MAC Men's Basketball

The MAC was established on February 24, 1946, it is founded as a five school league the Ohio, Butler, Cincinnati, Wayne State and Western reserve. Currently, the Mid-American Conference is comprised of 12 teams that play college basketball at the Division I-A level. For a full list of NCAA teams and their conferences, see College Basketball.

Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher, with 15 years experience as a Division I commissioner, was appointed commissioner of the Mid-American Conference on March 16, 2009 by the league Presidents at a meeting in Indianapolis.

The current members are Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, and Western Michigan.

Rick Chryst, the latest commissioner of the MAC, is the second longest serving commissioner for the MAC. He held the post from 1999-2009. Dr. David E. Reese was the first Mid-American Conference Commissioner from 1946-1964, making him the longest serving commissioner to date.

Every year, since 1980, the Mid-American Conference has held a tournament to determine the MAC Champion for the respective year. It is a single elimination tournament and the seeing of teams in based upon the standings from the regular season play. Since 2000, the MAC Tournament has been held in Cleveland, Ohio, the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The champion of the MAC tournament automatically gets a bid into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

2009 - 2010 MAC Season

On January 29, 2009, longtime MAC commissioner Rick Chryst announced his decision to resign at the end of his current contract, which expires in June of 2009.ESPN.com: Chryst Resigns After Decade with MAC

The 2009–10 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season is the 64th college basketball season in the conference's existence. The conference features 12 teams in two divisions, East and West, who will compete for the MAC regular season and tournament titles. The winners of the East and West regular season play were Kent State(East) and Central Michigan(West), with Kent State having the best conference record over-all (13-3).

The 2010 Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament is the post-season basketball tournament for the MAC 2009–2010 season. The winner of the tournament receives the MAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship tournament. The Championship game was between No. 9 Ohio U and No. 3 Akron, with Ohio winner in over-time 81-75. Ohio's Armon Bassett scored 25 to earn tournament MVP honors. Ohio’s 9th place finish in the regular season made them the lowest seed team to win the MAC Tournament. They did it by knocking off top-seeded Kent State in the quarterfinals, No. 4 Miami (Ohio) in the semifinals and then finally No. 3 Akron.