MAC Football Media Day Kicks Off 2014 Season
MAC PART OF NEW COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF ERA
Beginning with the 2014-15 season, college football will enter a new four-team playoff era. Two College Football Playoff Semifinals will be played in bowl games this year (Sugar Bowl; Rose Bowl) and the College Football Playoff National Championship will be played in Arlington, Texas on Jan. 12.
The two Semifinals and four other premier bowl games (Orange Bowl; Cotton Bowl; Peach Bowl; Fiesta Bowl) will be played on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The Semifinal games will rotate among these six different bowls. All MAC programs will join every FBS team in college football with equal access to the playoff based upon its performance. No team will qualify automatically.
The College Football Playoff Selection Committee will choose four teams for the playoffs based on body of work, strength of schedule, head-to-head results, comparison of results against common opponents, championships won and other factors.
The highest ranked program by the Selection Committee from either the MAC, American Athletic, Conference USA, Mountain West or Sun Belt Conferences will play annually in one of the premier bowl games.
PRESEASON WATCH LISTS:
• Paul Hornung Award (Most Versatile Player) –WR/KR Tommylee Lewis, Northern Illinois Maxwell Award (Outstanding College Football Player) – QB Matt Johnson, Bowling Green
• Rimington Trophy (Best Center) – C Alex Huettel, Bowling Green; C Nick Beamish, Central Michigan; C Greg Mancz, Toledo; C Jon Hoffing, Western Michigan
• John Mackey Award (Outstanding Tight End) – TE Luke Eakes, Northern Illinois; TE Casey Pierce, Kent State; TE Tyreese Russell, Eastern Michigan
• Lou Groza Award (Best College Place Kicker) – PK Jeremiah Detmer, Toledo; PK Tyler Tate, Bowling Green; PK Josiah Yazdani, Ohio
• Ray Guy Award (Best College Punter) – P Anthony Melchiori, Kent State; P Zach Paul, Akron
• Jim Thopre Award (Best Defensive Back) – DB Donald Celiscar, Western Michigan; DB Ryland Ward, Bowling Green
• Rotary Lombardi Trophy (Down Linemen) – LB Jamaal Bass, Northern Illinois; LB Justin Cherocci, Central Michigan; OT Lincoln Hansen, Eastern Michigan; DT Treyvon Hester, Toledo; OG Greg Mancz, Toledo; OG Andy Phillips, Central Michigan; C Jacob Richard, Ball State; LB Junior Sylvestre, Toledo
• Biletnikoff Award (Top Wide Receiver) – WR Titus Davis, Central Michigan; WR Da’Ron Brown, Northern Illinois; WR Corey Davis, Western Michigan; WR Jordan Williams, Ball State
• Davey O’Brien Award (Top Quarterback) – QB Matt Johnson, Bowling Green
• Doak Walker Award (Top Running Back) – RB Jahwan Edwards, Ball State; RB Bronson Hill, Eastern Michigan; RB Cameron Stingily, Northern Illinois
• Walter Camp Award (Best College Football Player) – QB Matt Johnson, Bowling Green
EIGHT MAC STUDENT-ATHLETES NAMED TO AFCA GOOD WORKS TEAM
The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team recognized eight MAC student-athletes whose charitable involvement and community service contributions stand out among all other student-athletes participating in the sport. 2014 Good Works Team MAC Student-Athletes: Jacob Richard, Ball State; Deon Butler, Central Michigan; Nate Vance, Kent State; Josh Kristoff, Ohio; Joe Licata, Buffalo; Kyle Pohl, Akron; Greg Mancz, Toledo – Greg Mancz; Zach Terrell, Western Michigan.
MAC 2013 SEASON & BOWL NOTES
• Five MAC programs were invited to bowl games last season as Bowling Green (Little Caesars Pizza Bowl), Northern Illinois (San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl), Ball State (GoDaddy Bowl), Buffalo (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl) and Ohio (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburgh Bowl) represented the Conference during the 2013 bowl season.
• The five bowl invitations marks the sixth time in MAC history to have five or more teams receive a bowl invitation (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013) in a single-season. The MAC record is seven bowl invitations, which was established in the 2012 bowl season.
• In the last three bowl seasons, the MAC has a record of 6-11 in 17 bowl games – 2013 (0-5); 2012 (2-5); 2011 (4-1) – as ten different programs have appeared in a bowl game in that span.
• In 2013, the MAC had three programs reach ten or more wins as MAC Champion Bowling Green (10-4, 7-1), Northern Illinois (12-2, 8-0) and Ball State (10-3, 7-1) all reached the ten win plateau. The MAC tied for third among FBS conferences with three teams with ten wins or more with the ACC, Big 12 and Conference USA, trailing only the SEC and Pac-12 with five teams with ten or more wins.
• Bowling Green won the 2013 Marathon MAC Football Championship with a 47-27 win over No. 14 ranked Northern Illinois on Dec. 6 at Ford Field. It marked the first championship for Bowling Green since the 1992 season. The Falcons had back-to-back MAC Championship seasons in 1991 and 1992.
• Northern Illinois (12-2) finished the 2013 season ranked No. 23 in the BCS Standings. The Huskies were ranked in all seven of the BCS regular season rankings starting on Oct. 20 and continuing each week during the season reaching their highest ranking of No. 14 prior to the Marathon MAC Football Championship Game against Bowling Green.
• The MAC had seven programs bowl eligible in 2013 -- Northern Illinois (12-2), Ball State (10-3), Bowling Green (10-4), Buffalo (8-5), Ohio (7-6), Toledo (7-5) and Central Michigan (6-6) -- to match the 2012 MAC record for most programs bowl eligible in a single season. Toledo and Central Michigan were not selected for a bowl game.
• Northern Illinois senior quarterback Jordan Lynch was one of six finalists invited to New York City for the Heisman Award Trophy presentation on Dec. 14. Lynch finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, the highest ever for a MAC student-athlete. Lynch was just the third MAC student-athlete invited to the Heisman ceremony -- WR Randy Moss (Marshall, 1997) and QB Chad Pennington (Marshall, 1999).
• Northern Illinois has won four consecutive MAC West Division titles and appeared in the Marathon MAC Football Championship Game since 2010. From the East Division, there have been four different programs during this period – Miami (2010); Ohio (2011); Kent State (2012) and Bowling Green (2013).
• Northern Illinois has witnessed the last four consecutive MAC Offensive Player of the Year – as quarterback Jordan Lynch (2012; 2013), quarterback Chandler Harnish (2011) and running back Chad Spann (2010) have won the award.
MAC 2013-14 BOWL RESULTS
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Dec. 21, Boise, Ida.) San Diego State 49, Buffalo 24
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl (Dec. 23, St. Petersburg, Fla.) East Carolina 37, Ohio 20
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (Dec. 26, Detroit, Mich.) Pittsburgh 30, Bowling Green 27
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (Dec. 26, San Diego, Calif.) Utah State 21, NIU 14
GoDaddy Bowl (Jan. 5, Mobile, Ala.) Arkansas State 23, Ball State 20
MAC PROGRAMS IN BOWL GAMES
In the last three bowl seasons, ten different MAC programs have received a bowl invitation, as both Northern Illinois and Ohio lead the Conference with three invitations during this span. Ball State (2012, 2013), Bowling Green (2012, 2013) and Toledo (2011, 2012) each received two invitations in the last three years. Buffalo (2013), Central Michigan (2012), Kent State (2012), Western Michigan (2011) and former MAC-member Temple (2011) received one bowl invite during the last three bowl seasons.
MAC WITH FOUR NEW HEAD COACHES FOR 2014
Since the end of the 2013 regular season, four new head football coaches have been named in the MAC. Bowling Green head football coach Dave Clawson was named the head coach at Wake Forest in December after five seasons at Bowling Green. Bowling Green named Dino Babers head coach on Dec. 18. Chuck Martin was introduced as Miami’s head coach on Dec. 3, Eastern Michigan named Chris Creighton head coach on Dec. 11 and UMass named Mark Whipple as head coach on Jan. 14.
Bowling Green: Dino Babers
Babers comes to Bowling Green after serving as the head coach at Eastern Illinois for two seasons. He brings 30 years of coaching experience, including a 19-7 record as a head coach. This season, Babers led Eastern Illinois to a 12-2 record, a No. 2 national ranking, and a quarterfinal appearance in the FCS playoffs. Babers took a Panthers team which had finished in last place in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2011, and led them to a first-place finish in 2012 with a 6-1 league mark. Babers was named Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year in each of the past two years. During his two seasons at Eastern Illinois, Babers led the best offense in all of FCS. The Panthers led the nation in yards per game (589.5) and points per game (48.2) in 2013. Also, EIU averaged 372.4 yards per game passing and 217.1 yards per game rushing.
Miami: Chuck Martin
Martin spent the past four seasons at Notre Dame, serving as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach (2012-13) and defensive backs/recruiting coordinator (2010-11). Martin, who has more than 20 years of collegiate coaching experience, brings six years of head coaching experience to the RedHawk program. He has twice been named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) National Coach of the Year, earning the honor in 2005 and 2006 at Grand Valley State, and has coached in seven national championship games in the past 13 seasons. In addition to his head coaching experience, Martin has served as a coordinator on both sides of the ball. Of those seven national championship game appearances, he has been a part of four national championship wins, with two titles under his direction as head coach/offensive coordinator and one as a defensive coordinator.
Eastern Michigan: Chris Creighton
Creighton joins Eastern Michigan after serving as head football coach at Drake for the past six years. Creighton built Drake into a consistent power in the Pioneer Football League, sharing the conference crown during the 2011 and 2012 campaigns. During his 17-year head coaching career, he has accumulated eight conference titles and an all-time record of 139-46 (.764). Creighton departs Drake with the highest winning percentage in school history (.667) after also posting 63 wins as the head coach at Wabash College and 32 at Ottawa University. In his time at Drake, Creighton boasted a 30-5 home record and a 21-2 home conference record going undefeated against five conference opponents. Drake had an 11-game home win streak during Creighton’s tenure as well as winning 16-straight home conference games with him at the helm.
UMass: Mark Whipple:
Mark Whipple was officially named the team's head coach on January 14, 2014. In his first stint from 1998-2003, Whipple led the Minutemen to new heights by winning the NCAA I-AA National Championship in his first season and making two other postseason appearances in the following five years. A 31-year coaching veteran of the collegiate and professional levels, Whipple is widely regarded for his prowess as an offensive coordinator and his ability to develop quarterbacks. He helped Ben Roethlisberger of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers win a Super Bowl in his second year, built the University of Miami's 2009 and 2010 offenses into two of its best all-time, and his teams set 40 offensive records while at UMass.
OHIO’S SOLICH MOVING UP MAC CAREER WINS LIST
Ohio head coach Frank Solich has been the recent model for consistency in coaching in the MAC. Solich arrived in Athens, Ohio in 2005 and during his nine seasons running the Bobcats program has garnered a bowl appearance in six of his nine seasons. During his coaching career at Ohio, Solich has a record of 66-49 and his 66 wins rank tied for sixth most in MAC history.
Most MAC Head Coaching Wins, Career
1. 110, Herb Deromedi, Central Michigan, 1978-93
2. 108, Bill Hess, Ohio, 1958-77
3. 79, Bob Pruett, Marshall, 1997-03
4. 77, Doyt Perry, Bowling Green, 1955-64
5. 73, Gary Pinkel, Toledo, 1991-00
6. 66, Frank Solich, Ohio, 2005-present
66, Trevor Rees, Kent State, 1951-63
8. 64, Bill Mallory, Miami, 1969-73; Northern Illinois, 1980-83
9. 62, Al Molde, Western Michigan, 1987-96
62, Joe Novak, Northern Illinois, 1997-2007
HUSKIES SET MAC CONSECUTIVE BOWL RECORD
Northern Illinois has set the MAC record for consecutive bowl appearances by a member of the Conference. The Huskies current six consecutive bowl appearances is the best-ever in the 67-year history of the MAC. Beyond appearing in six consecutive bowl games, the Huskies will have done so with four different head coaches-- Jerry Kill (2008, 2009), interim Tom Matukewicz (2010), Dave Doeren (2011) and current Head Coach Rod Carey (2012, 2013).
Right behind Northern Illinois is Ohio and head coach Frank Solich, who has led Ohio to five consecutive bowl appearances.
Six (6) Northern Illinois Consecutive Bowl Appearances:
2008: Independence Bowl: 17-10 loss to Louisiana Tech
2009: International Bowl: 27-3 loss to South Florida
2010: Humanitarian Bowl: 40-17 win over Fresno State
2011: GoDaddy.com Bowl: 38-20 win over Arkansas State
2012: Discover Orange Bowl: 31-10 loss to Florida State
2013: San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: 21-14 loss to Utah State
Five (5) Ohio Consecutive Bowl Appearances:
2009: Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: 21-17 loss to Marshall
2010: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: 48-21 loss to Troy
2011: Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: 24-23 win over Utah State
2012: Advocare V100 Independence Bowl: 45-14 win over Louisiana-Monroe
2013: Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl: 37-20 loss to East Carolina.
MAC ANNOUNCES RAYCOM MEDIA CAMELLIA BOWL TO BEGIN IN 2014
Last fall the MAC announced the creation of the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, a newly created bowl game to begin in 2014, which will be based in Montgomery, Alabama, owned and operated by ESPN. The Raycom Media Camellia Bowl will feature a MAC program to face a member of the Sun Belt Conference for the next six consecutive seasons (2014-2019) in a pre-Christmas game televised nationally by ESPN or ESPN2. The game will be played in the Cramton Bowl, a 25,000 seat stadium that has undergone significant renovations over the last several years, including a new press box facility, locker rooms and VIP hospitality accommodations.
MAC ANNOUNCES CREATION OF BOCA RATON, BAHAMAS AND MIAMI BEACH BOWLS;
PRIMARY BOWL PARTNERS INCREASE TO FIVE BOWL GAMES IN 2014
The MAC announced the creation of newly created bowl games in Boca Raton, Fla., Nassau, Bahamas and Miami Beach, Fla. for a six-year period (2014-2019).
The Boca Raton Bowl will be owned and operated by ESPN and will be a pre-Christmas game played at FAU Stadium, an open air stadium opened in 2011 which seats nearly 30,000 fans on the campus of Florida Atlantic University.
The Bahamas Bowl will be played at Thomas A. Robinson Stadium. The Miami Beach Bowl will be played at Marlins Park.
The MAC is a partner with the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl as a primary partner in 2017 and 2019, and a secondary partner in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018 bowl seasons. The MAC will play the Mountain West in both the 2017 and 2019 bowl seasons, played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.
The creation of the Boca Raton, Bahamas and Miami Beach Bowls is the centerpiece of a joint agreement between several FBS conferences and will be supported by several FBS conferences on a six-year rotating basis. Starting in the 2014 season, the MAC will have a minimum five guaranteed bowl opportunities.
MAC Primary Bowl Partners 2014-19:
2014 Bowl Season:
GoDaddy Bowl (Mobile, Ala.; vs. Sun Belt)
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, Ida.; vs. Mountain West)
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.; vs. Sun Belt)
Boca Raton Bowl (Boca Raton, Fla.; vs. Conference USA)
Bahamas Bowl (Nassau, Bahamas; vs. Conference USA)
*Secondary in San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
2015 Bowl Season:
GoDaddy Bowl (Mobile, Ala.; vs. Sun Belt)
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, Ida.; vs. Mountain West)
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.; vs. Sun Belt)
Boca Raton Bowl (Boca Raton, Fla.; vs. American Athletic)
Bahamas Bowl (Nassau, Bahamas; vs. Conference USA)
*Secondary in San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
2016 Bowl Season:
GoDaddy Bowl (Mobile, Ala.; vs. Sun Belt)
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, Ida.; vs. Mountain West)
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.; vs. Sun Belt)
Bahamas Bowl (Nassau, Bahamas; vs. American Athletic)
Miami Beach Bowl (Miami, Fla.; vs. American Athletic)
*Secondary in San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
2017 Bowl Season:
GoDaddy Bowl (Mobile, Ala.; vs. Sun Belt)
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, Ida.; vs. Mountain West)
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.; vs. Sun Belt)
Bahamas Bowl (Nassau, Bahamas; vs. Sun Belt)
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego, Calif.; vs. Mountain West)
2018 Bowl Season:
GoDaddy Bowl (Mobile, Ala.; vs. Sun Belt)
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, Ida.; vs. Mountain West)
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.; vs. Sun Belt)
Boca Raton Bowl (Boca Raton, Fla.; vs. Conference USA)
Miami Beach Bowl (Miami, Fla.; vs. American Athletic)
*Secondary in San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
2019 Bowl Season:
GoDaddy Bowl (Mobile, Ala.; vs. Sun Belt)
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, Ida.; vs. Mountain West)
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.; vs. Sun Belt)
Boca Raton Bowl (Boca Raton, Fla.; vs. American Athletic)
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego, Calif.; vs. Mountain West)
MAC 2014 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS
The 2014 football schedule will feature 14 midweek nationally televised games during the month of November on ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3 as the conference race unfolds in both the East and West divisions.
The regular season will conclude with the 17th Marathon MAC Football Championship game on Friday, Dec. 5 at Ford Field in Detroit on ESPN2. This will mark the 11th Marathon MAC Football Championship game at Ford Field.
For the seventh year in a row, league schools will face a formidable non-conference slate of opponents from the following Football Bowl Subdivision conferences – ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. In addition, the conference will also face opponents from the American Athletic Conference, C-USA, Mountain West Conference, Sun Belt Conference and Independent Army.
MAC programs will face six non-conference foes that finished in the final AP Top 25 poll: Michigan State (3), Missouri (5), Ohio State (12), Baylor (13), Wisconsin (22) and Vanderbilt (24). Two of these six games will be home games for MAC programs – Missouri at Toledo (Sept. 6) and Baylor at Buffalo (Sept. 12).
A total of 11 non-conference games will feature a Big Ten opponent (Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State (2), Purdue (2) and Wisconsin). The MAC will face foes from the ACC (5—Boston College, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech), SEC (5—Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Vanderbilt), Big 12 (3—Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas) and Pac-12 (1—Colorado).
The MAC will also face opponents from the American Athletic Conference (2— Cincinnati (2)), Mountain West (1—UNLV), Conference USA (4—Marshall (3), Western Kentucky) and Sun Belt Conference (3—Idaho (2), South Alabama), along with Independent Army (3).
MAC programs continue to increase the number of home or neutral site games against FBS Automatic Qualifying (AQ) Conference opponents. This season the MAC will host 11 games against FBS non-conference foes, including Baylor (Big-12), Boston College (ACC); Colorado (Pac-12), Indiana (Big Ten), Missouri (SEC) and Syracuse (ACC).
MAC Home Games vs. FBS Non-Conference opponents:
-Boston College (ACC) at UMass on Aug. 30;
-Marshall (Conference USA) at Miami on Aug. 30;
-Missouri (SEC) at Toledo on Sept. 6;
-Colorado (PAC-12) at UMass on Sept. 6;
-South Alabama (Sun Belt) at Kent State on Sept. 6;
-Baylor (Big-12) at Buffalo on Sept. 12;
-Syracuse (ACC) at Central Michigan on Sept. 13;
-Indiana (Big Ten) at Bowling Green on Sept. 13;
-Idaho (Sun Belt) at Ohio on Sept. 20;
-Marshall (Conference USA at Akron on Sept. 20;
-Army (Independent) at Kent State on Oct. 18;
MAC EAST VS. MAC WEST
Over the last six years, the MAC West has had the upper hand in cross-over regular season games against the MAC East, winning the head-to-head regular season series in five of the last six years. However, both the East and West have each won three Marathon MAC Football Championship games during the same six year span. From the East Division, Bowling Green (2013), Miami (2010) and Buffalo (2008), while the West Division has witnessed Central Michigan (2009) and Northern Illinois (2011, 2012).
Over the last six seasons (2008-13), the West holds a 71-37 (.657%) regular season record in cross-over games over the East. Take a look at the last five years in divisional play between the
MAC East vs. the MAC West.
Veritix Sponsors MAC Football Media Day Luncheon
The MAC would like to thank Veritix for sponsoring the MAC Football Media Day Luncheon at Ford Field. Veritix is an official partner of the Mid-American Conference, providing ID-based, digital ticketing and business solutions for MAC Championships, including the Marathon MAC Football Championship Game at Ford Field and MAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments at Quicken Loans Arena.
