in 2024, the MAC will drop its East and West divisions. The two teams with the best conference winning percentage will compete in the MAC Football Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich.
Each MAC team will continue to play an eight-game conference football schedule with four non-conference opponents. But without divisions, the annual opponent rotation has changed and each team now has protected rivalries.
This new model will allow for each team to face all 11 conference opponents home and away at least once during a three-year cycle. Additionally, the new format will incorporate protected opponents based on geographic location and rivalries.
The complete 2024 MAC Football Schedule with dates will be released at the end of February, per the conference.
MAC Football Opponents
2024 Away: Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Kent State, Ohio
2024 Home: Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green, Toledo, Buffalo
2025 Away: Central Michigan, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Miami
2025 Home: Western Michigan, Kent State, Ohio, Ball State
2026 Away: Eastern Michigan, Toledo, Kent State, Ball State
2026 Home: Northern Illinois, Central Michigan, Buffalo, Miami
2024 Away: Central Michigan, Kent State, Buffalo, Ohio
2024 Home: Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Miami
2025 Away: Western Michigan, Toledo, Akron, Miami
2025 Home: Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Buffalo, Ohio
2026 Away: Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green, Ohio
2026 Home: Central Michigan, Toledo, Akron, Miami
2024 Away: Central Michigan, Toledo, Akron, Ball State
2024 Home: Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Kent State, Miami
2025 Away: Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Ohio
2025 Home: Central Michigan, Toledo, Akron, Buffalo
2026 Away: Western Michigan, Toledo, Buffalo, Miami
2026 Home: Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Ohio, Ball State
2024 Away: Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Akron, Ohio
2024 Home: Western Michigan, Toledo, Kent State, Ball State
2025 Away: Central Michigan, Bowling Green, Kent State, Ball State
2025 Home: Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Akron, Miami
2026 Away: Western Michigan, Toledo, Akron, Miami
2026 Home: Central Michigan, Bowling Green, Kent State, Ohio
2024 Away: Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Toledo, Miami
2024 Home: Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Ohio, Ball State
2025 Away: Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Kent State, Ohio
2025 Home: Eastern Michigan, Akron, Buffalo, Miami
2026 Away: Eastern Michigan, Akron, Buffalo, Ball State
2026 Home: Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Toledo, Kent State
2024 Away: Western Michigan, Akron, Kent State, Ohio
2024 Home: Central Michigan, Toledo, Buffalo, Miami
2025 Away: Central Michigan, Toledo, Buffalo, Ball State
2025 Home: Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Kent State
2026 Away: Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Miami
2026 Home: Central Michigan, Akron, Ohio, Ball State
2024 Away: Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Miami
2024 Home: Eastern Michigan, Akron, Ohio, Ball State
2025 Away: Eastern Michigan, Toledo, Akron, Ball State
2025 Home: Northern Illinois, Central Michigan, Bowling Green, Buffalo
2026 Away: Northern Illinois, Central Michigan, Buffalo, Ohio
2026 Home: Western Michigan, Toledo, Akron, Miami
2024 Away: Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green, Toledo, Ball State
2024 Home: Northern Illinois, Central Michigan, Kent State, Ohio
2025 Away: Northern Illinois, Central Michigan, Buffalo, Ohio
2025 Home: Western Michigan, Toledo, Akron, Ball State
2026 Away: Western Michigan, Akron, Kent State, Ball State
2026 Home: Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Ohio
2024 Away: Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Miami, Ball State
2024 Home: Central Michigan, Toledo, Akron, Buffalo
2025 Away: Eastern Michigan, Toledo, Kent State, Buffalo
2025 Home: Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Ohio, Miami
2026 Away: Central Michigan, Bowling Green, Akron, Ohio
2026 Home: Eastern Michigan, Toledo, Kent State, Ball State
2024 Away: Central Michigan, Toledo, Kent State, Miami
2024 Home: Eastern Michigan, Akron, Buffalo, Ball State
2025 Away: Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Akron, Ball State
2025 Home: Central Michigan, Bowling Green, Toledo, Miami
2026 Away: Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Miami
2026 Home: Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Kent State, Ball State
2024 Away: Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Akron, Buffalo
2024 Home: Central Michigan, Bowling Green, Ohio, Miami
2025 Away: Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Ohio, Miami
2025 Home: Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Ball State
2026 Away: Northern Illinois, Central Michigan, Kent State, Ball State
2026 Home: Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Akron, Buffalo
2024 Away: Central Michigan, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Ball State
2024 Home: Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Akron, Kent State
2025 Away: Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Akron, Miami
2025 Home: Central Michigan, Toledo, Ohio, Ball State
2026 Away: Central Michigan, Toledo, Kent State, Ohio
2026 Home: Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Miami
In this what’s-up-is-down world of college football, it’s nice to see a conference like the MAC adhering to common sense. Glad to see Toledo-Bowling Green back on a permanent basis.
From what I can tell, here are the 3-team “pods” that were determined:
Buffalo-Akron-Kent St
CMU-EMU-WMU
Ball State-Miami U-Ohio
Bowling Green-Toledo-Northern Illinois
The BG/Toledo game has always been played on permanent basis.
You are correct on the pods
Northern Illinois Huskies & Bowling Green Falcons are My co-favorite MAC Teams Dan will rooting for NIU at all games & rooting for BGSU at all games with very minor exception when they play NIU & 114% accept MAC 3-team pod formula & Josh your comments are fantastic.
The MAC should add Southern Illinois and Youngstown State for all sports with football, Cleveland State and Robert Morris as non-football members, and Fordham and Richmond as football-only members.
Then these would be the pods:
Akron, Buffalo, Kent State, Youngstown State
Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan
Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois, Toledo
Fordham, Miami (Ohio), Ohio, Richmond
These games would then be played on Thanksgiving week:
Akron-Kent State
Ball State-Western Michigan
Bowling Green-Toledo
Buffalo-Youngstown State
Central Michigan-Eastern Michigan
Fordham-Richmond
Miami (Ohio)-Ohio
Northern Illinois-Southern Illinois
It can work with a 7-game conference schedule (two pairs of two pods paired with each other over a 6-year period) or a 9-game conference schedule (each school plays one pair from each of the other pods set to play each other on Thanksgiving week over a 4-year period).
The MAC annually generates an average athletic revenue of $32.14 million. Youngstown State ($17.73) and Southern Illinois ($18.74 million) generate approximately half of that figure. It would make no financial-sense to invite either of them and would nothing toward improving, enhancing or enriching the MAC in any manner.
My favorite College Football Rivalries I like on Thanksgiving Weekend are: Northwestern-Illinois Michigan-Ohio State Georgia-Georgia Tech Arizona State-Arizona As A Fan of Northerm Illinois,Bowling Green,Oklahoma State & Syracuse 114% like to see various opponents on Thanksgiving Weekend with those College Programs. Satisfied with Southern Illinois,Youngstown State,Richmond & Fordham in FCS when postseason starts on Thanksgiving Weekend. I have 114% great love with autistic people & you need be flexible,respectful & thinking of other People too & I am doing it to encourage & help you not harassing & bullying you. Also I was very unhappy what you said about My Bears going Winless in 10 years & that is extremely unfair & do not wish any ill on Your Packers hope you accept me disliking them & only thing that made mad was soap opera relationship between Head Coach Mike McCarthy & Quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
You better withdraw your suggestion of 7 game conference schedule that would be very unfair to College Football Conference Games with 8-9 game schedule is 114% important especially in era of super conferences & 12 Team playoff format & this could help smaller FBS schools like Northern Illinois & Boise State should they be undefeated & ranked in Top 12.
Prefacing that I am a NIU alum, I can’t understand why NIU-Ball St isn’t an annual game in the new rotation. It has been a trophy game for several years and geographically it makes more sense that NIU-BG.
I understand your disappointment, and I’m not trying to minimize the trophy and rivalry, but isn’t it only 15 years old or so? I also am not sure how many times total they’ve met, but I don’t think it’s beyond 50. Again, not trying to minimize it, but I think the MAC had to make 2-3 decisions on what stayed permanent and what went to rotating, and this was one that was dropped in the permanent rotation. I imagine they wanted to keep Toledo-Bowling Green (80-something meetings, only ~25 miles apart) and Miami U-Ohio (Battle of the Bricks! almost 100 meetings I believe) over Ball State-Northern Illinois. Consider the fact that Ball State and Miami U are also very close geographically (60-90 minutes), and that left Northern Illinois with the shaft, so to speak.
If I had a dream for A MAC match up on Thanksgiving Weekend it would be NIU-BGSU My co-favorites from MAC Conference something similar with Northwestern-Illinois in Big Ten since I live in Chicagoland Fan of Chicago Big Ten School Northwestern & also Fan of State Flagship School Illinois & my other favorite Big Ten School is Michigan & I always go for them when they play Ohio State.
Ball State-Ohio is the only fully new permanent game IIRC, as BGSU-NIU were in the same division for a few years in the early oughts.