The 2025 Mid-American Conference football season was the 80th season for the Mid-American Conference (MAC), as part of the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Non-conference play began on August 28. Conference play began on September 13 and concluded with the MAC championship game on December 6 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Just as it was in 2024, the MAC did not have divisions. The Championship game featured the two teams with the best conference records. The MAC saw its first change in its football membership since 2015, and the first change in its core membership since 2005, with the addition of UMass. This was Northern Illinois' last season as it has joined the Mountain West Conference for football in 2026.
Western Michigan finished its conference season with a 7–1 conference record. It finished the regular season in sole possession of first place in the MAC standings and earned the MAC regular-season title. Miami finished in a three-way tie for second place with Ohio and Toledo at 6–2 in the conference. Miami won the tiebreaker to advance to the championship game in spite of losing to both teams during the regular season. In the championship game, Western Michigan avenged their only regular season conference loss with a 23–13 victory over Miami.
Western Michigan's defensive end Nadame Tucker was the Defensive Player of the Year and won the Vern Smith Leadership Award. Western Michigan swept the major awards as quarterback Broc Lowry won Offensive Player of the Year and Lance Taylor won Coach of the Year.
Preseason
The MAC Football Kickoff was held on Thursday, July 24, 2025, at the Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan from 9:00 am EDT to 1:30 pm EDT. Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher spoke. Each team had their head coach and a student athlete from both the offense and the defense available to speak to the media.
Akron – Head Coach Joe Moorhead; Ben Finley, R-Sr., QB; Daymon David, R-Sr., S Ball State – Head Coach Mike Uremovich; Kiael Kelly, R-Sr., QB; Darin Conley, R-So., DT Bowling Green – Head Coach Eddie George; Drew Pyne, Grad., QB; Eriq George, Jr., DE Buffalo – Head Coach Pete Lembo, Al-Jay Henderson, Sr., RB; Red Murdock, Gr., LB Central Michigan – Head Coach Matt Drinkall; Joe Labas, R-Sr., QB; Jordan Kwiatkowski, Sr., LB Eastern Michigan – Head Coach Chris Creighton; Mickey Rewolinski, Gr., OL; Jefferson Adam, Sr., DL Kent State – Interim Head Coach Mark Carney; Da’Shawn Martin, So., WR; Tevin Tucker, R-So., S UMass – Head Coach Joe Harasymiak; Rocko Griffin, R-Jr., RB; Malcolm Greene, DB Miami (OH) – Head Coach Chuck Martin; Dequan Finn, 6th-Sr., QB; Silas Walters, R-Sr., DB Northern Illinois – Head Coach Thomas Hammock; Evan Malcore, R-Jr., OT; Jalonnie Williams, R-Sr., DE Ohio – Head Coach Brian Smith; Parker Navarro, Grad., QB; DJ Walker, R-So., S Toledo – Head Coach Jason Candle; Tucker Gleason, Sr., QB; Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Sr., S Western Michigan – Head Coach Lance Taylor; Jalen Buckley, R-Jr., RB; Tate Hallock, Grad., S
Preseason coaches poll On July 24, the MAC announced the preseason coaches poll. Toledo was named the preseason favorite to win the conference while both of last year's finalist, Ohio and Miami, also received votes to win the championship.
1 Toledo 135 (7) 2 Miami (OH) 131 (3) 3 Ohio 123 (3) 4 Buffalo 115 5 Northern Illinois 94 6 Bowling Green 81 7 Western Michigan 71 8 Eastern Michigan 68 9 Central Michigan 65 10 Ball State 41 T-11 Akron 39 T-11 UMass 39 13 Kent State 12
Predicted MAC champion 1 Toledo 6 2 Miami (OH) 4 3 Ohio 3
Individual award preseason watchlists
Lott Trophy noneDodd Trophy noneHead coach --Maxwell AwardAl-Jay HendersonBuffaloRB Sr.Parker NavarroOhioQBGr.Tucker GleasonToledoQBSr.Jalen BuckleyWestern MichiganRB So.Outland Trophy noneBronko Nagurski Trophy Red MurdockBuffaloLBGr.Butkus AwardJordan KwiatkowskiCentral MichiganLB Jr.Jim Thorpe AwardTank PearsonOhioCBGr.DJ WalkerSRS-So.Avery SmithToledoCBSr.Paul Hornung Award Ty HardingUMassWRRS-So.Trayvon RudolphToledoWRSr.Victor SnowBuffaloWRRS-Jr.Wuerffel TrophyKeylen DavisAkronTRS-Jr. Kiael KellyBall StateQBRS-Sr.Drew PyneBowling GreenQBGr.Red MurdockBuffaloLBGr.Michael HeldmanCentral MichiganDLRS-Sr.Jefferson AdamEastern MichiganDLSr.Mattheus CarrollKent StateDLGr.Brock TaylorUMassOLFr.Abiathar CurryNorthern IllinoisOLRS-Jr.Matt HoferToledoOLRS-Fr.Tyson LeeWestern MichiganDLJr.Lou Groza AwardDom DziobanMiami (OH)PKRS-Sr.Ray Guy AwardJohn HendersonBowling GreenPJr.Jet Award none
Walter Camp AwardAl-Jay HendersonBuffaloRB Sr.Parker NavarroOhioQBGr.Dequan FinnMiami (OH)QBSr.Doak Walker Award noneRB Patrick Mannelly Award noneLS Biletnikoff Award Junior Vandeross IIIToledoWRJr.Davey O'Brien AwardParker NavarroOhioQBGr.Tucker GleasonToledoSr.John Mackey AwardBlake BosmaWestern MichiganTERS-Sr.Mason WilliamsOhioRS-So.Rimington Trophy noneC Bednarik AwardRed MurdockBuffaloLBGr.Kobe Stewart DERS-Sr.DJ WalkerOhioSRS-So.Avery SmithToledoCBSr.Rotary Lombardi AwardJordan KwiatkowskiCentral MichiganLBSr.Kobe Stewart Buffalo DERS-Sr.Manning AwardTucker GleasonToledoQBSr.Parker NavarroOhioGr.Polynesian College Football Player Of The Year Award noneJohnny Unitas Golden Arm AwardTucker GleasonToledoQBSr.Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award none
Coaches
Coaching changes The MAC entered the 2025 season with six head coaching changes from 2024.
Ball State Ball State head coach Mike Neu was fired on November 16 with two games remaining in the 2024 season. Neu had 40 wins and 63 losses in nine seasons. He won the MAC Championship in 2020 It was his only winning season. Colin Johnson succeeded him as interim head coach. On December 4, Ball State named Butler head coach Mike Uremovich as the new head coach.
Bowling Green On February 28, 2025, Scot Loeffler resigned from the head coach position to become the quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL. On March 9, Bowling Green named Tennessee State head coach Eddie George as the new head coach for 2025.
Central Michigan Central Michigan head coach Jim McElwain announced on November 20 that he would retire at the end of the 2024 season He retired with a 33–36 at the school. On December 9, 2024, Army assistant coach Matt Drinkall was hired as the next head coach.
Kent State
On March 27, 2025, Kent State placed Kenni Burns on administrative leave with offensive coordinator Mark Carney taking over day-to-day operations. Burns was fired on April 11 after an undisclosed investigation and named Carney as interim head coach for the 2025 season. Burns overall record at Kent State was 1–23. On October 30, Carney was promoted to permanent head coach.
Ohio On December 7, 2024 Ohio head coach Tim Albin resigned after winning the 2024 MAC Football Championship Game to become the head coach at Charlotte Albin exited the team bus on the way back to campus to accept the position. Associate Head Coach Brian Smith was named the interim head coach for the 2024 Cure Bowl. Ohio named him the permanent head coach on December 18.
UMass On November 18, 2024, Don Brown was fired after a 2–8 record to start the season and a 6–28 overall record. This was his second stint at the school. During that stint the Minutemen had a record of 6–28. On December 4, 2024, they hired Joe Harasymiak as the new head coach.
Head coaching records Team Head coach Previous Job Years at school Record at school MAC record MAC titles Akron Joe Moorhead Oregon (offensive coordinator) 3 0 Ball State Mike Uremovich Butler 1 0 Bowling Green Eddie George Tennessee State 1 0 Buffalo Pete Lembo South Carolina (associate head coach/special teams coordinator) 2 0 Central Michigan Matt Drinkall Army (OL coach) 1 0 Eastern Michigan Chris Creighton Drake 12 0 Kent State Mark Carney† Kent State (offensive coordinator) 1 0 Miami (OH) Chuck Martin Notre Dame (offensive coordinator/QB coach) 11 2 Northern Illinois Thomas Hammock Baltimore Ravens (running backs coach) 7 1 Ohio Brian Smith Ohio (associate head coach/offensive coordinator) 1 0 Toledo Jason Candle Toledo (offensive coordinator) 10 2 UMass Joe Harasymiak Rutgers (defensive coordinator) 1 0 Western Michigan Lance Taylor Louisville (offensive coordinator) 3 0 Source -
†Interim Coach
Rankings
Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 Final Akron AP C CFP Not released Ball State AP C CFP Not released Bowling Green AP C CFP Not released Buffalo AP C RV NR CFP Not released Central Michigan AP C CFP Not released Eastern Michigan AP C CFP Not released Kent State AP C CFP Not released Miami (OH) AP C CFP Not released Northern Illinois AP C CFP Not released Ohio AP C CFP Not released Toledo AP RV NR C CFP Not released UMass AP C CFP Not released Western Michigan AP RV RVC RV RV CFP Not released
+ Legend Improvement in ranking Drop in ranking Not ranked previous week No change in ranking from previous week RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol Source:
AP -
Coaches -
CFP -
Schedule
Index to colors and formattingMAC member wonMAC member lostMAC teams in bold All times Eastern time.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
MAC Conference Championship Game
Postseason
Bowl Games
Legend MAC win MAC loss
Bowl game Date SiteTVTime (EST)MAC teamOpponent Result AttendanceMyrtle Beach Dec 19 Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC ESPN 11:00 a.m. Western Michigan Kennesaw StW 41–69,139Boca RatonDec 23Flagler Credit Union Stadium • Boca Raton, FLESPN2:00 p.m.ToledoLouisvilleL 22–2715,329FriscoDec 23 Ford Center at The Star • Frisco, TXESPN9:00 p.m.OhioUNLVW 17–106,521GameAbove Sports Dec 26Ford Field • Detroit, MI ESPN1:00 p.m.Central MichiganNorthwesternL 7–3427,857ArizonaDec 27Casino Del Sol Stadium • Tucson, AZCW4:30 p.m.Miami (OH)Fresno StateL 3-1837,232
MAC records vs. other conferences 2025–2026 records against non-conference foes, including bowl games:
Regular season & bowls Power Four ConferencesRecordACC0–4Big 121–2Big Ten0–13Notre Dame0–0SEC 0–6Power 5 Total1–25Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican 0–3CUSA 3–0Independents (Excluding Notre Dame) 0–2Mountain West 2–4Pac-120–1Sun Belt 1–2Other FBS Total 6–12FCS OpponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision 11–2Total Non-Conference Record 18–39
Mid-American vs Power 4 matchups This is a list of regular season games the MAC has scheduled versus power conference teams (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Notre Dame and SEC). All rankings are from the current AP Poll at the time of the game.