Mid-American Conference

Cleveland, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced today a multi-year agreement with the American Sports Network (ASN) to televise MAC football and men’s and women’s basketball beginning this academic year through the 2016-17 season, through a sublicense agreement with ESPN.

ASN will televise 10 MAC football games starting with the Saturday, Sept. 5 Old Dominion at Eastern Michigan game at 3:30 pm and will continue with a 15-game basketball package that will include 10 men’s basketball and five women’s basketball games this 2015-16 season.

The American Sports Network (ASN) September schedule:
- Saturday, Sept. 5:  Old Dominion at Eastern Michigan, 3:30 pm ET
- Saturday, Sept. 12:  Marshall at Ohio, 7:00 pm ET
- Saturday, Sept. 19:  Memphis at Bowling Green, 3:00 pm ET
- Saturday, Sept. 26:  Marshall at Kent State, 3:30 pm ET

All games televised by ASN will air on ‘over the air’ affiliates in the MAC geographic footprint across the Midwest with a strong presence in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.  A complete list of affiliates is listed below.  In addition, all games will also be carried nationally via ESPN3 and on WatchESPN platforms.

“Our announcement with American Sports Network is another example of our continued growth of Mid-American Conference television coverage,” said Mid-American Conference Commissioner, Dr. Jon Steinbrecher.  “This strategic partnership provides key distribution to ‘over the air’ affiliates across our footprint and continues our growth of expanded coverage to our fan base.  This agreement provides another platform to showcase the outstanding students attending Mid-American Conference member institutions.”

"We're excited to kick off our new partnership with the Mid-American Conference this season," said Doron Gorshein, COO of Sinclair Networks Group. "With high-quality competition, as well as loyal and enthusiastic fans, the Conference is a great addition to our robust schedule of live programming."

About American Sports Network (ASN)
ASN is a division of Sinclair Networks Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., the largest and one of the most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country with 163 television stations it owns, operates and/or provides services to in 79 markets, broadcasting 379 channels.  Sinclair’s portfolio reaches approximately 43 million television households and is affiliated with all the major networks.  In addition, ASN’s content is syndicated to other broadcasters and regional sports networks. ASN, which launched in August 2014, produced 250 college events in nine sports in its first year and plans to air more than 375 events in the 2015-2016 academic year. 

Sinclair owned and operated television stations in the MAC footprint include: WKRC (CBS) and WSTR (MyTV) in Cincinnati, OH; WWHO (CW), WTTE (Fox) and WSYX (ABC) in Columbus, OH; WKEF (ABC) and WRGT (Fox) in Dayton, OH; WEYI (NBC), WSMH (Fox) and WBSF (CW) in Flint/Saginaw/Bay City, MI; WWMT (CBS) in Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, MI; WNWO (NBC) in Toledo, OH; WUTV (Fox) and WNYO (MyTV) in Buffalo, NY; and WTOV (NBC) in Wheeling WV/Steubenville OH.

About 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.

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American Sports Network/Sinclair-owned stations are widely available throughout the MAC footprint on the following affiliates:

Ohio
- Cincinnati: WKRC-2 (CW), WSTR (MyTV)
- Cleveland:  WEWS-2 (Cozi TV)
- Columbus:  WWHO (CW), WSYX-2 (MyTV)
- Dayton:  WRGT-2 (MyTV)
- Steubenville:  WTOV-3 (MeTV)
- Toledo:  WNWO-2 (Retro TV)
- Charleston/Huntington:  WCHS-2 (Get TV)
 
Michigan
- Detroit:  WMYD (MyTV20), WXYZ-2 (Bounce TV)
- Flint:   WBSF (CW)
- Grand Rapids – Kalamazoo – Battle Creek:  WWMT-2 (CW)
 
New York
- Albany:  WCWN (CW), WRGB-2 (This TV)
- Buffalo:  WNYO (My TV)
- Rochester:  WHAM-2 (CW)
- Syracuse: WSTQ (CW)

Check your local listings as stations will be added on a weekly basis, specifically in the states of Illinois and Indiana.  Games will air on local ASN affiliates in the MAC footprint.  Check ASN’s website www.americansportsnet.com and the MAC’s website www.mac-sports.com for complete weekly affiliate listings.