MAC Announces Football Division Realignment

CLEVELAND – On Wednesday, the Mid-American Conference announced its football division realignment for 2012 and beyond.  Newest member UMass will join the East Division and Bowling Green will move to the West, giving each division seven teams.

Each team will play every opponent in its division (6 games) along with two cross-division games per season.  As a result, Kent State will continue its annual rivalries with Akron, Ohio, Miami and Temple and will battle Buffalo for the first time since 2009.  The Golden Flashes will also be taking on UMass for the first time in program history.  The Minutemen have made three FCS national title game appearances.

"UMass has always had a very strong program and we know they will challenge us right away," Head Coach Darrell Hazell said.  "We look forward to playing out there, which should help our recruiting on the East Coast."

The Flashes 2012 conference schedule will include home games against Akron, Ohio, Temple and Western Michigan, with dates to be announced.  The road slate pits Kent State against Miami, UMass, Buffalo and Eastern Michigan.

"We get three bowl teams at home and I like our road schedule," Hazell said.  "And we really look forward to being able to play all of the teams in the East."

The conference office will announce dates for the 2012 regular season by the first week of March.

In non-conference play, Kent State will host Towson (Aug. 30) and will play road games at Army, Rutgers and Kentucky.

The Golden Flashes won 4-of-5 games to close out the 2011 season and will announce its incoming class on Feb. 1, during National Signing Day.

The divisional alignment was a unanimous vote by the MAC Council of Presidents, as recommended by the Council of Director of Athletics.  Division alignment in other MAC sports will not change.  This will be the first time since 2006 that the MAC will have balanced divisional schedules.  

"Ever since our announcement of the addition of UMass in football last spring, divisional alignment has been a topic of conversation among our Presidents and Directors of Athletics," said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, MAC Commissioner.  "We considered a number of different paradigms and ultimately we focused on the core principles of geography, travel and rivalries.  We now have a true rotational cycle for football and a scheduling model that will extend for future years."

Football season tickets go on sale Feb. 1.  Kent State's Spring Game is set for April 21.

West                                        East

Ball State                                 Akron

Bowling Green                         Buffalo

Central Michigan                      Kent State

Eastern Michigan                     UMass

Northern Illinois                       Miami

Toledo                                      Ohio

Western Michigan                    Temple