The Mid-American Conference football awards are given annually by the Mid-American Conference (MAC) at the conclusion of each college football season. The conference gives out a total of five awards, the Offensive, Defensive, and Freshman Players of the Year, the Coach of the Year, and the Vern Smith Leadership Award, which is given to the league's MVP in that season. The Vern Smith Award is selected by a vote of the coaches in the MAC while the remaining awards are selected by the MAC News Media Association.
Offensive Player of the Year
Winners Season Player Team 1965 RB Kent State 1966 Bruce Matte QB Miami (OH) 1967 John Schneider QB Toledo 1968 QB Ohio 1969 QB Toledo 1970 Chuck Ealey (2) QB Toledo 1971 Chuck Ealey (3) QB Toledo 1972 RB Miami (OH) 1973 RB Bowling Green 1974 QB Toledo 1975 Gene Swick (2) QB Toledo 1976 Jerome Persell RB Western Michigan 1977 Jerome Persell (2) RB Western Michigan 1978 Jerome Persell (3) RB Western Michigan WR Northern Illinois 1979 QB Central Michigan 1980 Mark O'Connell QB Ball State 1981 Sam Shon QB Ohio 1982 RB Central Michigan 1983 QB Bowling Green 1984 Brian McClure (2) QB Bowling Green 1985 Brian McClure (3) QB Bowling Green 1986 Terry Morris QB Miami (OH) 1987 RB Kent State 1988 QB Western Michigan 1989 QB Ball State 1990 Jeff Bender QB Central Michigan 1991 QB Bowling Green 1992 Erik White (2) QB Bowling Green 1993 QB Ball State 1994 Brian Pruitt RB Central Michigan 1995 Wasean Tait RB Toledo 1996 Kareem Wilson QB Ohio 1997 WR Marshall 1998 RB Miami (OH) 1999 QB Marshall 2000 Robert Sanford RB Western Michigan 2001 QB Marshall 2002 Byron Leftwich (2) QB Marshall 2003 QB Miami (OH) 2004 QB Bowling Green 2005 WR Western Michigan 2006 RB Northern Illinois 2007 QB Central Michigan 2008 QB Ball State 2009 Dan LeFevour (2) QB Central Michigan 2010 RB Northern Illinois 2011 QB Northern Illinois 2012 QB Northern Illinois 2013 Jordan Lynch (2) QB Northern Illinois 2014 Jarvion Franklin RB Western Michigan 2015 QB Bowling Green 2016 WR Western Michigan 2017 QB Toledo 2018 QB Buffalo 2019 RB Western Michigan 2020 RB Buffalo 2021 RB Central Michigan 2022 QB Ohio 2023 RB Toledo 2024 TE Bowling Green 2025 QB Western Michigan
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Winners by school School Wins Seasons Western Michigan 10 1976, 1977, 1978, 1988, 2000, 2005, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2025 Bowling Green 9 1973, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1991, 1992, 2004, 2015, 2024 Toledo 9 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1995, 2017, 2023 Northern Illinois 7 1978, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2021 Central Michigan 6 1979, 1982, 1990, 1994, 2007, 2009 Miami (OH) 5 1966, 1972, 1986, 1998, 2003 Ball State 4 1980, 1989, 1993, 2008 Marshall 4 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 Ohio 4 1968, 1981, 1996, 2022 Kent State 3 1965, 1987, 2021 Buffalo 2 2018, 2020
Defensive Player of the Year
Winners Season Player Team 1965 DT Western Michigan 1966 Bob Rowe (2) DT Western Michigan 1967 DT Toledo 1968 LB Miami (OH) 1969 DT Bowling Green 1970 DB Miami (OH) DE Bowling Green 1971 DT Toledo 1972 LB Kent State 1973 DT Miami (OH) 1974 Brad Cousino (2) DT Miami (OH) 1975 S Ball State 1976 Aaron Bivins LB Toledo 1977 Jack Glowik DT Miami (OH) 1978 DT Ball State 1979 Frank Lewandowski LB Northern Illinois 1980 Kent McCormick LB Miami (OH) Mike Terra LB Northern Illinois 1981 John Zupancic LB Miami (OH) 1982 LB Central Michigan 1983 DT Miami (OH) 1984 Mark Brandon CB Toledo 1985 LB Western Michigan 1986 DT Western Michigan 1987 Greg Garnica LB Ball State 1988 Greg Garnica (2) LB Ball State 1989 Greg Garnica (3) LB Ball State 1990 Sean Mulhearn LB Western Michigan 1991 Curt McMillan LB Miami (OH) 1992 Curt McMillan (2) LB Miami (OH) 1993 Vince Palko LB Bowling Green 1994 Vince Palko (2) LB Bowling Green 1995 Johnnie Williams S Miami (OH) 1996 P Ball State 1997 LB Miami (OH) 1998 JoJuan Armour (2) LB Miami (OH) 1999 LB Miami (OH) 2000 S Akron 2001 LB Marshall 2002 DE Western Michigan 2003 Jason Babin (2) DE Western Michigan 2004 DE Marshall 2005 DE Central Michigan 2006 Ameer Ismail LB Western Michigan 2007 Clayton Mullins LB Miami (OH) 2008 DE Northern Illinois 2009 DE Temple 2010 DE Kent State 2011 DT Western Michigan 2012 DT Bowling Green 2013 LB Buffalo 2014 CB Miami (OH) 2015 LB Akron 2016 DE Ohio 2017 DE Northern Illinois 2018 Sutton Smith (2) DE Northern Illinois 2019 Treshaun Hayward LB Western Michigan 2020 LB Central Michigan Brandon Martin LB Ball State 2021 DE Western Michigan 2022 DE Eastern Michigan 2023 Matt Salopek LB Miami (OH) 2024 LB Buffalo 2025 DE Western Michigan Source:
Winners by school School Wins Seasons Miami (OH) 17 1968, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2007, 2014, 2023 Western Michigan 12 1965, 1966, 1985, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2011, 2019, 2021, 2025 Ball State 7 1975, 1978, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1996, 2020 Bowling Green 5 1969, 1970, 1993, 1994, 2012 Northern Illinois 5 1979, 1980, 2008, 2017, 2018 Toledo 4 1967, 1971, 1976, 1984 Central Michigan 3 1982, 2005, 2020 Akron 2 2000, 2005 Buffalo 2 2013, 2024 Kent State 2 1972, 2010 Marshall 2 2001, 2004 Ohio 1 2016 Temple 1 2009 Eastern Michigan 1 2022
Special Teams Player of the Year
Winners Season Player Team 1998 Brad Selent K Western Michigan 1999 P Ohio 2000 RS Northern Illinois 2001 Dave Zastudil (2) P Ohio Steve Azar K Northern Illinois 2002 Dan Sheldon RS Northern Illinois 2003 Steve Azar (2) K Northern Illinois 2004 RS Miami (OH) 2005 Jason Robbins K Toledo 2006 Brian Jackson K Ball State 2007 P Toledo 2008 RS Central Michigan 2009 Antonio Brown (2) RS Central Michigan 2010 RS Toledo 2011 Matt Weller K Ohio 2012 RS Kent State 2013 Jeremiah Detmer K Toledo 2014 K Ball State 2015 Aregeros Turner RS Northern Illinois 2016 RS Western Michigan 2017 Darius Phillips (2) RS Western Michigan 2018 RS Toledo 2019 Matthew Trickett K Kent State 2020 RS Western Michigan 2021 Khalil Pimpleton RS Central Michigan 2022 Alex McNulty K Buffalo 2023 K Miami (OH) 2024 Malcolm Gillie RS Ball State 2025 Da’Realyst Clark RS Kent State Source:
Winners by school School Wins Years Northern Illinois 5 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2015 Toledo 5 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2018 Western Michigan 4 1998, 2016, 2017, 2020 Ball State 3 2006, 2014, 2024 Central Michigan 3 2008, 2009, 2021 Kent State 3 2012, 2019, 2025 Ohio 3 1999, 2001, 2011 Miami (OH) 2 2004, 2023 Buffalo 1 2022
Freshman Player of the Year
The Freshman Player of the Year award was first given by the MAC after the 1982 football season. That year's winner, Brian McClure, won a slew of MAC accords, including Offensive Player of the Year three times, and the Vern Smith award twice. Western Michigan is the team with the most awards, with ten award winners.
Winners Season Player Team 1982 QB Bowling Green 1983 Kelly Spielmaker TE Western Michigan 1984 Pete Genatempo QB Northern Illinois 1985 Marshall Taylor QB Northern Illinois 1986 Patrick Young QB Kent State 1987 RB Ball State 1988 Jeff Bender QB Central Michigan 1989 Brad Tayles QB Western Michigan 1990 Troy Parker RB Toledo 1991 Morrey Norris LB Kent State 1992 RB Miami (OH) 1993 RB Ball State 1994 Astron Whatley RB Kent State 1995 Silas Massey III RB Central Michigan 1996 QB Eastern Michigan QB Western Michigan 1997 Robert Sanford RB Western Michigan 1998 Kurt Gerling WR Bowling Green 1999 Brandon Payne RB Akron 2000 Talmadge Hill QB Ball State 2001 QB Miami (OH) 2002 Aaron Leeper RB Buffalo 2003 Jerry Seymour RB Central Michigan 2004 Adell Givens RB Ball State 2005 QB Western Michigan 2006 QB Central Michigan 2007 WR/RS Central Michigan 2008 S Ball State 2009 RB Temple 2010 DE Kent State 2011 Anthon Samuel RB Bowling Green 2012 Jamie Wilson WR Western Michigan 2013 WR Western Michigan 2014 Jarvion Franklin RB Western Michigan 2015 Jamauri Bogan RB Western Michigan 2016 S Ohio 2017 Marcus Childers QB Northern Illinois 2018 RB Buffalo 2019 QB Miami (OH) 2020 RB Central Michigan 2021 Jay Ducker RB Northern Illinois 2022 Sieh Bangura RB Ohio 2023 Jalen Buckley RB Western Michigan 2024 Kadin Semonza QB Ball State 2025 Cameron Pettaway RB Bowling Green Source:
Winners by school School Wins Seasons Western Michigan 10 1983, 1989, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2023 Ball State 6 1987, 1993, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2024 Central Michigan 6 1988, 1995, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2020 Bowling Green 4 1982, 1998, 2011, 2025 Kent State 4 1986, 1991, 1994, 2010 Miami (OH) 3 1992, 2001, 2019 Northern Illinois 2 1984, 1985, 2017 Buffalo 2 2002, 2018 Ohio 2 2016, 2022 Akron 1 1999 Eastern Michigan 1 1996 Temple 1 2009 Toledo 1 1990
Vern Smith Leadership Award
The Vern Smith Leadership Award was started in 1982 by the Downtown Toledo Athletic Club. In that year, it was known as the Jefferson Award and the name was changed to honor the University of Toledo Athletic Director Vern Smith in 1987. The award is given to the top football player in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Only four players have won the award multiple times, Larry English being the only non-quarterback to win it twice. In 1996, Brad Maynard won the award, and is the only special teams player to win the award as of the end of the 2025 season. The Northern Illinois Huskies leads with seven awards all-time. The Vern Smith award is the only one voted on by the coaches, with the Coach of the Year, as well as the Players of the Year are selected by the media.
Winners Season Player Team 1982 LB Central Michigan 1983 QB Northern Illinois 1984 QB Bowling Green 1985 Brian McClure (2) QB Bowling Green 1986 Terry Morris QB Miami (OH) 1987 RB Kent State 1988 QB Western Michigan 1989 QB Ball State 1990 Jeff Bender QB Central Michigan 1991 QB Bowling Green 1992 Erik White (2) QB Bowling Green 1993 QB Ball State 1994 Brian Pruitt RB Central Michigan 1995 Wasean Tait RB Toledo 1996 P Ball State 1997 WR Marshall 1998 RB Miami (OH) 1999 QB Marshall 2000 Robert Sanford RB Western Michigan 2001 QB Marshall 2002 Byron Leftwich (2) QB Marshall 2003 QB Miami (OH) 2004 QB Akron 2005 QB Toledo WR Western Michigan 2006 RB Northern Illinois 2007 DE Northern Illinois 2008 Larry English (2) DE Northern Illinois 2009 QB Central Michigan 2010 RB Northern Illinois 2011 QB Northern Illinois 2012 QB Northern Illinois 2013 Jordan Lynch (2) QB Northern Illinois 2014 C Toledo 2015 QB Bowling Green 2016 QB Western Michigan 2017 QB Toledo 2018 DE Northern Illinois 2019 RB Western Michigan 2020 RB Buffalo 2021 QB Kent State 2022 QB Ohio 2023 QB Toledo 2024 TE Bowling Green 2025 DE Western Michigan Source:
Winners by school School Wins Seasons Northern Illinois 9 1983, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018 Bowling Green 6 1984, 1985, 1991, 1992, 2015, 2024 Toledo 5 1995, 2005, 2014, 2017, 2023 Western Michigan 5 1988, 2000, 2005, 2016, 2025 Central Michigan 4 1982, 1990, 1994, 2009 Marshall 4 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 Ball State 3 1989, 1993, 1996 Miami (OH) 3 1986, 1998, 2003 Kent State 2 1987, 2021 Buffalo 1 2020 Akron 1 2004 Ohio 1 2022
Coach of the Year
The MAC has awarded a Coach of the Year award every year since 1965. The first award went to Bo Schembechler of Miami University. Only one coach has won the award more than twice, with Frank Lauterbur winning the award in 1967, 1969, and 1970. Only two coaches have won the award beyond their tenth year of coaching. Bill Hess won the award in 1968 in his 11th year of coaching the Ohio Bobcats and Herb Deromedi won the award in 1990, his 13th year of coaching Central Michigan. Also, only one coach, Bill Mallory, has won the award coaching two separate teams. He first earned the award in 1973 while coaching Miami University, and then won ten years later giving Northern Illinois their first Coach of the Year award. Toledo leads all schools with nine awards. Temple won their first award in 2009 when head coach Al Golden won his first MAC Coach of the Year award.
Winners Source: Coach (X) Denotes the number of times the coach has been selected