MAC To Celebrate 150th Anniversary Of College Football This 2019 Season
MAC CELEBRATES 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL IN 2019;
MIAMI AT OHIO ON NOV. 6TH IS THE ONLY GAME ON THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY
CLEVELAND, Ohio – With a celebrated history of football programs steeped in tradition, legendary former coaches and players throughout college football history, the Mid-American Conference announced today in conjunction with its 2019 regular season football schedule, plans to celebrate college football’s 150th anniversary this upcoming season.
The MAC will be the only collegiate football conference to host a football game on the 150th anniversary of college football – Wednesday, Nov. 6th with the Miami RedHawks traveling to face the Ohio Bobcats at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio live on ESPN2.
“We are extremely excited for the opportunity to celebrate 150 years of college football and to be the only Conference playing on the actual anniversary date of November 6th,” said MAC Commissioner, Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher. “The MAC has such a rich history in college football and we have the opportunity to join our programs and great fans to celebrate this 2019 season.”
The Conference will join NCAA and NAIA institutions in celebrating 150 years of college football during the 2019 season and the MAC has created a specific celebration plan in collaboration with all 12 MAC football programs. The MAC’s celebration program will also run in addition with the national 150th platform for all FBS programs.
A 10-person ‘MAC-150 Celebration’ committee, led by Central Michigan Director of Athletics, Michael Alford, was created in the Spring of 2018 and the MAC’s collaborative plan for this season focuses on inclusion of all 12 MAC football programs, engagement with its fan base, opportunity for engagement with our partners with the primary goal of telling our lengthy and celebrated MAC football story.
MAC athletic programs will engage local, regional and national fan base with customized institutional plans. MAC programs will use Spring football practices, annual Spring games, summer events and training camp dates to engage fans with individual institutional polls to gather greatest moments, games, teams, coaches, student-athletes in each program’s history via social media via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, along with website content and engagement of corporate partners. Each institution will also tailor their own creative video, graphics and lists to create voting metrics and video support within their individual plan.
The MAC Football Media Day on Tuesday, July 23 will serve as the official start of the 2019 season. During the 2019 MAC Football Media Day events, the Conference will roll out a MAC branded 150th video and unveil plans to highlight each MAC football program during the 2019 season.
Each week during the 2019 season, the MAC will highlight one MAC football program (12 programs during the 14-week regular season schedule) which will feature each institution and the relevant data gathered during the spring/summer to recognize teams, games, moments, coaches, student-athletes via MAC social media accounts and video content.
On Wednesday, November 6th the MAC will be the only collegiate conference playing a live college football game on the 150th anniversary, as the Miami RedHawks will travel to face the Ohio Bobcats in the 96th meeting between these MAC rivals. The Miami vs. Ohio rivalry is the longest in the MAC in terms of number of meetings as the ‘Battle of the Bricks’ began back in 1908.
MAC programs will also participate in the National College Football 150 uniform patch program for the 2019 season. The patches will be one color (silver metallic), 3.5 x 1.7 inches and will be placed on the right, front chest of the jersey above the MAC logo.
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Founded in 1946, the Mid-American Conference is an NCAA Division I, 12-member conference that sponsors 23 championships and is one of 10 members of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). With total enrollment of nearly 300,000 students, the league represents institutions of higher learning in five states – Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York and Ohio.
Current MAC schools and the year they joined are – East Division: University of Akron (1992), Bowling Green State University (1952), University at Buffalo (1998), Kent State University (1951), Miami University (1947), Ohio University (1946). West Division: Ball State University (1973), Central Michigan University (1971), Eastern Michigan University (1971), Northern Illinois University (1975-86, rejoined in 1997), University of Toledo (1950), Western Michigan University (1947). The conference office is based in Cleveland, Ohio.
