MAC History

Midwest Athletic Conference Commissioner: Tim Buschur Email
The Midwest Athletic Conference was founded during the 1972-73 school year and began athletic competition in the fall of 1973. The original members of the conference included Ansonia, Bradford, Coldwater, Marion Local, Minster, New Bremen, Parkway and St. Henry. The conference recognized five varsity sports (all boys) at the onset including football, cross country, basketball, track and field, and baseball.

It wasn’t until the next school year that the Ohio High School Athletic Association, as well as the MAC, began to recognize girl’s sports at the varsity level. The MAC added volleyball, basketball, and track and field to their athletic line up. Following the 1977-78 school year, Ansonia and Bradford elected to drop out of the conference, leaving the MAC with just six schools. Beginning in the fall of 1977, Fort Recovery, Mendon-Union, and New Knoxville joined in all varsity sports except for football, as none of the schools fielded a team. Prior to the kickoff of the 1982-83 school year, Delphos St. John’s was invited and accepted membership into the league. In addition that year, girl’s cross country was added as a varsity sport.

Things remained consistent until shortly after the 1991-92 school year, when Mendon-Union schools closed. Boy’s golf was added as a conference sport beginning in 1994, while softball began varsity competition before the start of the 1996-97 season. In the fall of 1995, Fort Recovery officially began their football program as a member of the league.

Before the start of the 1999 fall season, league officials entertained adding Versailles, Sidney Lehman, and Lima Central Catholic to the league. Following a vote, Versailles was the only school accepted, and they began competition in the fall of 2001. Since then, the only notable changes in the conference were adding girl’s golf in 2005 and during the same fall, the Anna Rockets were added for football competition only.

Through the years, the Midwest Athletic Conference has proudly crowned close to 100 state champions in nearly all sports in which it has competed. The conference has also produced many “dynasties” in numerous sports that are recognized for their accomplishments around the state and every year produced many college-level athletes from NCAA Division I to NAIA. Along with tremendous athletes, the conference has also been fortunate to be home to many Ohio Hall of Fame coaches as well as some of the best small-school athletic facilities in the state.

MAC Team State Championships & State Final Four Appearances (1973-Present)

Special thanks to Robb Hemmelgarn for writing this summary of the history of the Midwest Athletic Conference.