For the handful of MAC football fans who frequent this here site, there’s some additional change in the offing for your conference in 2012.
The MAC announced Wednesday that Bowling Green will move from the conference’s East division to the West. The move was made to accommodate UMass, which is making the move from Div. 1-AA to 1-A and will be joining the conference as a football-only members this season.
Football is only sport to which this move will apply.
“Ever since our announcement of the addition of UMass in football last spring, divisional alignment has been a topic of conversation among our Presidents and Directors of Athletics,” said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, MAC Commissioner. “We considered a number of different paradigms and ultimately we focused on the core principles of geography, travel and rivalries. We now have a true rotational cycle for football and a scheduling model that will extend for future years.”
This is actually a move back for BGSU as the Falcons competed in the West in 2002 and 2003. With the reshuffling, the two MAC divisions will look as follows:
MAC East: Akron; Buffalo; Kent State; UMass; Miami; Ohio; and Temple.
MAC West: Ball State; Bowling Green; Central Michigan; Eastern Michigan; Northern Illinois; Toledo; and Western Michigan.
