| Marathon MAC Football Championship Game | |
|---|---|
| Conference Football Championship | |
| Sport | College football |
| Conference | Mid-American Conference |
| Current stadium | Ford Field |
| Current location | Detroit, Michigan |
| Played | 1997–present |
| Last contest | 2019 |
| Current champion | Miami RedHawks |
| Most championships | Marshall Thundering Herd (5) |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN2 |
| Official website | MAC-Sports.com football |
| Sponsors | |
| Marathon Petroleum (2003–present) | |
| Host stadiums | |
| Marshall University Stadium (1997–2000, 2002) Glass Bowl (2001) Doyt Perry Stadium (2003) Ford Field (2004–present) | |
| Host locations | |
| Huntington, West Virginia (1997–2000, 2002) Toledo, Ohio (2001) Bowling Green, Ohio (2003) Detroit, Michigan (2004–present) | |
The MAC champion receives an automatic berth in one of the so-called 'New Year's Six' bowl games associated with the College Football Playoff under either of the following circumstances:: Selected as one of the top four teams overall by the CFP selection committee, in which case the team will play in a CFP national semifinal. The Aggies, who posted a 12-1 record, captured the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) championship and reached the NCAA Division III quarterfinals last year, saw their 13-game regular-season winning streak come to an end last Friday night with a 34-10 loss at No. 9 Wesley College. Apr 02, 2020 The McMichael varsity football team lost Friday's away conference game against Rockingham County (Wentworth, NC) by a score of 33-7. Box Score Watch Game Clips (1) Posted Fri, Oct 4 2019.
The MAC Football Championship Game is a football game between the winners of the East and West divisions of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) to determine the conference champion. The game has been played since 1997, when the conference was first divided into divisions and since 2003 has been sponsored by Marathon Petroleum (officially known as the Marathon MAC Football Championship Game). The winner of the game is guaranteed a berth in a bowl game which the MAC has contractual obligations to field a team. Unlike the MAC's Group of Five contemporaries, which hold their respective championship games on campus sites, the MAC Championship Game is held at a neutral site, Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan since 2004.
In 2000, 2001, and 2007, due to an unbalanced conference schedule, the team with best division record within each division was awarded that division's championship game berth. In other years, the teams with the best overall conference records received a berth.
The game is held on the first Saturday in December, on the same weekend that other NCAA Division I FBS conferences hold their championship games.
Results by year[edit]
Below are the results from all MAC Football Championship Games played. The winning team appears in bold font, on a background of their primary team color. Rankings are from the AP Poll released prior to the game.
From 1997 through 2003, the championship game was played at campus sites. Since 2004, the game has been played at Ford Field in Detroit.
| Year | East | West | Site | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Marshall Thundering Herd | 34 | Toledo Rockets | 14 | Marshall University Stadium • Huntington, WV | 28,021 |
| 1998 | Marshall Thundering Herd | 23 | Toledo Rockets | 17 | 28,085 | |
| 1999 | 11Marshall Thundering Herd | 34 | Western Michigan Broncos | 30 | 28,069 | |
| 2000 | Marshall Thundering Herd | 19 | Western Michigan Broncos | 14 | 24,816 | |
| 2001 | 20Marshall Thundering Herd | 36 | Toledo Rockets | 41 | Glass Bowl • Toledo, OH | 20,025 |
| 2002 | 24Marshall Thundering Herd | 49 | Toledo Rockets | 45 | Marshall University Stadium • Huntington, WV | 24,582 |
| 2003 | 13Miami RedHawks | 49 | 20Bowling Green Falcons | 27 | Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH | 24,813 |
| 2004 | Miami RedHawks | 27 | Toledo Rockets | 35 | Ford Field • Detroit, MI | 22,138 |
| 2005 | Akron Zips | 31 | Northern Illinois Huskies | 30 | 12,051 | |
| 2006 | Ohio Bobcats | 10 | Central Michigan Chippewas | 31 | 25,483 | |
| 2007 | Miami RedHawks | 10 | Central Michigan Chippewas | 35 | 25,013 | |
| 2008 | Buffalo Bulls | 42 | 12Ball State Cardinals | 24 | 12,871 | |
| 2009 | Ohio Bobcats | 10 | Central Michigan Chippewas | 20 | 23,714 | |
| 2010 | Miami RedHawks | 26 | 24Northern Illinois Huskies | 21 | 12,031 | |
| 2011 | Ohio Bobcats | 20 | Northern Illinois Huskies | 23 | 13,052 | |
| 2012 | 18Kent State Golden Flashes | 37 | 19Northern Illinois Huskies | 442OT | 18,132 | |
| 2013 | Bowling Green Falcons | 47 | 16Northern Illinois Huskies | 27 | 21,106 | |
| 2014 | Bowling Green Falcons | 17 | Northern Illinois Huskies | 51 | 15,110 | |
| 2015 | Bowling Green Falcons | 34 | Northern Illinois Huskies | 14 | 16,425 | |
| 2016 | Ohio Bobcats | 23 | 13Western Michigan Broncos | 29 | 45,615 | |
| 2017 | Akron Zips | 28 | Toledo Rockets | 45 | 16,225 | |
| 2018 | Buffalo Bulls | 29 | Northern Illinois Huskies | 30 | 10,255 | |
| 2019 | Miami RedHawks | 26 | Central Michigan Chippewas | 21 | 22,427 | |
Results by team[edit]
| Appearances | School | Wins | Losses | Win % | Year(s) Won | Year(s) Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Northern Illinois | 4 | 4 | .500 | 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018 | 2005, 2010, 2013, 2015 |
| 6 | Marshall | 5 | 1 | .833 | 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002 | 2001 |
| 6 | Toledo | 3 | 3 | .500 | 2001, 2004, 2017 | 1997, 1998, 2002 |
| 5 | Miami | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2003, 2010, 2019 | 2004, 2007 |
| 4 | Central Michigan | 3 | 1 | .750 | 2006, 2007, 2009 | 2019 |
| 4 | Bowling Green | 2 | 2 | .500 | 2013, 2015 | 2003, 2014 |
| 4 | Ohio | 0 | 4 | .000 | 2006, 2009, 2011, 2016 | |
| 3 | Western Michigan | 1 | 2 | .333 | 2016 | 1999, 2000 |
| 2 | Akron | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2005 | 2017 |
| 2 | Buffalo | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2008 | 2018 |
| 1 | Kent State | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2012 | |
| 1 | Ball State | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2008 |
Eastern Michigan is the only team currently in the conference to have not attended a Championship Game. Marshall is the only Championship Game Winner to not be a current member of the MAC.
MVPs[edit]
| Year | MVP(s) | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Randy Moss | Marshall | WR |
| 1998 | Chad Pennington | Marshall | QB |
| 1999 | Chad Pennington | Marshall | QB |
| 2000 | Byron Leftwich | Marshall | QB |
| 2001 | Chester Taylor | Toledo | RB |
| 2002 | Byron Leftwich | Marshall | QB |
| 2003 | Ben Roethlisberger | Miami | QB |
| 2004 | Bruce Gradkowski | Toledo | QB |
| 2005 | Luke Getsy | Akron | QB |
| 2006 | Damien Linson | Central Michigan | WR |
| 2007 | Dan LeFevour | Central Michigan | QB |
| 2008 | Mike Newton | Buffalo | DB |
| 2009 | Dan LeFevour | Central Michigan | QB |
| 2010 | Thomas Merriweather | Miami | RB |
| 2011 | Nathan Palmer | Northern Illinois | WR |
| 2012 | Jordan Lynch | Northern Illinois | QB |
| 2013 | Matt Johnson | Bowling Green | QB |
| 2014 | Drew Hare | Northern Illinois | QB |
| 2015 | Travis Greene | Bowling Green | RB |
| 2016 | Corey Davis | Western Michigan | WR |
Photo gallery[edit]
Before 2006 MAC Championship Game
2006 MAC Championship: Central Michigan vs. Ohio
See also[edit]
References[edit]
Football Game Online
| Friday Night Football | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sports broadcast |
| Starring | Hamish McLachlan (host) Bruce McAvaney (chief commentator) James Brayshaw (commentator, occasional) Brian Taylor (commentator) Basil Zempilas (commentator for Sydney matches) Cameron Ling (commentator) Nick Maxwell (field commentator) Matthew Richardson (field commentator) Jacqueline Felgate (news updates) |
| Opening theme | 'The Boys are Back' |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 30 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 180 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Seven Network (1985–2001, 2007–present) 7mate (2012–present) Nine Network (2002–2006) Network Ten (2002–2006, finals only) Fox Sports Plus (2007–2011) Fox Footy (simulcast) |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 29 March 1985 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Friday Night Football is an Australian sports broadcast series is currently airing on the Seven Network.
History[edit]
Non-weekend night matches of Australian rules football first emerged in the late 1970s/early 1980s with the Night series, a knock-out tournament featuring teams from across the country and run in parallel with the league seasons.
The first Victorian Football League matches on Friday nights were introduced in 1985 when the North Melbourne Football Club pioneered the world first initiative. At this time, these games were irregularly scheduled, and all matches featured North Melbourne, but by 1987, Friday Night Football was played on a more regular basis, and other clubs began to host the games.
Friday Night AFL is generally played in Melbourne, at either the Melbourne Cricket Ground or Docklands Stadium, but Sydney, Adelaide and Perth will generally host a few matches each year. It is less common for the games to be played in Sydney, Brisbane or the Gold Coast in order to avoid clashes with the National Rugby League, which is more popular in those cities. As it is the most lucrative broadcast timeslot of the weekend, matches between the better-performing clubs are scheduled on Friday night to ensure the games are of high quality.[1] As recently as 2014, however, the Gold Coast Suns have pushed to be featured on Friday nights in 2015, citing their improved form in 2014.[2]
Seven's commentary team includes James Brayshaw, Bruce McAvaney, Basil Zempilas (in place of McAvaney for matches played in Sydney, and occasionally Perth),[3]Brian Taylor and Hamish McLachlan, with smaller roles involving Wayne Carey, Cameron Ling, Tim Watson, Matthew Richardson, Leigh Matthews and Luke Darcy.[4]
Broadcast history[edit]
The Seven Network, which broadcast football for around 40 years before losing the rights after the 2001 season, was the first Australian network to broadcast Friday Night Football.
Between 2002–2006, the Nine Network had the rights to the Friday night broadcast; as the network also had the rights to the NRL, during those years in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, where by the AFL match would be broadcast first live at 8:30pm, followed by Nightline (or a news update in 2006) and then the NRL match. This was reversed in Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane, where by the NRL match was broadcast first live at 8.30pm, followed by Nightline (or a news update in 2006) and then the AFL match.
Friday Night Football On Tv
The Seven Network regained the rights in 2007, and from 2007–11 generally showed the match at 8:30pm into Melbourne; this was a one-hour delayed telecast for most matches, but was a live telecast for matches in Perth and sometimes Adelaide. Other than Perth and Adelaide games, only sold-out matches were broadcast live into Melbourne. This was primarily to allow the popular Better Homes and Gardens to be broadcast in the primetime 7:30pm slot.[5] As part of this rights agreement, Seven was expected to show AFL at an earlier timeslot in New South Wales and Queensland in an attempt to boost popularity in those states. Foxtel took this responsibility off Seven, showing the Friday night match live into NSW and QLD on its Main Event channel at no extra charge for Fox Sports subscribers.
The television rights deal which began in 2012 saw Seven broadcast Friday Night matches live from 7:30pm into Melbourne, with the last 60 minutes of Better Homes and Gardens being televised on 7Two in Melbourne and Adelaide (the first 30 minutes of that show is shown on the main channel in those two cities), though the whole 90 minutes of the show is televised on the primary channel in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, as those cities receive Friday Night Football on 7mate.
Did North Mac Win Football Game Friday Night Football
In the early days of multichannelling, an early morning replay of the Friday Night game was shown at 6am Saturday on 7Two. This was moved to 7mate for the 2011 season, but did not return from 2012 onwards.
From 2014, the Friday night telecast began at 7:00pm nationally, with the pre-game show being shown on 7mate.[6]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Friday night is 'ours': AFL - AFL.com.au
- ^Is Friday night footy rolled gold for SUNS?, Gold Coast Football Club official website, 9 July 2014
- ^Cox, Tiffany (20 March 2018). 'Busy Basil gears up for footy season'. The West Australian. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^'James Brayshaw to join Channel Seven commentary team'. Sporting News. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^Musolino, Adrian (17 February 2010). 'Battlelines drawn over live Friday Night Footy'. The Roar. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^Improvements coming to Australian Open, AFL on Seven, TV Tonight, 24 October 2013