Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
| Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference Basketball Championship | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Conference | Mid-American Conference |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse |
| Current location | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Played | 1982–present |
| Last contest | 2021 |
| Current champion | |
| Most championships | Bowling Green Falcons (11) |
| Official website | getsomemaction.com – Women's Basketball |
The Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament is the postseason single-elimination tournament for the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference (MAC). The winner of the tournament receives the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament. As of the next MAC tournament in 2021, the top eight teams in conference play will qualify for the tournament.[1]
Format[]
On May 12, 2020, the MAC announced a series of changes to its competitive format in multiple sports in response to fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic; these changes took effect in the 2020–21 school year and will remain in place through at least 2023–24. With respect to men's and women's basketball, the MAC abandoned its divisional format for a single league table, increased the conference schedule from 18 to 20 games, and reduced the conference tournament field to 8. All qualifying teams will continue to play at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, and the men's and women's tournaments will continue to run concurrently.[1]
Through the 2020 edition, canceled in progress due to COVID-19, the tournament involved all 12 conference members. In 2019 and 2020, the top four seeds received byes into the quarterfinals; all other teams started play in the first round at campus sites. The survivors of these games joined the top four seeds in Cleveland for the remainder of the tournament. This structure was used in the MAC men's tournament from 2016 to 2020.
From 2012 to 2018, the No. 1 and 2 seeds earned a "double-bye" to the semifinals, with the No. 3 and 4 seeds beginning tournament play in the quarterfinals. Teams seeded 5–12 had to play an additional two rounds, beginning with campus-site games in the first round. All other games were at the venue now known as Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, which has served as the regular host for the men's tournament since 2000. When the MAC adopted this format, it abandoned a former practice of awarding the top two seeds to its divisional winners. Teams were (and still are) seeded based on conference record, regardless of their place in their division — though no division champion was seeded lower than fourth.[2]
In the previous tournament format, teams were seeded per division by conference record using a series of specified tiebreakers when necessary. The top two seeds in each division received byes into the quarterfinals.
Yearly results[]
| Year | Champion | Score | Runner-up | Most Valuable Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Miami (1) | 58–56 | Northern Illinois (3) | none |
| 1983 | Central Michigan (3) | 78–73 | Miami (1) | none |
| 1984 | Central Michigan (1) | 71–65 | Toledo (3) | , Central Michigan |
| 1985 | Western Michigan (2) | 73–63 | Central Michigan (1) | , Western Michigan |
| 1986 | Ohio (1) | 92–85 OT | Central Michigan (3) | , Ohio |
| 1987 | Bowling Green (1) | 63–62 | Central Michigan (2) | , Bowling Green |
| 1988 | Bowling Green (1) | 70–53 | Western Michigan (2) | , Bowling Green |
| 1989 | Bowling Green (1) | 90–51 | Toledo (2) | , Bowling Green |
| 1990 | Bowling Green (3) | 84–63 | Miami (1) | , Bowling Green |
| 1991 | Toledo (1) | 93–66 | Central Michigan (2) | , Toledo |
| 1992 | Toledo (1) | 78–57 | Kent State (3) | Dana Drew, Toledo |
| 1993 | Bowling Green (1) | 96–68 | Kent State (3) | , Bowling Green |
| 1994 | Bowling Green (1) | 74–63 | Toledo (2) | , Bowling Green |
| 1995 | Toledo (2) | 79–65 OT | Miami (4) | , Toledo Dana Drew, Toledo |
| 1996 | Toledo (2) | 73–66 | Kent State (1) | , Toledo |
| 1997 | Toledo (1) | 88–64 | Kent State (2) | Mimi Olson, Toledo |
| 1998 | Kent State (1) | 64–56 | Toledo (3) | , Kent State |
| 1999 | Toledo (1) | 65–50 | Kent State (2) | , Toledo |
| 2000 | Kent State (1) | 74–60 | Toledo (3) | , Kent State |
| 2001 | Toledo (1) | 74–65 OT | Kent State (2) | , Toledo |
| 2002 | Kent State (1) | 73–59 | Ball State (2) | , Kent State |
| 2003 | Western Michigan (4) | 81–76 | Ball State (3) | , Western Michigan |
| 2004 | Eastern Michigan (2) | 65–56 | Bowling Green (4) | , Eastern Michigan |
| 2005 | Bowling Green (1) | 81–75 | Kent State (2) | , Bowling Green |
| 2006 | Bowling Green (1E) | 64–38 | Kent State (2E) | , Bowling Green |
| 2007 | Bowling Green (1E) | 67–53 | Ball State (1W) | , Bowling Green |
| 2008 | Miami (2E) | 67–56 | Ohio (3E) | Amanda Jackson, Miami |
| 2009 | Ball State | 55–51 | Bowling Green | |
| Bowling Green | 62–53 | Toledo | Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green | |
| Bowling Green | 51–46 | Eastern Michigan | ||
| Eastern Michigan | 72–71 | Central Michigan | Tavelyn James, Eastern Michigan | |
| Central Michigan | 86–68 | Akron | Crystal Bradford, Central Michigan | |
| 2014 | Akron (3) | 79–68 | Ball State (5) | Rachel Tecca, Akron |
| 2015 | Ohio (1) | 76–64 | Eastern Michigan (6) | |
| 2016 | Buffalo (8) | 73–71 OT | Central Michigan (2) | Stephanie Reid, Buffalo |
| 2017 | Toledo (6) | 82–71 | Northern Illinois (4) | Mikaela Boyd, Toledo |
| 2018 | Central Michigan (1) | 96–91 | Buffalo (2) | Reyna Frost, Central Michigan |
| 2019 | Buffalo (4) | 77–61 | Ohio (2) | Cierra Dillard, Buffalo |
| 2020 | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2021 | Central Michigan (2) | 77–72 | Bowling Green (1) | Micaela Kelly, Central Michigan |
| 2022 | TBD | – | TBD | TBD |
Performance by school[]
| Club | Winners | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|
| Bowling Green | 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011 | |
| Toledo | 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2017 | |
| Central Michigan | 1983, 1984, 2013, 2018, 2021 | |
| Kent State | 1998, 2000, 2002 | |
| Miami | 1982, 2008 | |
| Western Michigan | 1985, 2003 | |
| Eastern Michigan | 2004, 2012 | |
| Ohio | 1986, 2015 | |
| Buffalo | 2016, 2019 | |
| Ball State | 2009 | |
| Akron | 2014 |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ a b Strack, Jordan (May 12, 2020). "Major changes coming to Mid-American Conference". Toledo, OH: WTOL. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
- ^ "MAC changes its basketball tournament format, adds emphasis to regular season and protects teams with NCAA tournament at-large chances". 18 August 2011.
- Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament