MAC Concludes Spring Meetings
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE CONCLUDES SPRING MEETINGS
Cleveland, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference concluded its Spring Meetings with the Council of Presidents, Council of Directors of Athletics, Council of Senior Administrators, Council of Faculty Athletics Representatives and the Council of Student Athletes, held at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel May 28 – 30. The Spring Meetings centered on student-athlete issues of name, image and likeness, sports wagering and transfers.
Spring Meeting highlights include:
NCAA President Dr. Mark Emmert addressed and engaged in dialogue with the Joint Council (Council of Directors of Athletics, Council of Senior Administrators, Council of Faculty Athletics Representatives, Council of Student-Athletes), attended the 10th annual Honors Dinner and met individually with the Council of Presidents and the Council of Student-Athletes.
Name, Image and Likeness. MAC Commissioner Steinbrecher commended Dr. Emmert for creating the NCAA working group studying this issue. The working group will provide a final report in October and an update coming in August. Discussion included the possibility of third-parties paying student-athletes to endorse products, with conversation centered around how to manage and the various risks involved. Dr. Emmert also conducted a dialogue with the Council of Student-Athletes for new and unique ideas designed to keep amateurism at the forefront of intercollegiate athletics.
Sports Wagering. The MAC received updates on states across the Conference footprint relative regarding proposed legislation to permit sports wagering or already enacted legislation. Discussion centered on the possibility of availability reporting, as there is no support at this time to implement such a program. Also, administrators reviewed the Sports Wagering Principles developed by the NCAA Board of Directors Ad Hoc Committee on Sports Wagering.
Transfers. The MAC spent time reviewing four-year college undergraduate transfer waiver guidelines, which also included a review of data on waivers to date. Discussion was engaged on the transfer portal and early trends so far. This is the first year of the transfer portal, so there is not sufficient data to determine what the true trends may be, however there is concern that student-athletes may not fully understand the ramifications of entering the portal. The expectation is that it will take three or more years to fully discern trends in transfers. There will be an emphasis of providing education to student-athletes prior to entering the portal and its implications toward scholarship and access to training staff, facilities and medical staff. There is a general concern of the number of student-athletes entering the portal and the number of available positions and the full ramifications.
College Football Playoff. Discussion centered on the format of the playoff.
Mental Health Affidavit. The MAC continues to place a priority on mental health awareness. The mental health affidavit has been adjusted to expand education for all athletic staff, which includes administrative and training staff, and to all student-athletes.
Anti-Bullying. The Council of Student Athletes, with support from the Faculty Athletic Representatives and Senior Administrators, will make anti-bullying the emphasis this academic year within our Diversity & Inclusion and Mental Health initiatives.
Within the MAC governance structure, the following individuals were elected to leadership positions.
Council of Presidents – re-elected Dr. Satish Tripathi, president at the University at Buffalo, to another two-year term.
Council of Faculty Athletics Representatives – Dr. Lisa DeChano-Cook – Western Michigan University, to a three-year term.
Committee on Infractions – Kelly Andrews, Senior Associate Director of Athletics / Senior Woman Administrator – University of Toledo – to a two-year term.
In addition to its own meeting, representatives of the Council of Student-Athletes participated in meetings with the Council of Presidents, Council of Senior Administrators, and Council of Faculty Athletics Representatives. This provided an opportunity for the students to share their views on various NCAA and Conference issues.
Commissioner Steinbrecher delivered the annual State of the Conference address. In addition to focusing on institutional, team, and individual highlights from the year, the theme of the address was on the issue of change and the need to embrace change.
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 Subdivison (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 that hold full membership 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.
