MAC BY THE NUMBERS

1 – new on-campus facility to open in the MAC this season with Akron’s InfoCision Stadium (30,000) making its debut Sept. 12 when the Zips host Morgan State.

4 – consecutive winning seasons by Central Michigan, the longest current streak in the league.

4 – wins by MAC teams over Big Ten opponents in 2008, the most ever in league history.

5 – MAC teams that went to a bowl game last season, tying a league mark set in 2004.

7 – different teams that have appeared in the last four MAC Championship games.

9 – different MAC schools that have appeared in a bowl game in the last four seasons.

12 – the ranking of Ball State in the Associated Press poll as of Nov. 30, the highest listing in school history.

14 – current consecutive regular season wins by Ball State.

22- rushing touchdowns last year by Ball State’s MiQuale Lewis, the second best season total in league history (25, Travis Prentice of Miami, 1997).

25 -- touchdown passes needed by WMU's Tim Hiller (has 76) to pass Marshall’s Chad Pennington (100) as the all-time leader in conference history.

27 -  touchdown passes needed by CMU’s Dan LeFevour (has 74) to pass Marshall’s Chad Pennington (100) as the all-time leader in conference history.

81 – receptions needed by Central Michigan’s Bryan Anderson (226) to become the MAC’s career leader, bypassing the 306 by Josh Davis of Marshall.

383 – yards of total offense required by Dan LeFevour (11,702) to pass Marshall’s Byron Leftwich (12,084) as the conference’s career leader.

1,010 – rushing yards by Toledo’s Morgan Williams in 2008, the ninth highest total by a freshman in MAC history.

1,528 – passing yards by Northern Illinois’ Chandler Harnish last year, the eighth highest total in MAC history for a freshman.

2,437 – passing yards that Dan Lefevour (9,467) needs by surpass Marshall’s Byron Leftwich (11,903) as the MAC’s career leader.

65,535 – capacity of Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, the site of the Sept. 5 game when Miami will host Kentucky  at the NFL stadium.

73,200 – capacity of Cleveland Browns Stadium, the site of the Sept. 19 game when Toledo will host Ohio State at the NFL facility.

MAC FOOTBALL NOTES

MAC football enters its 63^rd season of competition and will hold its 13^th championship game in 2009. This year’s Marathon MAC Football Championship tilt will be Friday, Dec. 4, at Ford Field in Detroit. This will be the league’s sixth championship event at Ford Field.

Buffalo is the defending MAC Champion as the Bulls surprised then No. 12 ranked Ball State, 42-24 last year. UB’s title trophy was its first-ever on the MAC gridiron.

THE SCHEDULE

With 13 total teams [featuring an East Division with seven teams and a West Division with six teams] the MAC will play an unbalanced schedule in 2009 for the third time in league history.

Each school will play eight conference games. Every team in the West will play each West Division opponent (5 games) and three crossover games with an East Division foe. Four East Division teams [Akron, Bowling Green, Miami and Temple] will play five contests versus East Division opponents and three West opponents. Buffalo, Kent State and Ohio will face six East Division opponents and two West Division foes. The two East Division games that will not be played in 2009 because of the imbalance are Akron versus Miami; and Bowling Green versus Temple.

CLOSE CALLS

Of the 47 conference games played in 2008, 25 were decided by seven points or less, with 18 of those 47 decided by four points or fewer in the final margin.

WELCOME

Five new head coaches were named following the conclusion of the regular season. At Ball State, Stan Parrish was promoted from offensive coordinator. Four other schools went outside the program – Toledo (Tim Beckman), Eastern Michigan (Ron English), Miami (Mike Haywood), and Bowling Green (Dave Clawson) – to make changes. This marks the most head coaching changes in the MAC since 2005 when Akron, UCF (now in conference USA), Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and Kent State hired new leaders for their respective programs.

HEAD COACH               SCHOOL                        PREVIOUS POSITION

Stan Parrish                   Ball State                       Offensive Coordinator – Ball State

                                                                        Replaces: Brady Hoke/34-38, six seasons

                                                                        Hoke named head coach at San Diego State

Dave Clawson                Bowling Green                offensive coordinator – Tennessee

                                                                        Replaces: Gregg Brandon/44-30, six seasons

Ron English                    Eastern Michigan            defensive coordinator – Louisville

                                                                        Replaces: Jeff Genyk/16-42, six seasons

Mike Haywood                Miami                            offensive coordinator – Notre Dame

                                                                        Replaces: Shane Montgomery/17-31, 4 seasons

Tim Beckman                 Toledo                          defensive coordinator – Oklahoma State

                                                                        Replaces: Tom Amstutz/58-41, nine seasons

MAC TV

MAC and ESPN announced Jan. 28 an eight-year rights agreement, running through the 2016-17 academic year, for football, and men’s and women’s basketball that will be the most extensive in the 63-year history of the conference. The Marathon MAC Football Championship game remains the foundation of a national television football package that will average six (6) nationally-televised games annually on either ESPN or ESPN2 in addition to a minimum of five (5) games per year on ESPNU.  The 2008 championship game, which featured the University at Buffalo’s 42-24 upset of No.12-ranked Ball State University, was the most-watched conference game in MAC history, reaching nearly 1.7 million homes.

The MAC’s nine (9) nationally-televised home games in the 2008 regular-season averaged a 1.1 rating, with six (6) exceeding a 1.0 rating. Ball State’s 31-24 victory at Central Michigan on Wednesday, Nov. 19 garnered a 1.6 rating, making it the highest-rated Tuesday/Wednesday college football telecast in ESPN2 history.

The new agreement calls for continuation of the MAC’s November mid-week national football package, with increased structure and parameters providing multiple games for selection by ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU for those mid-week windows.

TURNING IT AROUND: Three of the five MAC bowl teams last year had losing records in 2007. Buffalo, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan. Since the MAC went to divisional play in 1997, Buffalo became the first conference school to have an overall losing record one season [5-7 in 2007], and then win the MAC Championship the next season. Prior to UB in 2008, the most recent turnaround from a losing season to a championship season was Central Michigan from 5-6 in 1993 to a league title in 1994.

A BIG MAC YEAR: The MAC had an all-time best four wins in 2008 over opponents from the Big Ten. Both Ball State and Central Michigan had wins at Indiana, Toledo defeated Michigan in Ann Arbor, and Western Michigan topped Illinois in a game played at Ford Field.

WHO’S BACK IN THE BACKFIELD?

The MAC has been dubbed as the “Conference of Quarterbacks” with many league signal callers going on to successful NFL careers. Former Miami QB Ben Roethlisberger has twice directed the Pittsburgh Steelers to Super Bowl wins. Ex Marshall QB Chad Pennington has twice won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award and led the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins into the playoffs.

In looking at the 2009 crop of MAC QBs, nine league schools return their starter at the position and some schools (Miami and Ohio) include competition among returning players. To follow is a school-by-school early spring breakdown:

MAC EAST –

Akron – Chris Jacquemain (senior) returns (231-399 for 2,748 yards, 20 TDs, 14 interceptions) ... had 10 of his 14 interceptions come in three games (4 versus Ball State, 3 versus Kent State and 3 versus Temple) ... in the other nine games he totaled 17 TD passes and four interceptions.

Bowling Green – Tyler Sheehan (senior) returns for his third season as a starter (267-400 for 2,610 yards, 20 TDs, 9 interceptions) ... his 66.8 pass completion percentage rate led the conference.

Buffalo – Zach Maynard (sophomore) is the leading candidate to replace four-year starter Drew Willy ... Maynard completed 1-3 attempts for 7 yards last season ... Willy had numbers of 304-486 for 3,304 yards, 25 TDs and just six interceptions.

Kent State – Anthony Magazu (senior) and Giorgio Morgan (sophomore) will battle for the starting spot ... Magazu played in five games with passing numbers of 11-23 for 81 yards, 1 TD and no interceptions ... last year’s starter, Julian Edelman, passed for 1,820 yards and 13 TDs and rushed for 1,370 yards and 13 TDs.

Miami – Under first-year head coach Mike Haywood, it should be a wide open battle ... returnees include Dan Raudabaugh (senior) and Clay Belton (sophomore) ... Raudabaugh was 201-343 for 1,960 yards, 8 TDs and 8 interceptions ... Belton made a couple of starts late in the season and on the year was 63-115 for 639 yards, 2 TDs and 3 interceptions.

Ohio – Veterans Boo Jackson (senior) and Theo Scott (senior) are expected to compete for playing time ... Scott (29-44, 247 yards, 1 TD, 2 interceptions) was the early season starter until injured ... Jackson (185-306 for 2,355 yards, 19 TDs and 12 interceptions) closed the season strong, passing for 8 TDs and just one pick in the last two games ... the Bobcats’ offense produced 90 points in wins over Akron and Miami in the last two games of the season.

Temple – Vaughn Charlton (junior) was redshirted in 2008 and is slated to take over for the departed Adam DiMichele, a three-year starter (134-231 for 1,911 yards, 18 TDs, 6 int.) ... Charlton has played in 15 career games with seven starts and has cumulative numbers of 125-222 for 1,225 yards, five TDs and three interceptions.

WEST DIVISION

Ball State – Texas native Kelly Page (redshirt freshman) has the lead to step in for the departed Nate Davis, a three-time MAC leader in passing efficiency ... Davis lit up BSU foes last year for 3,591 yards, completing 258-401 with 26 TDs and eight interceptions.

Central Michigan – Dan LeFevour (senior) will make his final go around picking apart MAC defenses after his first three campaigns in a starting role ... in 2008 he completed 251-376 attempts for 2,784 yards, 21 TDs and six interceptions ... his career numbers have him poised to challenge several league career passing marks.

Eastern Michigan – The record-setting Andy Schmitt (senior) returns for his fourth campaign as a starter ... Schmitt set MAC single game marks in completions (58) and attempts (80) versus CMU last year ... his year-end numbers totaled 2,644 passing yards, 15 TDs and 8 interceptions, completing  261-417 attempts.

Northern Illinois – Chandler Harnish (sophomore) helped the Huskies go from a two-win season in 2007 into the Independence Bowl in 2008 – his freshman season ... Harnish returns to improve on his numbers of 1,528 passing yards and a team-leading 539 rushing yards.

Toledo – Aaron Opelt (senior) is back for his fourth season in the starting rotation ... his 2008 productivity included 2,176 yards, 12 TDs and seven interceptions, completing 225-376 attempts ... he has been at the helm in wins over Iowa State (2007) and Michigan (2008).

Western Michigan – Tim Hiller (senior) the 2005 MAC Freshman of the Year, who then missed 2006 with an injury, is back for his fourth campaign as a starter ... Hiller piled up 3,725 yards and a league-leading 36 TDs passing (10 more than the next QB on the list).