Mid-American Conference football individual awards

The Mid-American Conference football awards are given annually by the Mid-American Conference (MAC) at the conclusion of each college football season. The conference gives out a total of five awards, the Offensive, Defensive, and Freshman Players of the Year, the Coach of the Year, and the Vern Smith Leadership Award, which is given to the league's MVP in that season. The Vern Smith Award is selected by a vote of the coaches in the MAC while the remaining awards are selected by the MAC News Media Association.[1]

Offensive Player of the Year

Byron Leftwich is one of the few multiple Offensive POTY award winners. He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009.

Nate Davis led the Ball State Cardinals to an undefeated regular season in 2008, earning him the Offensive POTY award in that year.

Winners

Season	Player	Team	Position
1965	Willie Asbury	Kent State
1966	Bruce Matte	Miami
1967	John Schneider	Toledo
1968	Cleve Bryant	Ohio
1969	Chuck Ealey	Toledo	QB
1970	Chuck Ealey (2)	Toledo	QB
1971*	Chuck Ealey (3)	Toledo	QB
1971*	Phil Villapiano	Bowling Green
1972	Bob Hitchens	Miami
1973	Paul Miles	Bowling Green
1974	Gene Swick	Toledo
1975	Gene Swick (2)	Toledo
1976	Jerome Persell	Western Michigan	RB
1977	Jerome Persell (2)	Western Michigan	RB
1978*	Jerome Persell (3)	Western Michigan	RB
1978*	Dave Petzke	Northern Illinois
1979	Gary Hogeboom	Central Michigan	QB
1980	Mark O'Connell	Ball State
1981	Sam Shon	Ohio
1982	Curtis Adams	Central Michigan
1983	Brian McClure	Bowling Green
1984	Brian McClure (2)	Bowling Green
1985	Brian McClure (3)	Bowling Green
1986	Terry Morris	Miami	QB
1987	Eric Wilkerson	Kent State
1988	Tony Kimbrough	Western Michigan	QB
1989	David Riley	Ball State
1990	Jeff Bender	Central Michigan
1991	Erik White	Bowling Green
1992	Erik White (2)	Bowling Green
1993	Mike Neu	Ball State
1994	Brian Pruitt	Central Michigan
1995	Wasean Tait	Toledo
1996	Kareem Wilson	Ohio
1997	Randy Moss	Marshall	WR
1998	Travis Prentice	Miami	RB
1999	Chad Pennington	Marshall	QB
2000	Robert Sanford	Western Michigan	RB
2001	Byron Leftwich	Marshall	QB
2002	Byron Leftwich (2)	Marshall	QB
2003	Ben Roethlisberger	Miami	QB
2004	Omar Jacobs	Bowling Green	QB
2005	Greg Jennings	Western Michigan	WR
2006	Garrett Wolfe	Northern Illinois	RB
2007	Dan LeFevour	Central Michigan	QB
2008	Nate Davis	Ball State	QB
2009	Dan LeFevour (2)	Central Michigan	QB
2010	Chad Spann	Northern Illinois	RB
2011	Chandler Harnish	Northern Illinois	QB
2012	Jordan Lynch	Northern Illinois	QB
2013	Jordan Lynch (2)	Northern Illinois	QB
2014	Jarvion Franklin	Western Michigan	RB
2015	Matt Johnson	Bowling Green	QB
2016	Corey Davis	Western Michigan	WR
2017	Logan Woodside	Toledo	QB
2018	Tyree Jackson	Buffalo	QB

Winners by school

School (First season)	Wins	Years
Bowling Green (1952)	9	1971, 1973, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1991, 1992, 2004, 2015
Toledo (1952)	8	1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1995, 2017
Western Michigan (1948)	8	1976, 1977, 1978, 1988, 2000, 2005, 2014, 2016
Central Michigan (1975)	6	1979, 1982, 1990, 1994, 2007, 2009
Northern Illinois (1975)	6	1978, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Miami (1948)	5	1966, 1972, 1986, 1998, 2003
Ball State (1975)	4	1980, 1989, 1993, 2008
Marshall[2] (1954)	4	1997, 1999, 2001, 2002
Ohio (1947)	3	1968, 1981, 1996
Kent State (1951)	2	1965, 1987
Buffalo (1999)	1	2018
Akron (1992)	0
Eastern Michigan (1976)	0
Temple[3] (2007)	0
Butler[4] (1947)	0
Cincinnati[4] (1947)	0
Central Florida[5](2002)	0
UMass[6] (2011)	0

Defensive Player of the Year

Larry English won the Defensive POTY award in 2008. He also won the Vern Smith award in that same year.

Winners

Player (X)	Denotes the number of times the player has won
Year*	Co-Award Winners

Position Key
DE	Defensive End	DT	Defensive Tackle	LB	Linebacker	S	Safety

Season	Player	School	Position
1965	Bob Rowe	Western Michigan
1966	Bob Rowe (2)	Western Michigan
1967	Tom Beutler	Toledo	DL
1968	Bob Babich	Miami	LB
1969	Joe Green	Bowling Green	DB
1970	Dick Adams	Miami	DB
1971	Mel Long	Toledo
1972	Jack Lambert	Kent State	LB
1973	Brad Cousino	Miami	LB
1974	Brad Cousino (2)	Miami	LB
1975	Shafer Suggs	Ball State	DB
1976	Aaron Bivins	Toledo
1977	Jack Glowik	Miami
1978	Ken Kremer	Ball State
1979	Frank Lewandowski	Northern Illinois	LB
1980*	Kent McCormick	Miami	LB
1980*	Mike Terra	Northern Illinois
1981	John Zupancic	Miami
1982	Ray Bentley	Central Michigan	LB
1983	Brian Pillman	Miami	DT
1984	Mark Brandon	Toledo	DB
1985	John Offerdahl	Western Michigan	LB
1986	Mark Garalczyk	Western Michigan	DT
1987	Greg Garnica	Ball State	LB
1988	Greg Garnica (2)	Ball State	LB
1989	Greg Garnica (3)	Ball State	LB
1990	Sean Mulhearn	Western Michigan	LB
1991	Curt McMillan	Miami	LB
1992	Curt McMillan (2)	Miami	LB
1993	Vince Palko	Bowling Green	LB
1994	Vince Palko (2)	Bowling Green	LB
1995	Johhnie Williams	Miami	DB
1996	Brad Maynard	Ball State	P
1997	JoJuan Armour	Miami	LB
1998	JoJuan Armour (2)	Miami	LB
1999	Dustin Cohen	Miami	LB
2000	Dwight Smith	Akron	DB
2001	Max Yates	Marshall	LB
2002	Jason Babin	Western Michigan	DL
2003	Jason Babin (2)	Western Michigan	DL
2004	Johnathan Goddard	Marshall	DL
2005	Dan Bazuin	Central Michigan	DL
2006	Ameer Ismail	Western Michigan	LB
2007	Clayton Mullins	Miami	LB
2008	Larry English	Northern Illinois	DE
2009	Adrian Robinson	Temple	DE
2010	Roosevelt Nix	Kent State	DL
2011	Drew Nowak	Western Michigan	DT
2012	Chris Jones	Bowling Green	DT
2013	Khalil Mack	Buffalo	LB
2014	Quinten Rollins	Miami	DB
2015	Jatavis Brown	Akron	LB
2016	Tarell Basham	Ohio	DE
2017	Sutton Smith	Northern Illinois	DE
2018	Sutton Smith (2)	Northern Illinois	DE

Winners by school

School (First season)	Wins	Years
Miami (1948)	16	1968, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2007, 2014
Western Michigan (1948)	9	1965, 1966, 1985, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2011
Ball State (1975)	6	1975, 1978, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1996
Northern Illinois (1975)	5	1979, 1980, 2008, 2017, 2018
Bowling Green (1952)	4	1969, 1993, 1994, 2012
Toledo (1952)	4	1967, 1971, 1976, 1984
Akron (1992)	2	2000, 2015
Kent State (1951)	2	1972, 2010
Central Michigan (1975)	2	1982, 2005
Marshall[2] (1954)	2	2001, 2004
Buffalo (1999)	1	2013
Ohio (1947)	1	2016
Temple[3] (2007)	1	2009
Eastern Michigan (1976)	0
Butler[7] (1947)	0
Cincinnati[4] (1947)	0
Central Florida[5] (2002)	0
UMass[6] (2011)	0

Special Teams Player of the Year

Dave Zastudil is one of two two-time award winners. He shared the award with the other two-time winner, Steve Azar.

Justin McCareins, shown here playing for the Tennessee Titans, is one of three Northern Illinois players to win the award.

Scott Secor, 2014 Special Teams Player of the Year award winner.

Winners

Player (X)	Denotes the number of times the player has been selected
Year*	Co-award winners

Position key
K	Placekicker	KR	Kick returner	P	Punter	PR	Punt returner

Season	Player	School	Position
1998	Brad Selent	Western Michigan	K
1999	Dave Zastudil	Ohio
2000	Justin McCareins	Northern Illinois
2001*	Dave Zastudil (2)	Ohio
2001*	Steve Azar	Northern Illinois
2002	Dan Sheldon	Northern Illinois
2003	Steve Azar (2)	Northern Illinois
2004	Ryne Robinson	Miami
2005	Jason Robbins	Toledo
2006	Brian Jackson	Ball State
2007	Brett Kern	Toledo
2008	Antonio Brown	Central Michigan
2009	Antonio Brown (2)	Central Michigan
2010	Eric Page	Toledo
2011	Matt Weller	Ohio	K
2012	Dri Archer	Kent State	KR
2013	Jeremiah Detmer	Toledo	K
2014	Scott Secor	Ball State	K
2015	Aregeros Turner	Northern Illinois	KR
2016	Darius Phillips	Western Michigan	KR
2017	Darius Phillips (2)	Western Michigan	KR
2018	Diontae Johnson	Toledo	KR

Winners by school

School (First season)	Wins	Years
Northern Illinois (1975)	5	2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2015
Toledo (1952)	5	2005, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2018
Ohio (1947)	3	1999, 2001, 2011
Western Michigan (1948)	3	1998, 2016, 2017
Ball State (1975)	2	2006, 2014
Central Michigan (1975)	2	2008, 2009
Kent State (1951)	1	2012
Miami (1948)	1	2004
Akron (1992)	0
Bowling Green (1952)	0
Buffalo (1999)	0
Eastern Michigan (1976)	0
Temple[3] (2007)	0
Butler[7] (1947)	0
Cincinnati[4] (1947)	0
Marshall[2] (1954)	0
Central Florida[5] (2002)	0
UMass[6] (2011)	0

Freshman Player of the Year

Ben Roethlisberger won the Freshman award in 2001. Today, his number 7 is retired at Miami University and he has led the Pittsburgh Steelers to two Super Bowl victories.

Tim Hiller, the 2005 winner, was one of NFL.com's Top 5 senior quarterback prospects in 2009.

The Freshman Player of the Year award was first given by the MAC after the 1982 football season. That year's winner, Brian McClure, won a slew of MAC accords, including Offensive Player of the Year three times, and the Vern Smith award twice. Ball State, Central Michigan and Western Michigan are tied with the most awards, with players from each school winning five times.

Winners

Year*

Co-Award Winners

Position Key
QB	Quarterback	RB	Running Back	TE	Tight End	WR	Wide Receiver
DE	Defensive End	DT	Defensive Tackle	LB	Linebacker	S	Safety
K	Placekicker	KR	Kick Returner	P	Punter	PR	Punt Returner

Season	Player	School	Position
1982	Brian McClure	Bowling Green
1983	Kelly Spielmaker	Western Michigan
1984	Pete Genatempo	Northern Illinois
1985	Marshall Taylor	Northern Illinois
1986	Patrick Young	Kent State
1987	Bernie Parmalee	Ball State
1988	Jeff Bender	Central Michigan
1989	Brad Tayles	Western Michigan	QB
1990	Troy Parker	Toledo
1991	Morrey Norris	Kent State
1992	Deland McCullough	Miami
1993	Michael Blair	Ball State
1994	Astron Whatley	Kent State
1995	Silas Massey III	Central Michigan
1996*	Walt Church	Eastern Michigan
1996*	Tim Lester	Western Michigan	QB
1997	Robert Sanford	Western Michigan	RB
1998	Kurt Gerling	Bowling Green
1999	Brandon Payne	Akron
2000	Talmadge Hill	Ball State
2001	Ben Roethlisberger	Miami	QB
2002	Aaron Leeper	Buffalo
2003	Jerry Seymour	Central Michigan	RB
2004	Adell Givens	Ball State
2005	Tim Hiller	Western Michigan	QB
2006	Dan LeFevour	Central Michigan	QB
2007	Antonio Brown	Central Michigan
2008	Sean Baker	Ball State
2009	Bernard Pierce	Temple
2010	Roosevelt Nix	Kent State	DL
2011	Anthon Samuel	Bowling Green	RB[8]
2012	Jamie Wilson	Western Michigan	WR
2013	Corey Davis	Western Michigan	WR
2014	Jarvion Franklin	Western Michigan	RB
2015	Jamauri Bogan	Western Michigan	RB
2016	Javon Hagan	Ohio	S
2017	Marcus Childers	Northern Illinois	QB
2018	Jaret Patterson	Buffalo	RB

Winners by school

School (First season)	Wins	Years
Western Michigan (1948)	9	1983, 1989, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Ball State (1975)	5	1987, 1993, 2000, 2004, 2008
Central Michigan (1975)	5	1988, 1995, 2003, 2006, 2007
Kent State (1951)	4	1986, 1991, 1994, 2010
Bowling Green (1952)	3	1982, 1998, 2011
Miami (1948)	2	1992, 2001
Northern Illinois (1975)	2	1984, 1985, 2017
Buffalo (1999)	2	2002, 2018
Akron (1992)	1	1999
Eastern Michigan (1976)	1	1996
Ohio (1947)	1	2016
Temple[3] (2007)	1	2009
Toledo (1952)	1	1990
Butler[7] (1947)	0
Cincinnati[4] (1947)	0
Marshall[2] (1954)	0
Central Florida[5] (2002)	0
UMass[6] (2011)	0

Vern Smith Leadership Award

Brad Maynard is the only special teams player to win the award.

Garrett Wolfe won the Vern Davis award in 2006 after setting many MAC rushing records.

The Vern Smith Leadership Award was started in 1982 by the Downtown Toledo Athletic Club. In that year, it was known as the Jefferson Award and the name was changed to honor the University of Toledo Athletic Director Vern Smith in 1987.[9] The award is given to the top football player in the Mid-American Conference. Only four players have won the award multiple times, with the most recent winner, Larry English, being the only non-quarterback to win it. Northern Illinois leads with seven awards all-time, followed by Bowling Green, Central Michigan and Marshall tied with four awards in each school. The Vern Smith award is the only one voted on by the coaches, with the Coach of the Year, as well as the Players of the Year are selected by the media.

Winners

Player (X)	Denotes the number of times the player has been selected
Year*	Co-Award Winners

Position Key
QB	Quarterback	RB	Running Back	TE	Tight End	WR	Wide Receiver
DE	Defensive End	DT	Defensive Tackle	LB	Linebacker	S	Safety
K	Placekicker	KR	Kick Returner	P	Punter	PR	Punt Returner

Season	Player	School	Position
1982	Ray Bentley	Central Michigan	LB
1983	Tim Tyrrell	Northern Illinois	QB
1984	Brian McClure	Bowling Green	QB
1985	Brian McClure (2)	Bowling Green	QB
1986	Terry Morris	Miami	QB
1987	Eric Wilkerson	Kent State	RB
1988	Tony Kimbrough	Western Michigan	QB
1989	David Riley	Ball State	QB
1990	Jeff Bender	Central Michigan	QB
1991	Erik White	Bowling Green	QB
1992	Erik White (2)	Bowling Green	QB
1993	Mike Neu	Ball State	QB
1994	Brian Pruitt	Central Michigan	RB
1995	Wasean Tait	Toledo	RB
1996	Brad Maynard	Ball State	P
1997	Randy Moss	Marshall	WR
1998	Travis Prentice	Miami	RB
1999	Chad Pennington	Marshall	QB
2000	Robert Sanford	Western Michigan	RB
2001	Byron Leftwich	Marshall	QB
2002	Byron Leftwich (2)	Marshall	QB
2003	Ben Roethlisberger	Miami	QB
2004	Charlie Frye	Akron	QB
2005*	Bruce Gradkowski	Toledo	QB
2005*	Greg Jennings	Western Michigan	WR
2006	Garrett Wolfe	Northern Illinois	RB
2007	Larry English	Northern Illinois	DE
2008	Larry English (2)	Northern Illinois	DE
2009	Dan LeFevour	Central Michigan	QB
2010	Chad Spann	Northern Illinois	RB
2011	Chandler Harnish	Northern Illinois	QB
2012	Jordan Lynch	Northern Illinois	QB
2013	Jordan Lynch (2)	Northern Illinois	QB
2014	Greg Mancz	Toledo	OL
2015	Matt Johnson	Bowling Green	QB
2016	Zach Terrell	Western Michigan	QB
2017	Logan Woodside	Toledo	QB
2018	Sutton Smith	Northern Illinois	DE

Winners by school

School (First season)	Wins	Years
Northern Illinois (1975)	9	1983, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018
Bowling Green (1952)	5	1984, 1985, 1991, 1992, 2015
Toledo (1952)	4	1995, 2005, 2014, 2017
Central Michigan (1975)	4	1982, 1990, 1994, 2009
Marshall (1954)	4	1997, 1999, 2001, 2002
Western Michigan (1948)	4	1988, 2000, 2005, 2016
Ball State (1975)	3	1989, 1993, 1996
Miami (1948)	3	1986, 1998, 2003
Akron (1992)	1	2004
Kent State (1951)	1	1987
Buffalo (1999)	0
Eastern Michigan (1976)	0
Ohio (1947)	0
Temple (2007)	0
Butler (1947)	0
Cincinnati(1947)	0
Central Florida (2002)	0
UMass (2011)	0

Coach of the Year

Urban Meyer won the award in 2001 with Bowling Green, before coaching at Utah, Florida and Ohio State.

The MAC has awarded a Coach of the Year award every year since 1965. The first award went to Bo Schembechler of Miami University. Only one coach has won the award more than twice, with Frank Lauterbur winning the award in 1967, 1969, and 1970.[10] Only two coaches have won the award beyond their tenth year of coaching. Bill Hess won the award in 1968 in his 11th year of coaching the Ohio Bobcats and Herb Deromedi won the award in 1990, his 13th year of coaching Central Michigan.[11] Also, only one coach, Bill Mallory, has won the award coaching two separate teams. He first earned the award in 1973 while coaching Miami University, and then won ten years later giving Northern Illinois their first Coach of the Year award. Toledo leads all schools with nine awards. Temple won their first award in 2009 when head coach Al Golden won his first MAC Coach of the Year award.[1]

Winners

Coach (X)

Denotes the number of times the coach has been selected

Season	Coach	School	Year with school	Record
1965	Bo Schembechler	Miami	3rd	7–3 (5–1)
1966	Bill Doolittle	Western Michigan	3rd	7–3 (5–1)
1967	Frank Lauterbur	Toledo	5th	9–1 (5–1)
1968	Bill Hess	Ohio	11th	10–1 (6–0)
1969	Frank Lauterbur (2)	Toledo	7th	11–0 (5–0)
1970	Frank Lauterbur (3)	Toledo	8th	12–0 (5–0)
1971	John Murphy	Toledo	1st	12–0 (5–0)
1972	Don James	Kent State	1st	6–5 (4–1)
1973	Bill Mallory	Miami	5th	11–0 (5–0)
1974	Dick Crum	Miami	1st	10–0–1 (5–0)
1975	Dave McClain	Ball State	1st	9–2 (4–2)
1976	Elliot Uzelac	Western Michigan	2nd	7–4 (6–3)
1977	Ed Chlebek	Eastern Michigan	2nd	8–3 (4–3)
1978	Dwight Wallace	Ball State	1st	10–1 (8–0)
1979	Chuck Stobart	Toledo	3rd	7–3–1 (7–1–1)
1980	Herb Deromedi	Central Michigan	3rd	9–2 (7–2)
1981	Chuck Stobart (2)	Toledo	5th	9–3 (8–1)
1982	Denny Stolz	Bowling Green	6th	7–5 (7–2)
1983	Bill Mallory (2)	Northern Illinois	3rd	10–2 (8–1)
1984	Dan Simrell	Toledo	3rd	9–2–1 (7–1–1)
1985	Denny Stolz (2)	Bowling Green	9th	11–1 (9–0)
1986	Glen Mason	Kent State	1st	5–6 (5–3)
1987	Jim Harkema	Eastern Michigan	5th	10–2 (7–1)
1988	Al Molde	Western Michigan	2nd	9–3 (7–1)
1989	Paul Schudel	Ball State	5th	7–3–2 (6–1–1)
1990	Herb Deromedi (2)	Central Michigan	13th	8–3–1 (7–1)
1991	Gary Blackney	Bowling Green	1st	11–1 (8–0)
1992	Gary Blackney (2)	Bowling Green	2nd	10–2 (8–0)
1993	Paul Schudel (2)	Ball State	9th	8–3–1 (7–0–1)
1994	Dick Flynn	Central Michigan	1st	9–3 (8–1)
1995	Gary Pinkel	Toledo	5th	11–0–1 (7–0–1)
1996	Jim Grobe	Ohio	2nd	6–6 (5–3)
1997	Gary Pinkel (2)	Toledo	7th	9–3 (7–1)
1998	Bob Pruett	Marshall	2nd	12–1 (7–1)
1999	Bob Pruett (2)	Marshall	3rd	13–0 (8–0)
2000	Gary Darnell	Western Michigan	4th	9–3 (7–1)
2001	Urban Meyer	Bowling Green	1st	8–3 (5–3)
2002	Joe Novak	Northern Illinois	6th	8–4 (7–1)
2003	Terry Hoeppner	Miami	5th	13–1 (8–0)
2004	J. D. Brookhart	Akron	1st	6–5 (6–2)
2005	Bill Cubit	Western Michigan	1st	7–4 (5–3)
2006	Frank Solich	Ohio	2nd	9–5 (7–1)
2007	Turner Gill	Buffalo	2nd	5–7 (5–3)
2008	Brady Hoke	Ball State	6th	12–2 (8–0)
2009	Al Golden	Temple	3rd	9–3 (7–1)
2010	Michael Haywood	Miami	2nd	9–4 (8–1)
2011	Ron English	Eastern Michigan	3rd	6–6 (4–4)
2012	Darrell Hazell	Kent State	2nd	11–3 (8–0)
2013	Rod Carey	Northern Illinois	1st	12–1 (8–0)
2014	P. J. Fleck	Western Michigan	2nd	8–5 (6–2)
2015	Matt Campbell	Toledo	5th	9–2 (6–2)
2016	P. J. Fleck (2)	Western Michigan	4th	13–1 (8–0)
2017	Jason Candle	Toledo	2nd	11–3 (7–1)
2018	Lance Leipold	Buffalo	4th	10–4 (7–1)

Winners by school

School (First season)	Wins	Years
Toledo (1952)	10	1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1871, 1984, 1995, 1997, 2015, 2017
Western Michigan (1948)	7	1966, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2005, 2014, 2016
Miami (1948)	5	1965, 1973, 1974, 2003, 2010
Ball State (1975)	5	1975, 1978, 1989, 1993, 2008
Bowling Green (1952)	5	1982, 1985, 1991, 1991, 2001
Central Michigan (1975)	5	1980, 1990, 1994, 1977, 1987
Eastern Michigan (1976)	3	1977, 1987, 2011
Northern Illinois (1975)	3	1983, 2002, 2013
Kent State (1951)	3	1972, 1986, 2012
Ohio (1947)	3	1968, 1996, 2006
Buffalo (1999)	2	2007, 2018
Marshall (1954)	2	1988, 1999
Akron (1992)	1	2004
Temple (2007)	1	2009
Butler (1947)	0
Cincinnati (1947)	0
Central Florida (2002)	0
UMass (2011)	0

References

1. "MAC Announces 2009 Post Season Awards" (Press release). Mid-American Conference. 2009-12-02. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
2. Marshall was a member of the MAC from 1953 to 1969 and again from 1997 to 2004. They left the conference following the 2004 season to become a member of Conference USA.
3. Temple was a member of the MAC from 2007 to 2011, when they left to become a football-only member of the original Big East Conference, with plans to become full members of that conference in 2013. By the time Temple became an all-sports member, the original Big East had split along football lines, with the non-FBS schools reorganizing as a new, non-football Big East and the remaining FBS schools, including Temple, operating as the American Athletic Conference.
4. Cincinnati left the Mid-American Conference following the 1953 season and is currently a member of The American.
5. Central Florida was only a member of the MAC from 2002 to 2005, when they left to become a member of Conference USA, along with Marshall. UCF has been a member of The American since 2013.
6. UMass was a member of the MAC from 2011 to 2015, when they left to become a football-only independent member of FBS Football, after declining to be a full member of the MAC
7. Butler was only a MAC member from 1944 to 1950. They currently play football in the Football Championship Subdivision of NCAA Division I, playing in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League.
8. "MAC Names 2011 All-MAC Teams & Post Season Awards". Retrieved 12 December 2011.
9. "Vern Smith Leadership Award" (PDF). 2009 MAC Football Record Book. Mid-American Conference. 2009-07-21. p. 104. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
10. "MAC Coaches of the Year" (PDF). 2009 MAC Football Record Book. Mid-American Conference. 2009-07-21. p. 101. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
11. "All-Time MAC Coaching Records" (PDF). 2009 MAC Football Record Book. Mid-American Conference. 2009-07-21. pp. 100–101. Retrieved 2009-12-02.