The Big Ten. The ACC. Conference USA. Mountain West.

Of the 13 different conferences in the NCAA Divison 1A, all of Kent State’s varsity teams belong to the Mid-American Conference.

Dubbed the MAC, the conference is in its 58th year and is the fourth largest Division 1A conference according to undergraduate population and the third largest by total enrollment.

The MAC has 12 member schools and five affiliate member schools.

The MAC East division includes Kent State, Kent’s main rival Akron, Miami, Buffalo and Ohio . The MAC West members are Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo and Western Michigan.

At Kent State, the men’s baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, track and wrestling teams belong to the MAC. The women’s teams are basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, track and volleyball.

Kent State boasts some of the best teams in the MAC. In the 2004-2005 season alone, several teams made it to the MAC finals.

The women’s gymnastics team won its first MAC Championship in four years. Field hockey and women’s basketball were both defeated in the MAC tournament finals to close each team’s respective seasons.

Many Kent State athletes were named to All-MAC teams, including junior baseball players Kurt Eichorn and Joe Tucker, who were named to the 2005 All-MAC Second Team, and softball players Abby Molnar, a senior outfielder, and Brittney Robinson, a sophomore pitcher, who were named to the 2005 Academic All-MAC softball team.

The Kent State and the MAC also boast successful alumni. Former Flash Ben Curtis won the British Open in 2003 and several alums have been drafted to professional sports, including Major League Baseball.

Contact general assignment reporter Kali Price at [email protected].