| Marathon MAC Football Championship | |
|---|---|
| Conference Football Championship | |
| 2011 MAC Championship Game logo | |
| Sport | College football |
| Conference | Mid-American Conference |
| Current stadium | Ford Field |
| Current location | Detroit, Michigan |
| Played | 1997–present |
| Last contest | 2011 MAC Championship Game |
| Current champion | Northern Illinois Huskies |
| Most championships | Marshall Thundering Herd (5) |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN2 |
| Official website | MAC-Sports.com football |
| Sponsors | |
| Marathon Petroleum (2003-present) | |
| Host stadiums | |
| Joan C. Edwards Stadium (1997–2000, 2002) Glass Bowl (2001) Doyt Perry Stadium (2003) Ford Field (2004–present) |
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| Host locations | |
| Huntington, West Virginia (1997–2000, 2002) Toledo, Ohio (2001) Bowling Green, Ohio (2003) Detroit, Michigan (2004–present) |
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The Marathon MAC Football Championship is a football game between the winners of the East and West divisions of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) to determine the conference champion. The game has been played since 1997, when the conference was first divided into divisions and since 2003 has been sponsored by Marathon Oil. The winner of the game is guaranteed a berth in a bowl game which the MAC has contractual obligations to field a team. Since 2004, the championship game is played at Ford Field in Detroit. Previously the game was held at campus sites.
In 2007, due to an unbalanced conference schedule, the team with best division record within each division was awarded that division's championship game berth. The only other year this was done was in 2000. In other years, the teams with the best overall conference records received a berth.
Rankings reflect last AP poll prior to game being played. Winner in bold.
| From 1997 through 2003, the championship game was played at campus sites (listed in italics). | ||||||||
| Year | East | Score | West | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Marshall | 34 | Toledo | 14 | ||||
| 1998 | Marshall | 23 | Toledo | 17 | ||||
| 1999 | #11 Marshall | 34 | Western Michigan | 30 | ||||
| 2000 | Marshall | 19 | Western Michigan | 14 | ||||
| 2001 | #20 Marshall | 36 | Toledo | 41 | ||||
| 2002 | Marshall | 49 | Toledo | 45 | ||||
| 2003 | #13 Miami | 49 | #20 Bowling Green | 27 | ||||
| Since 2004, the game has been played at Ford Field in Detroit. | ||||||||
| Year | East | Score | West | Score | ||||
| 2004 | Miami | 27 | Toledo | 35 | ||||
| 2005 | Akron | 31 | Northern Illinois | 30 | ||||
| 2006 | Ohio | 10 | Central Michigan | 31 | ||||
| 2007 | Miami | 10 | Central Michigan | 35 | ||||
| 2008 | Buffalo | 42 | #12 Ball State | 24 | ||||
| 2009 | Ohio | 10 | Central Michigan | 20 | ||||
| 2010 | Miami | 26 | #24 Northern Illinois | 21 | ||||
| 2011 | Ohio | 20 | Northern Illinois | 23 | ||||
| Appearances | School | W | L | Pct | Years appeared | Years won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Marshall | 5 | 1 | .833 | 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 | 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002 |
| 5 | Toledo | 2 | 3 | .400 | 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004 | 2001, 2004 |
| 4 | Miami | 2 | 2 | .500 | 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010 | 2003, 2010 |
| 3 | Central Michigan | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 2006, 2007, 2009 | 2006, 2007, 2009 |
| 3 | Northern Illinois | 1 | 2 | .333 | 2005, 2010, 2011 | 2011 |
| 3 | Ohio | 0 | 3 | .000 | 2006, 2009, 2011 | – |
| 2 | Western Michigan | 0 | 2 | .000 | 1999, 2000 | – |
| 1 | Akron | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2005 | 2005 |
| 1 | Buffalo | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2008 | 2008 |
| 1 | Ball State | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2008 | – |
| 1 | Bowling Green | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2003 | – |
| 0 | Central Florida | 0 | 0 | — | – | – |
| 0 | Eastern Michigan | 0 | 0 | — | – | – |
| 0 | Kent State | 0 | 0 | — | – | – |
| 0 | Temple | 0 | 0 | — | – | – |
Current conference members in bold
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