The ever-shifting landscape of college football has brought another change, this time in the Mid-American Conference on Thursday.
The MAC will be scrapping its East and West divisions heading into the 2024 season. Instead, the two teams with the best records are guaranteed to meet in the MAC championship game, played annually at Ford Field in Detroit.
As for its schedule, the MAC is adopting a pod system, featuring four groups of three teams, with the opponents in the same pod playing annually and the rest of the conference schedule filled in with teams from other pods.
Central Michigan quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr. (3) runs against Michigan State defensive back Charles Brantley (0) during the first half at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
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“After significant study and discussion, our membership has made the decision to eliminate divisions in football,” MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said in a statement. “A primary goal in our discussions centered around ensuring the scheduling methodology utilized facilitated the best opportunity to put the two best teams into the championship game. The new model will protect rivalries while facilitating a more even rotation of teams through each institution’s schedule.”
According to Chris Vannini of The Athletic, Michigan’s three directional schools — Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan — were placed in the same pod, meaning the in-state rivalries will continue annually. The winner of the round-robin rivalry also receives the Michigan MAC trophy; WMU swept the series this season to claim the trophy from EMU, with CMU reigning in 2021.
The new model also allows for each team to play all 11 conference foes home and away in a three-year span. It is set…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/mac-replace-divisions-system-2024-205544655.html
Author : Detroit Free Press
Publish date : 2023-11-30 20:55:44
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