The Mid-American Conference football awards are given annually by the Mid-American Conference (MAC) at the conclusion of each college football season. The conference gives out a total of five awards, the Offensive, Defensive, and Freshman Players of the Year, the Coach of the Year, and the Vern Smith Leadership Award, which is given to the league's MVP in that season. The Vern Smith Award is selected by a vote of the coaches in the MAC while the remaining awards are selected by the MAC News Media Association.[ref 1]
Offensive Player of the Year
Byron Leftwich is one of the few multiple Offensive POTY award winners. He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009.
Nate Davis led the Ball State Cardinals to an undefeated regular season in 2008, earning him the Offensive POTY award in that year.
Winners
Winners by school
| School (First season) |
Wins |
Years |
| Bowling Green (1952) |
8 |
1971, 1973, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1991, 1992, 2004 |
| Toledo (1952) |
7 |
1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1995 |
| Western Michigan (1948) |
7 |
1976, 1977, 1978, 1988, 2000, 2005, 2014 |
| Central Michigan (1975) |
6 |
1979, 1982, 1990, 1994, 2007, 2009 |
| Northern Illinois (1975) |
6 |
1978, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 |
| Miami (1948) |
5 |
1966, 1972, 1986, 1998, 2003 |
| Ball State (1975) |
4 |
1980, 1989, 1993, 2008 |
| Marshall[note 1] (1954) |
4 |
1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 |
| Ohio (1947) |
3 |
1968, 1981, 1996 |
| Kent State (1951) |
2 |
1965, 1987 |
| Akron (1992) |
0 |
|
| Buffalo (1999) |
0 |
|
| Eastern Michigan (1976) |
0 |
|
| Temple[note 2] (2007) |
0 |
|
| Butler[note 3] (1947) |
0 |
|
| Cincinnati[note 4] (1947) |
0 |
|
| Central Florida[note 5] (2002) |
0 |
|
Defensive Player of the Year
Larry English won the Defensive POTY award in 2008. He also won the Vern Davis award in that same year.
Winners
| Player (X) |
Denotes the number of times the player has won |
| Year* |
Co-Award Winners |
Winners by school
| School (First season) |
Wins |
Years |
| Miami (1948) |
16 |
1968, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2007, 2014 |
| Western Michigan (1948) |
9 |
1965, 1966, 1985, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2011 |
| Ball State (1975) |
6 |
1975, 1978, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1996 |
| Bowling Green (1952) |
4 |
1969, 1993, 1994, 2012 |
| Toledo (1952) |
4 |
1967, 1971, 1976, 1984 |
| Northern Illinois (1975) |
3 |
1979, 1980, 2008 |
| Kent State (1951) |
2 |
1972, 2010 |
| Central Michigan (1975) |
2 |
1982, 2005 |
| Marshall[note 1] (1954) |
2 |
2001, 2004 |
| Buffalo (1999) |
1 |
2013 |
| Akron (1992) |
1 |
2000 |
| Temple[note 2] (2007) |
1 |
2009 |
| Eastern Michigan (1976) |
0 |
|
| Ohio (1947) |
0 |
|
| Butler[note 3] (1947) |
0 |
|
| Cincinnati[note 4] (1947) |
0 |
|
| Central Florida[note 5] (2002) |
0 |
|
Special Teams Player of the Year
Dave Zastudil is one of two two-time award winners. He shared the award with the other two-time winner, Steve Azar.
Justin McCareins, shown here playing for the Tennessee Titans, is one of three Northern Illinois players to win the award.
Scott Secor, 2014 Special Teams Player of the Year award winner.
Winners
| Player (X) |
Denotes the number of times the player has been selected |
| Year* |
Co-award winners |
Winners by school
| School (First season) |
Wins |
Years |
| Northern Illinois (1975) |
4 |
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 |
| Toledo (1952) |
4 |
2005, 2007, 2010, 2013 |
| Ohio (1947) |
3 |
1999, 2001, 2011 |
| Ball State (1975) |
2 |
2006, 2014 |
| Central Michigan (1975) |
2 |
2008, 2009 |
| Kent State (1951) |
1 |
2012 |
| Miami (1948) |
1 |
2004 |
| Western Michigan (1948) |
1 |
1998 |
| Akron (1992) |
0 |
|
| Bowling Green (1952) |
0 |
|
| Buffalo (1999) |
0 |
|
| Eastern Michigan (1976) |
0 |
|
| Temple[note 2] (2007) |
0 |
|
| Butler[note 3] (1947) |
0 |
|
| Cincinnati[note 4] (1947) |
0 |
|
| Marshall[note 1] (1954) |
0 |
|
| Central Florida[note 5] (2002) |
0 |
|
Freshman Player of the Year
Ben Roethlisberger won the Freshman award in 2001. Today, his number 7 is retired at Miami University and he has led the
Pittsburgh Steelers to two
Super Bowl victories.
Tim Hiller, the 2005 winner, was one of NFL.com's Top 5 senior quarterback prospects in 2009.
The Freshman Player of the Year award was first given by the MAC after the 1982 football season. That year's winner, Brian McClure, won a slew of MAC accords, including Offensive Player of the Year three times, and the Vern Smith award twice. Ball State, Central Michigan and Western Michigan are tied with the most awards, with players from each school winning five times.
Winners
Winners by school
| School (First season) |
Wins |
Years |
| Western Michigan (1948) |
8 |
1983, 1989, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Ball State (1975) |
5 |
1987, 1993, 2000, 2004, 2008 |
| Central Michigan (1975) |
5 |
1988, 1995, 2003, 2006, 2007 |
| Kent State (1951) |
4 |
1986, 1991, 1994, 2010 |
| Bowling Green (1952) |
3 |
1982, 1998, 2011 |
| Miami (1948) |
2 |
1992, 2001 |
| Northern Illinois (1975) |
2 |
1984, 1985 |
| Akron (1992) |
1 |
1999 |
| Buffalo (1999) |
1 |
2002 |
| Eastern Michigan (1976) |
1 |
1996 |
| Temple[note 2] (2007) |
1 |
2009 |
| Toledo (1952) |
1 |
1990 |
| Ohio (1947) |
0 |
|
| Butler[note 3] (1947) |
0 |
|
| Cincinnati[note 4] (1947) |
0 |
|
| Marshall[note 1] (1954) |
0 |
|
| Central Florida[note 5] (2002) |
0 |
|
Vern Smith Leadership Award
Garrett Wolfe won the Vern Davis award in 2006 after setting many MAC rushing records.
The Vern Smith Leadership Award was started in 1982 by the Downtown Toledo Athletic Club. In that year, it was known as the Jefferson Award and the name was changed to honor the University of Toledo Athletic Director Vern Smith in 1987.[ref 3] The award is given to the top football player in the Mid-American Conference. Only four players have won the award multiple times, with the most recent winner, Larry English, being the only non-quarterback to win it. Northern Illinois leads with seven awards all-time, followed by Bowling Green, Central Michigan and Marshall tied with four awards in each school. The Vern Smith award is the only one voted on by the coaches, with the Coach of the Year, as well as the Players of the Year are selected by the media.
Winners
| Player (X) |
Denotes the number of times the player has been selected |
| Year* |
Co-Award Winners |
Winners by school
| School (First season) |
Wins |
Years |
| Northern Illinois (1975) |
8 |
1983, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 |
| Central Michigan (1975) |
4 |
1982, 1990, 1994, 2009 |
| Bowling Green (1952) |
4 |
1984, 1985, 1991, 1992 |
| Marshall[note 1] (1954) |
4 |
1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 |
| Ball State (1975) |
3 |
1989, 1993, 1996 |
| Miami (1948) |
3 |
1986, 1998, 2003 |
| Toledo (1952) |
3 |
1995, 2005, 2014 |
| Western Michigan (1948) |
3 |
1988, 2000, 2005 |
| Akron (1992) |
1 |
2004 |
| Kent State (1951) |
1 |
1987 |
| Buffalo (1999) |
0 |
|
| Eastern Michigan (1976) |
0 |
|
| Ohio (1947) |
0 |
|
| Temple[note 2] (2007) |
0 |
|
| Butler[note 3] (1947) |
0 |
|
| Cincinnati[note 4] (1947) |
0 |
|
| Central Florida[note 5] (2002) |
0 |
|
Coach of the Year
Urban Meyer won the award in 2001 with Bowling Green, before coaching at Utah, Florida and Ohio State.
The MAC has awarded a Coach of the Year award every year since 1965. The first award went to Bo Schembechler of Miami University. Only one coach has won the award more than twice, with Frank Lauterbur winning the award in 1967, 1969, and 1970.[ref 4] Only two coaches have won the award beyond their tenth year of coaching. Bill Hess won the award in 1968 in his 11th year of coaching the Ohio Bobcats and Herb Deromedi won the award in 1990, his 13th year of coaching Central Michigan.[ref 5] Also, only one coach, Bill Mallory, has won the award coaching two separate teams. He first earned the award in 1973 while coaching Miami University, and then won ten years later giving Northern Illinois their first Coach of the Year award. Toledo leads all schools with nine awards. Temple won their first award in 2009 when head coach Al Golden won his first MAC Coach of the Year award.[ref 1]
Winners
| Coach (X) |
Denotes the number of times the coach has been selected |
Winners by school
| School (First season) |
Wins |
Years |
| Toledo (1952) |
9 |
1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1871, 1984, 1995, 1997 |
| Western Michigan (1948) |
6 |
1966, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2005, 2014 |
| Miami (1948) |
5 |
1965, 1973, 1974, 2003, 2010 |
| Ball State (1975) |
5 |
1975, 1978, 1989, 1993, 2008 |
| Bowling Green (1952) |
5 |
1982, 1985, 1991, 1991, 2001 |
| Central Michigan (1975) |
5 |
1980, 1990, 1994, 1977, 1987 |
| Eastern Michigan (1976) |
3 |
1977, 1987, 2011 |
| Northern Illinois (1975) |
3 |
1983, 2002, 2013 |
| Kent State (1951) |
3 |
1972, 1986, 2012 |
| Ohio (1947) |
3 |
1968, 1996, 2006 |
| Marshall[note 1] (1954) |
2 |
1988, 1999 |
| Akron (1992) |
1 |
2004 |
| Buffalo (1999) |
1 |
2007 |
| Temple[note 2] (2007) |
1 |
2009 |
| Butler[note 3] (1947) |
0 |
|
| Cincinnati[note 4] (1947) |
0 |
|
| Central Florida[note 5] (2002) |
0 |
|
Notes
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References
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| Current teams |
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| Future teams |
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| Championships and awards |
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| Seasons |
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| Overall trophies |
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| Overall media awards |
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| Positional awards |
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| Other national player awards |
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| All-Americans |
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| Head coaching awards |
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| Assistant coaching awards |
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| Conference awards |
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| Division I FCS awards |
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| Other divisions/associations |
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Academic, inspirational,
and versatility awards |
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| Service awards |
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| Regional awards |
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| Halls of fame |
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