Mid-American

13 current members, five former. Our membership records under this name start in 1947. 2025 champion: Western Michigan.

1989 standings

TeamConf.OverallAPEloLast 5
Ball State6–⁠1–⁠17–⁠3–⁠21539WTWWL
Eastern Michigan6–⁠27–⁠3–⁠11531LWLWL
Toledo6–⁠26–⁠51472WWWLW
Central Michigan5–⁠2–⁠15–⁠5–⁠11486LWTWL
Bowling Green5–⁠35–⁠61353LLWWL
Western Michigan3–⁠55–⁠61485LWLLW
Miami (OH)2–⁠5–⁠12–⁠8–⁠11272LWLWL
Ohio1–⁠6–⁠11–⁠9–⁠11293TWLLL
Kent State0–⁠80–⁠111253LLLLL

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied. AP: the AP poll, final (else the final AP rank). Elo is our own rating, a measure of strength, not a prediction.

Against other conferences, 1989

Mid-American teams are 4–⁠22–⁠2 outside the conference.

The bar is the share of those games won. Games against teams from lower divisions count together.

Champions

Most titles

Miami (OH)17last 2023
Toledo12last 2022
Bowling Green12last 2015
Central Michigan7last 2009
Ohio6last 2024
Northern Illinois6last 2021
Ball State6last 2020
Delaware6last 1969
Marshall5last 2002
Western Michigan4last 2025

By year

2025Western Michigan
2024Ohio
2023Miami (OH)
2022Toledo
2021Northern Illinois
2020Ball State
2019Miami (OH)
2018Northern Illinois
2017Toledo
2016Western Michigan
2015Bowling Green
2014Northern Illinois
67 earlier seasons, back to 1947
2013Bowling Green
2012Northern Illinois
2011Northern Illinois
2010Miami (OH)
2009Central Michigan
2008Buffalo
2007Central Michigan
2006Central Michigan
2005Akron
2004Toledo
2003Miami (OH)
2002Marshall
2001Toledo
2000Marshall
1999Marshall
1998Marshall
1997Marshall
1996Ball State
1995Toledo
1994Central Michigan
1993Ball State
1992Bowling Green
1991Bowling Green
1990Central Michigan, Toledo (shared)
1989Ball State
1988Western Michigan
1987Eastern Michigan
1986Miami (OH)
1985Bowling Green
1984Toledo
1983Northern Illinois
1982Bowling Green
1981Toledo
1980Central Michigan
1979Central Michigan
1978Ball State
1977Miami (OH)
1976Ball State
1975Miami (OH)
1974Miami (OH)
1973Miami (OH)
1972Kent State
1971Toledo
1970Toledo
1969Delaware, Toledo (shared)
1968Delaware, Ohio (shared)
1967Ohio, Temple, Toledo (shared)
1966Delaware, Miami (OH), Western Michigan (shared)
1965Bowling Green, Miami (OH) (shared)
1964Bowling Green
1963Delaware, Ohio (shared)
1962Bowling Green, Delaware (shared)
1961Bowling Green
1960Ohio
1959Bowling Green, Delaware (shared)
1958Miami (OH)
1957Miami (OH)
1956Bowling Green
1955Miami (OH)
1954Miami (OH)
1953Ohio
1952Cincinnati
1951Cincinnati
1950Miami (OH)
1949Cincinnati
1948Miami (OH)
1947Cincinnati

Conference titles as each program’s Wikipedia infobox lists them (CC BY-SA), shared titles counted for every co-champion; the conference’s earlier names count as the same conference.

Members

  1. Cincinnati1947–⁠1952
  2. Miami (OH)1947 on
  3. Ohio1947 on
  4. Western Michigan1948 on
  5. Kent State1951 on
  6. Bowling Green1952 on
  7. Toledo1952 on
  8. Marshall1954–⁠19681997–⁠2004
  9. Ball State1973 on
  10. Central Michigan1975 on
  11. Northern Illinois1975–⁠19851997–⁠2025
  12. Eastern Michigan1976 on
  13. Akron1992 on
  14. Buffalo1999 on
  15. UCF2002–⁠2004
  16. Temple2007–⁠2011
  17. Massachusetts2012–⁠20152025 on
  18. Sacramento State2026 on
Every school and its years (18)

Members now

Former members

Football membership as CollegeFootballData.com records it under this conference’s name, from 1947; a school’s separate stays are listed apart.

Who came and went

SeasonSchoolMoveAnnounced
2026Northern IllinoisLeft for Mountain West Conference (football only)January 7, 2025
2026Sacramento StateJoined from Big Sky (football only)February 15, 2026
2025MassachusettsJoined (independent before) (football only)February 26, 2024
2016MassachusettsLeft to play as an independent (football only)March 26, 2014
2012MassachusettsJoined from CAA (football only)April 20, 2011
2012TempleLeft for Big East (football only)Source
2007TempleJoined (independent before) (football only)Source
2005MarshallLeft for Conference USASource
2005UCFLeft for Conference USASource
2002UCFJoined (independent before) (football only)Source
1998 †BuffaloJoined (independent before)Source
1997MarshallJoined from Southern ConferenceSource
1997Northern IllinoisJoined from Midwestern Collegiate ConferenceSource
1992AkronJoined (independent before)Source
1986Northern IllinoisLeft to play as an independent (football only)Source

Football moves from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the season is the first one played in the new conference, and the date the one the lists or their sources give for the announcement. † Our membership records (CollegeFootballData.com) date the move to another season, or don’t show it. SportsDataverse’s football memberships agree with ours in all 769 team-seasons from 1947. the member tables in the conference’s Wikipedia article agree with ours in all 13 team-seasons from 2002. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); memberships: SportsDataverse.

Honors while members

Counted only in seasons a school was a member on file (from 1947); a draft pick counts for the season before the draft. Heisman and All-America lists from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), draft picks from CollegeFootballData.com.

The money

The Mid-American Conference is a nonprofit. Its IRS Form 990 for the year to June 2025 reports $43.3 million in revenue, $22.4 million of it from college football playoff, and $43.1 million in expenses; it ended the year with $17.7 million in assets. Its best-paid, commissioner/treasurer Dr Jon Steinbrecher, was paid $850,000.

By year

YearRevenueExpensesAssetsTop pay
2024-25$43.3M$43.1M$17.7M$850K
2023-24$39.0M$37.4M$15.2M$829K
2022-23$36.6M$34.5M$13.3M$856K
2021-22$35.7M$33.6M$10.4M$807K
2020-21$28.2M$27.3M$9.6M$767K
2019-20$32.2M$31.6M$6.9M$780K
2018-19$30.8M$31.3M$12.1M$755K
2017-18$33.7M$32.8M$12.6M$757K
2016-17$34.7M$35.1M$11.6M
2015-16$29.7M$28.6M$6.3M
2014-15$24.5M$23.8M$6.4M
2013-14$12.7M$12.7M$4.8M
2012-13$23.3M$23.4M$8.8M
2011-12$17.7M$16.8M$7.1M
2010-11$12.3M$10.1M$3.5M

Best paid, 2024-25

Dr Jon Steinbrecher, commissioner/treasurer$850,000
Chris Turner, deputy commissioner/COO$250,000
Roderick Stokes, sr.assoc.commissioner-basketball$240,000
Mike Vuraich, associate commissioner/CFO$190,000
Kristin Williams, sr.assoc.comm.-inst.svcs.&sr.woman admin.$166,000

Grants it lists, 2024-25

Miami (OH)general fund support$3.2 million
State University of New York at Buffalogeneral fund support$3.2 million
Northern Illinoisgeneral fund support$3.1 million
Bowling Green State Universitygeneral fund support$3.1 million
Western Michigangeneral fund support$3.1 million
Ohiogeneral fund support$3.1 million
Toledogeneral fund support$2.9 million
The University of Akrongeneral fund support$2.8 million
4 more
Kent Stategeneral fund support$2.6 million
Ball Stategeneral fund support$2.5 million
Eastern Michigangeneral fund support$2.5 million
Central Michigangeneral fund support$2.5 million

From the organization’s IRS Form 990, via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer and the IRS’s e-file data. Fiscal years end in June; top pay is the best-paid person’s total compensation on the return, listed for e-filed years (2018 on). Grants are the ones the conference lists on Schedule I; bowl payments are the ones bowls list on theirs. See every filing at ProPublica (EIN 31-0682486).