It’s the return of the MAC.
The Mid-American Conference presidents voted Friday to play a six-game football season starting Nov. 4. The conference championship will be played in Detroit at Ford Field.
The MAC was the last of the 10 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision conferences to return to the field following the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Mountain West. Originally, the MAC was the first FBS conference to postpone its season Aug. 8.
The MAC had planned on moving football and the rest of its slate of fall sports to the spring, but once MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher and the conference presidents had more time to monitor the impact of COVID-19, the league leaders determined it could bring football back.
With its schedule shortened, Ohio will play its five MAC-East opponents (Miami, Akron, Kent State, Buffalo and Bowling Green) with one crossover game against a MAC-West opponent. Last season, the Bobcats finished with an underwhelming 7-6 record but went 4-1 against MAC-East opponents.
For many of Ohio’s players, a fall return to football is a dream come true. Players, coaches and fans have all pleaded for a return to MACtion, and now their wishes have come true.
