Affiliations

Mid-American Conference

The Mid-American Conference was founded as a five-school league on February 24, 1946 in Columbus, OH with Ohio, Butler, Cincinnati, Wayne State and Western Reserve admitted as charter members. The MAC now has 12 full-time schools and a 13th, Temple, for football only. Comprising the East Division is Akron (joined in 1992), Bowling Green (1952), Buffalo (1998), Kent State (1951), Miami University (1947) and Ohio (1946). The West Division members are Ball State (1973), Central Michigan (1971), Eastern Michigan (1971), Northern Illinois (1975-86, 1997), Toledo (1950) and Western Michigan (1947). Affiliate members include Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) in men's tennis and Missouri State University (formerly known as SMS) in field hockey.

In 1946, men's basketball was the first competitive sport in the MAC, which now sponsors a total of 23 sports. Women's sports were brought into the conference's structure in 1980. For men, championships (11) are sponsored in football, basketball, baseball, cross country, soccer, swimming and diving, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, wrestling, golf and tennis. For women, championships (12) are sponsored in basketball, softball, volleyball, cross country, field hockey, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, gymnastics, indoor track and field, outdoor track and tennis.

The 13 current football-member institutions have a total enrollment of better than 280,000, with individual enrollments ranging from 16,000-38,000. The MAC's overall enrollment makes it the fourth-largest conference in the United States. MAC alumni number over 1.7 million. Under the direction of Rick Chryst, the seventh commissioner in the history of the MAC, the conference is presidentially controlled, where all major policy decisions are made by the Council of Presidents, which consists of the chief executive officers of the full member universities. The MAC has been based in Cleveland, OH since July of 1999, following a 15-year stay in Toledo.

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA was founded on December 28, 1905 by 62 members as the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS) in an effort to change the existing football playing rules. The IAAUS was officially constituted on March 31, 1906 and changed its name to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 1910. Since that time, the NCAA has grown into a voluntary association of approximately 1,200 colleges, universities, conferences, organizations and individuals, with more than 600 members coming on board since 1950. It provides its members with a forum in which to speak and act on athletic matters at the national level. The NCAA divided its membership into three competitive divisions in 1973 and began administering women's athletics programs in 1980.

In 1921, the first NCAA national championship was held (the National Collegiate Track and Field Championships). Today, the NCAA administers 88 championships in 23 sports for its member institutions. More than 40,600 student-athletes, both men and women, compete each year for national titles. Championships for men are offered in one or more divisions in baseball, basketball, cross country, football (except in Division I-A), golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor track, outdoor track, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. Women's championships are sponsored in basketball, bowling, cross country, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor track, outdoor track, volleyball and water polo. The NCAA sponsors combined men's and women's national championships in fencing, rifle and skiing.