Cleveland, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced today the addition of the University of Missouri, the University of Northern Iowa and Old Dominion University as affiliate members in the sport of wrestling.
All three universities have joined the MAC with five-year agreements, with Missouri and UNI joining the MAC for the conference tournament only for the 2012-13 season and then participate fully in regular season and tournament action for the next four consecutive years (2013-14 season thru 2016-17 academic season). Old Dominion will join the MAC for the regular season and tournament action in the 2013-14 season through the 2017-18 academic season.
The addition of the three affiliate members will increase the MAC wrestling membership to nine members with Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois and Ohio. With this increase in wrestling membership, the MAC will become the third largest Division I wrestling league in the nation only behind the Big Ten and the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA). This move will also provide the conference extended recruiting opportunities from across the Midwest towards the East Coast into Virginia.
“After significant study and discussion by our member institution’s coaches and administrators the Mid-American Conference has made a move that will take what is already a very strong wrestling conference and make it one of the elite wrestling conferences in the country,” said Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher, Commissioner of the Mid-American Conference. “I am pleased to welcome Missouri, Northern Iowa, and Old Dominion, their student-athletes, coaches and fans to the MAC in the sport of wrestling.”
Last season Kent State won the MAC regular season title and the previous season witnessed a three-way tie for the MAC regular season title between Kent State, Central Michigan and Ohio.
In 2012, the MAC sent 24 wrestlers to the 2012 NCAA Championship Tournament in St. Louis, where MAC Champion Central Michigan finished tied for 13th and Kent State ended 27th in the NCAA Championship standings. The MAC witnessed three wrestlers earn All-American honors as Central Michigan’s Ben Bennett (184 lb.) earned his third, Kent State’s Nic Bedelyon (125 lb.) earned his second and Ohio’s Jeremy Johnson (Hwt.) earned his first All-American honor.
In 2011 the MAC last witnessed an individual national champion when Kent State’s Dustin Kilgore won the 197 lb. National Championship as he pinned Oklahoma State’s Clayton Foster. Kilgore became the eighth MAC wrestler to win a national championship in conference history.
Central Michigan has won the last 11 consecutive MAC Wrestling Championships dating back to the 2002 season. In the last five consecutive years, the MAC has witnessed a program finish in the Top 20 at the NCAA Wrestling Championship and twice had two programs finish in the Top 20 — 2009 (Central Michigan tied-14th; Kent State 18th) and 2011 (Central Michigan tied-13th; Kent State 17th). The last Top Ten finish by the MAC in the NCAA Wrestling Championship was Central Michigan’s seventh place finish in 2008.
