MAC Recognized With Sport Development Gold Medalist Award
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE AWARDED GREATER CLEVELAND SPORTS COMMISSION’S SPORTS DEVELOPMENT GOLD MEDALIST AWARD
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference was awarded the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission’s Sport Development Gold Medalist Award, presented to MAC Commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, during the 2017 Greater Cleveland Sports Awards Dinner at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel on Thursday, Jan. 26.
The Sport Development Gold Medalist Award is presented annually to a group or individual who has provided guidance and support through their hosting of championship events with the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission. The MAC is the sixth winner of this prestigious award.
Since relocating the Mid-American Conference office to Cleveland in 2000, MAC championship events in Cleveland have brought over $150 million of economic impact to the Northeast Ohio region.
“The Mid-American Conference is proud of its partnership with the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission,” said Dr. Steinbrecher, who has served on the Commission’s Board of Directors since 2009 and on the Executive Committee since 2015. “This collaborative relationship has benefitted our Conference championships hosted in the region, assisted in our ability to host NCAA events, as well as support other sporting events in the Cleveland area. We are proud of what we have accomplished together with David Gilbert and his talented team and look forward to future opportunities.”
The Mid-American Conference has strategically positioned the MAC’s participation in hosting NCAA events and championships. The MAC served as the host for the 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Midwest Regional at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland and will also serve as host of the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, also at Quicken Loans Arena.
The MAC has previously hosted both the 2012 and 2014 NCAA Women’s Bowling Championships under Steinbrecher’s direction. The MAC also hosted the NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2007 and the 2006 NCAA Women’s Basketball Regional. The MAC, Quicken Loans Arena and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission continue to work in collaboration to bring future NCAA championship events to Northeast Ohio.
“The MAC host their tremendous men's and women's basketball tournaments here in Cleveland every year, their partnership with us on going, year in and year out, for hosting NCAA Championships has brought such fruits to the city. Major events like the Women’s Final Four, NCAA Men’s Basketball Regional and NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship that will take place in 2018, and previous NCAA Women’s Bowling Championships. They are here because of our partnership with the MAC,” said David Gilbert, President and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission.
The MAC hosts championships in 23 sports, including neutral site events at some of the finest facilities in the country – men’s and women’s basketball (Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland), football (Ford Field, Detroit), softball (Firestone Stadium, Akron) and baseball (All Pro Freight Stadium, Avon, Ohio).
The MAC secured a six-year contract extension for the MAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments at Quicken Loans Arena through the 2023 season, and stabilized a five-year contract extension through the 2020 season for the MAC Baseball Tournament at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio.
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 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.
