History
The five charter members of the Mid-American Conference were Ohio University, Butler University, the University of Cincinnati, Wayne University (now Wayne State University), and Western Reserve University, one of the predecessors to today's Case Western Reserve University. Butler University left after the first year. Miami University and Western Michigan University took the place of those charter members for the 1948 season. The MAC added the University of Toledo (1950), Kent State University (1951), and Bowling Green State University (1952). The University of Cincinnati resigned its membership February 18, 1953, with an effective date of June 1, 1953. Cincinnati's decision was based on a new requirement that at least 5 conference football games would have to be scheduled each season, University President Raymond Walters saying they "...regretfully resign...as the university could not continue under the present setup..."
The membership was steady for the next two decades except for the addition of Marshall University in 1954 and the departure of Western Reserve, which chose to de-emphasize intercollegiate athletics. Marshall was expelled from the conference in 1969 due to NCAA violations. The first major expansion since the 1950s took place in the mid-1970s with the addition of Central Michigan University and Eastern Michigan University in 1972 and Ball State University and Northern Illinois University in 1973. Northern Illinois left after the 1986 season. The University of Akron joined the conference in 1992. The conference became the largest in Division I-A with the re-admittance of Marshall and Northern Illinois and addition of the University at Buffalo's Bulls in 1997 and 1998, respectively. The University of Central Florida joined for football only in 2001, becoming the first football-only member in conference history. Marshall (a second time) and Central Florida would leave after the 2004–2005 academic year, both joining Conference USA in all sports.
In May 2005, the Temple Owls in Philadelphia signed a six-year contract with the MAC as a football-only school and began play in the East Division in 2007.
The Louisville Cardinals were a MAC affiliate for field hockey for a number of years when Louisville was a member of the Metro Conference and Conference USA, winning two MAC tourney titles in 2003 and 2004.
The Missouri State Bears, Evansville Purple Aces, and Southern Illinois Salukis participate in the MAC for men's swimming and diving. In 2012, the West Virginia Mountaineers joined the Florida Atlantic Owls and Hartwick College Hawks as men's soccer affiliates. The Missouri State Bears are also an affiliate for field hockey and the Chicago State Cougars are an affiliate for men's tennis.
The UMass Minutemen joined the MAC as a football-only member in July 2012. Meanwhile, Temple ended its affiliation with the MAC in football and joined the Big East for football in July 2012 (it will switch all of its other sports to the Big East in July 2013 and end its membership in the Atlantic 10 at that time).
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