MAC ANNOUNCES SEVEN BOWL INVITATIONS THIS 2019 BOWL SEASON
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced today that seven programs have accepted bowl invitations for the 2019 bowl season as invitations were extended Sunday afternoon. The MAC set a Conference record with eight teams bowl eligible and matched a league record with seven bowl invitations this upcoming bowl season. The seven bowl invitations tie the Conference mark set in both the 2012 and 2015 bowl seasons.
Miami (LendingTree Bowl), Central Michigan (New Mexico Bowl), Buffalo (Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl), Western Michigan (SERVEPRO First Responder Bowl), Ohio (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl), Kent State (Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl) and Eastern Michigan (Quick Lane Bowl) will represent the MAC in bowl games this season.
This marks the fifth time in MAC history to have six or more programs receive a bowl invitation (2012, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019) in a single-season. This also marks the 12th time in MAC history to have five or more programs receive a bowl invitation (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019) in a single-season.
2019 MAC Bowl Schedule:
Buffalo vs. Charlotte (C-USA), Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl, Dec. 20, 2:00 pm ET (ESPN)
Kent State vs. Utah State (Mountain West), Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl, Dec. 20, 7:30 pm ET (ESPN2)
Central Michigan vs. San Diego State (Mountain West), New Mexico Bowl, Dec. 21, 2:00 pm ET (ESPN)
Eastern Michigan vs. Pitt (ACC), Quick Lane Bowl, Dec. 26, 8:00 pm ET (ESPN)
Western Michigan vs. Western Kentucky (C-USA), SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, Dec. 30, 12:30 pm (ESPN)
Ohio vs. Nevada (Mountain West), Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Jan. 3, 3:30 pm ET (ESPN)
Miami vs. Louisiana (Sun Belt), LendingTree Bowl, Jan. 6, 7:30 pm ET (ESPN)
“I am happy for our students, coaches and fans from our seven MAC member institutions who will get to experience a great array of bowl opportunities,” said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, Commissioner of the Mid-American Conference. “The matchups are compelling and will provide memorable competitive opportunities. I appreciate our bowl partners who work all year to facilitate great experiences for the game participants and fans.”
The complete MAC bowl schedule is as follows: All times are Eastern.
Dec. 20: Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl – Nassau, Bahamas 2:00 pm ET (ESPN)
Buffalo (7-5, 5-3) vs. Charlotte (7-5, 5-3, Conference USA)
Note: Buffalo fifth-year head coach Lance Leipold has the Bulls bowl eligible for the third consecutive year. Buffalo will be making its second consecutive bowl appearance and fourth bowl appearance in school history (2009 International Bowl; 2013 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; 2018 Dollar General Bowl). Buffalo won five of its last six games to finish with a 7-5 overall record. Buffalo led the MAC in rushing offense (254.2 ypg) and total defense (293.2 ypg).
Dec. 20: Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl – Frisco, Texas, 7:30 pm ET (ESPN2)
Kent State (6-6, 5-3) vs. Utah State (7-5, 6-2, Mountain West Conference)
Note: Kent State won its last three consecutive games to finish in a tie for second-place in the MAC East Division with a 5-3 league record, 6-6 overall on the year. Kent State will be making its first bowl appearance since the 2012 season in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. Second-year head coach Sean Lewis turned a Golden Flashes program around after a 2-10 record last season to a 6-6 overall record this season.
Dec. 21: New Mexico Bowl – Albuquerque, N.M., 2:00 pm ET (ESPN)
Central Michigan (8-5, 6-2) vs. San Diego State (9-3, 5-3, Mountain West Conference)
Note: Central Michigan is coming off a 26-21 loss to Miami in the 2019 Marathon MAC Football Championship Game on Dec. 7. Central Michigan won the MAC West Division with a 6-2 league record and are currently 8-5 overall this season. First-year head coach Jim McElwain has guided the Chippewas as the most improved team in terms of wins in FBS this season. Last year Central Michigan finished with a 1-11 overall record, to an 8-5 overall record this season for a seven-game improvement over last year. The Chippewas will be returning to bowl action after four consecutive appearances from 2014-17.
Dec. 26: Quick Lane Bowl – Detroit, Mich., 8:00 pm ET (ESPN)
Eastern Michigan (6-6, 3-5) vs. Pitt (7-5, 4-4, Atlantic Coast Conference)
Note: Eastern Michigan closed the regular season by winning two of its last three MAC games for a 6-6 overall record, 3-5 in the MAC. Sixth-year head coach Chris Creighton is leading Eastern Michigan to its third bowl appearance in the last four years (2018 Raycom Media Camellia Bowl; 2016 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl).
Dec. 30: SERVPRO First Responder Bowl – Dallas, Texas, 12:30 pm ET (ESPN)
Western Michigan (7-5, 5-3) vs. Western Kentucky (8-4, 6-2, Conference USA)
Note: Western Michigan finished second in the MAC West Division with a 5-3 league record, 7-5 overall. Third-year head coach Tim Lester has the Broncos bowl eligible for the sixth consecutive year. Western Michigan recently appeared in the 2014 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; 2015 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl; 2016 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and the 2018 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Western Michigan will be making its 10th bowl appearance in program history.
Jan. 3: Famous Idaho Potato Bowl – Boise, Ida., 3:30 pm ET (ESPN)
Ohio (6-6, 5-3) vs. Nevada (7-5, 4-4, Mountain West Conference)
Note: Ohio ended the regular season by winning two consecutive games and finished with a second-place tie in the MAC East with a 5-3 league record, 6-6 overall. Bobcats head coach Frank Solich is in his 15th year leading the Ohio football program and became the winningest head football coach in MAC history earlier this year and has 112 career wins since heading to Athens. Last season, Ohio established the first-ever shutout in MAC bowl history with a 27-0 win over San Diego State in the 2018 DXL Frisco Bowl. The year prior, Ohio defeated UAB 41-6 in the Bahamas Bowl. Ohio is bowl eligible in 13 of the 15 years under Solich and will be making their 11th bowl appearance during his coaching tenure. Overall, Ohio will be making its 13th bowl appearance in school history.
Jan. 6: LendingTree Bowl – Mobile, Ala., 7:30 pm ET (ESPN)
Miami (8-5, 6-2) vs. Louisiana (10-3, 7-1, Sun Belt)
Note: Miami is coming off a 26-21 win over Central Michigan in the 2019 Marathon MAC Football Championship Game on Dec. 7 for the RedHawks first MAC Championship since 2010. Miami won the MAC East Division with a 6-2 league record and are currently 8-5 overall on the season. Miami won five of its last six regular season games to clinch the MAC East Division crown. Sixth-year head coach Chuck Martin has Miami bowl eligible for the third time in four years and Martin will be leading the RedHawks to his second bowl game (2017 St. Petersburg Bowl).
