2020 Mid-American Conference football season
The 2020 Mid-American Conference football season was the 75th season for the Mid-American Conference (MAC), as part of the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
| 2020 Mid-American Conference football season | |
|---|---|
| League | NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision |
| Sport | Football |
| Duration | November 4 - December 18 |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | Jaret Patterson |
| East Division champions | Buffalo |
| West Division champions | Ball State |
| MAC Championship Game | |
| Champions | Ball State |
| Runners-up | Buffalo |
| Finals MVP | Drew Plitt & Jimmy Daw, Ball State |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 25 Buffalo xy | 5 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kent State | 3 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio | 2 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami (OH) | 2 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Akron | 1 | – | 5 | 1 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling Green | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 23 Ball State xy$ | 5 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Michigan | 4 | – | 2 | 4 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Toledo | 4 | – | 2 | 4 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Michigan | 3 | – | 3 | 3 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Michigan | 2 | – | 4 | 2 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Illinois | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: Ball State 38, Buffalo 28 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The provisional schedule was released on February 26, 2020, with a regular season between September 3 and November 28, 2020, and the MAC Championship Game on December 5, 2020. On August 8, 2020, the MAC announced that all fall sports had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with plans to attempt play in Spring 2021. Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher stated that "there are simply too many unknowns to put our student-athletes into situations that are not clearly understood." It was reported that the NIU Huskies — the conference's most successful team — were instrumental in pushing for a full cancellation of the season, and had also suggested the possibility of opting out if the MAC did decide to play. Concerns were also raised over the budgetary impacts of health protocols such as testing, especially with the cancellation of all but five games against Power Five conference opponents (which often serve as a major revenue source) due to restrictions to in-conference play only. The MAC became the first FBS conference to cancel the 2020 season entirely due to COVID-19. On September 24, 2020, The MAC voted unanimously to resume the fall football season. the six-game conference-only schedule will begin on Wednesday, Nov. 4 with a full slate of games. The regular season will conclude with the East Division & West Division Champions playing in the MAC Championship Game on Friday, Dec. 18 at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich The Conference will implement a COVID-19 testing program requiring four antigen tests per week with all positive tests needing confirmation with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Any student athlete with a positive test will enter a cardiac screening protocol. The MAC's approved COVID-19 testing protocols, including four tests per week, will begin Monday, October 5. On October 7 the MAC released the new 2020 Football schedule.