2026 Mid-American Conference football season

2026 Mid-American Conference football season
LeagueNCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
SportFootball
DurationSeptember 3 – December 5
Teams13
Regular season
MAC Championship Game
DateDecember 5, 2026
VenueFord Field, Detroit, Michigan
2026 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Akron   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Ball State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Bowling Green   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Buffalo   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Central Michigan   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Eastern Michigan   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Kent State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Miami (OH)   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Ohio   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Sacramento State*   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Toledo   0 – 0     0 – 0  
UMass   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Western Michigan   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Championship: December 5, 2026
  • * – Sacramento State is ineligible for postseason play due to FCS-to-FBS transition rules
As of March 21, 2026
Rankings from AP poll

The 2026 Mid-American Conference football season will be the 81st season for the Mid-American Conference (MAC), as part of the 2026 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Non-conference play will begin on September 3.[1] Conference play will begin on October 3 and conclude with the MAC championship game on December 5 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.[2] For the third straight season, the MAC will not have divisions. The Championship game will feature the two teams with the best conference records.[3] This will be the first season without Northern Illinois since 1997 as it joined the Mountain West Conference for football.[4] On February 14, 2026, the conference announced that Sacramento State would transition from FCS to FBS and begin play in the MAC in 2026.[5]

Coaches

Coaching changes

The MAC will enter the 2026 season with four head coaching changes from the start of the 2025 season.

Kent State

On October 30, 2025, Mark Carney, who had been the interim head coach for most of the 2024 season, was promoted to permanent head coach.[6][7]

Ohio

On December 1, 2025, Ohio University announced that head coach Brian Smith was on indefinite leave.[8] Defensive coordinator John Hauser has been named the interim head coach.[9] On December 16, the University terminated Smith for cause.[10] Hauser was named full-time head coach three days after winning the Frisco Bowl on December 26.[11]

Sacramento State

Brennan Marion left after one 7–5 season with the Hornets to accept the offensive coordinator position at Colorado[12] On December 15, 2025, Alonzo Carter was named the new head coach.[13]

Toledo

On December 6, 2025, Rocket head coach Jason Candle accepted head coach position at the University of Connecticut.[14] Mercer head coach Mike Jacobs was named head football coach by the on December 10, 2025.[15][16]

Head coaching records

Team Head coach Previous Job Years at school Record at school MAC record MAC titles
Akron Joe Moorhead Oregon (offensive coordinator) 4 13–35 (.271) 9–23 (.281) 0
Ball State Mike Uremovich Butler 2 4–8 (.333) 3–5 (.375) 0
Bowling Green Eddie George Tennessee State 2 4–8 (.333) 2–6 (.250) 0
Buffalo Pete Lembo South Carolina (associate head coach/special teams coordinator) 3 14–11 (.560) 10–6 (.625) 0
Central Michigan Matt Drinkall Army (OL coach) 2 7–6 (.538) 5–3 (.625) 0
Eastern Michigan Chris Creighton Drake 13 61–83 (.424) 36–58 (.383) 0
Kent State Mark Carney Kent State (offensive coordinator) 2 5–7 (.417) 4–4 (.500) 0
Miami (OH) Chuck Martin Notre Dame (offensive coordinator/QB coach) 12 72–74 (.493) 57–34 (.626) 2
Ohio John Hauser Ohio (associate head coach/defensive coordinator) 1 1–0 (1.000) 0–0 (–) 0
Sacramento State Alonzo Carter Arizona (associate head coach/RB coach) 1 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0
Toledo Mike Jacobs Mercer 1 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0
UMass Joe Harasymiak Rutgers (defensive coordinator) 2 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0
Western Michigan Lance Taylor Louisville (offensive coordinator) 4 20–19 (.513) 15–9 (.625) 1

Source - [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]

Rankings

  Pre Wk
1		 Wk
2		 Wk
3		 Wk
4		 Wk
5		 Wk
6		 Wk
7		 Wk
8		 Wk
9		 Wk
10		 Wk
11		 Wk
12		 Wk
13		 Wk
14		 Wk
15		 Final
Akron AP
C
CFP Not released
Ball State AP
C
CFP Not released
Bowling Green AP
C
CFP Not released
Buffalo AP
C
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
Ohio AP
C
CFP Not released
Sacramento State AP
C
CFP Not released
Toledo AP
C
CFP Not released
UMass AP
C
CFP Not released
Western Michigan AP
C
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:[30]

References

  1. ^ "MAC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE". fbsschedules.com. FBS Schedules. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  2. ^ "2025 DETROIT SPORTS CALENDAR". detroitsports.org. Detroit Sports Commission. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
  3. ^ Ramsey, Jared (November 30, 2023). "MAC to replace divisions with new system for 2024". sports.yahoo.com. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  4. ^ "Northern Illinois Becomes Football-Only Member of Mountain West, Leaving MAC". USA Today. Field Level Media. January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  5. ^ Thamel, Pete (February 14, 2026). "MAC adds Sacramento State as football-only member in 2026". ESPN. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  6. ^ "Kent State Removes Interim Tag, Names Mark Carney as 24th Head Football Coach". Kent State Golden Flashes. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  7. ^ Vannini, Chris (March 27, 2025). "Kent State places coach Kenni Burns on administrative leave". The Athletic. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  8. ^ Mentz, Zach (December 3, 2025). "Ohio Bobcats football coach placed on indefinite leave". Clevelhand Plain Dealer. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  9. ^ Schmidt, Lori (December 3, 2025). "Ohio promotes John Hauser to head coach as Brian Smith goes on leave". Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  10. ^ Aulbach, Dan (December 17, 2025). "Ohio University fires head football coach Brian Smith for cause". Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  11. ^ McDaniel, Mike (December 26, 2025). "Ohio to Promote Defensive Coordinator John Hauser to Head Coach". Sports Illustrates. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  12. ^ Miller, Jared (December 6, 2025). "Marion Leaves Sac State after One Season as Drama Keeps Growing for Independent-Bound Hornets". SB Nation. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  13. ^ "Sacramento State Names Alonzo Carter as Head Football Coach". Sacramento State Hornets. December 15, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  14. ^ "Sources: UConn, Toledo's Candle finalizing deal". ESPN.com. December 6, 2025. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  15. ^ "Toledo has hired Mercer's Mike Jacobs as head coach". collegesportswire.usatoday.com. December 10, 2025. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  16. ^ "Sources: Mike Jacobs Named Head Football Coach at Toledo".
  17. ^ "Joe Moorhead". Sports Reference.
  18. ^ "Mike Uremovich". Sports Reference.
  19. ^ "Eddie George". Sports Reference.
  20. ^ "Pete Lembo". Sports Reference.
  21. ^ "Matt Drinkall". Sports Reference.
  22. ^ "Chris Creighton". Sports Reference.
  23. ^ "Mark Carney". Sports Reference.
  24. ^ "Chuck Martin". Sports Reference.
  25. ^ "John Hauser". Sports Reference.
  26. ^ "Alonzo Carter". Sports Reference.
  27. ^ "Mike Jacobs". Sports Reference.
  28. ^ "Joe Harasymiak". Sports Reference.
  29. ^ "Lance Taylor". Sports Reference.
  30. ^ "College Football Rankings". ESPN.
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