2012 Marathon MAC Football Championship Game

 

The 2012 Marathon MAC Football Championship Game will feature the East Division Champion Kent State Golden Flashes against the West Division Champion Northern Illinois Huskies on Friday, Nov. 30 at 7:00 pm ET in front of a national television audience on ESPN2 from Detroit’s Ford Field.  This contest will mark the 16th annual championship game for the MAC and will mark the ninth neutral site game at Ford Field in downtown Detroit, Mich.

 

Northern Illinois clinched the West Division with a 31-24 win over Toledo on Nov. 14 and ended the regular season with a 49-7 win at Eastern Michigan on Nov. 23 to improve to 11-1 overall, 8-0 in the MAC.  The Huskies will be making their third consecutive trip to Detroit as West Division Champions.  Last season, Northern Illinois claimed their first conference football championship in 28 years (since 1983) with a 23-20 win over Ohio.

 

Kent State clinched the East Division with a 31-24 win at Bowling Green on Nov. 17 and concluded the regular season with a 28-6 win over Ohio to improve to 11-1 overall, 8-0 in the MAC.  This is the first MAC East Division Championship for the program as the Flashes are off to the program’s best record in 90 years.  This also marks the first 8-0 team from the MAC East since Miami in 2003.

 

Tickets for the 2012 Marathon MAC Football Championship are available for purchase at Ticketmaster.com, by calling (800) 745-3000 or visiting the Ford Field Box Office located at Gate G between 10 am – 6 pm Monday through Friday.

 

Tickets are priced at $20 (sideline) and $10 (end zone).  Order Tickets.

 

The MAC has long been associated with the Detroit area, and played in its first-ever college football game at Ford Field as Toledo faced Boston College in the 2002 Motor City Bowl. This year’s Marathon MAC Football Championship game marks the conference’s ninth year at Ford Field, and its ninth neutral site championship football game. Ford Field is home to the NFL’s Detroit Lions, and is a premiere sports venue that has hosted many major sporting events, including the 2006 Super Bowl, the 2009 NCAA® Men’s Basketball Final Four® and the upcoming 2010 NCAA® Men’s Frozen Four® in April.

 

Last year’s MAC Championship game witnessed the West Division Champion Northern Illinois Huskies earn the program’s first championship since in 28 years (since 1983) as the Huskies erased a 20-0 halftime deficit and responded with a dramatic 23-20 win over the East Division Champion Ohio Bobcats. Northern Illinois received an invitation to the GoDaddy.com Bowl, where the Huskies defeated Arkansas State, 38-20.  Ohio accepted an invitation to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and defeated Utah State, 24-23.  Northern Illinois and Ohio were part of a collective group of five MAC programs to receive bowl invitations and set the conference record with a 4-1 record in bowl games.

 

2011 Northern Illinois 23, Ohio 20

2010 Miami 26, Northern Illinois 21

2009 Central Michigan 20, Ohio 10 

2008 Buffalo 42, Ball State 24

2007 Central Michigan 35, Miami 10

2006 Central Michigan 31, Ohio 10

2005 Akron 31, Northern Illinois 30

2004 Toledo 35, Miami 27