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]
| 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 | 2024 |
| Current champion | Kent State Golden Flashes |
| Most championships | Bowling Green Falcons (11) |
| Official website | getsomemaction.com – Women's Basketball |
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.
Starting in 2021 only the top eight teams qualify and the entire tournament has been played in Cleveland.[3]
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) | Latanga Cox, Central Michigan |
| 1985 | Western Michigan (2) | 73–63 | Central Michigan (1) | Tracy Wells, Western Michigan |
| 1986 | Ohio (1) | 92–85 OT | Central Michigan (3) | Caroline Mast, Ohio |
| 1987 | Bowling Green (1) | 63–62 | Central Michigan (2) | Stephanie Coe, Bowling Green |
| 1988 | Bowling Green (1) | 70–53 | Western Michigan (2) | Jackie Motycka, Bowling Green |
| 1989 | Bowling Green (1) | 90–51 | Toledo (2) | Paulette Backstrom, Bowling Green |
| 1990 | Bowling Green (3) | 84–63 | Miami (1) | Angie Bonner, Bowling Green |
| 1991 | Toledo (1) | 93–66 | Central Michigan (2) | Dana Drew, Toledo |
| 1992 | Toledo (1) | 78–57 | Kent State (3) | Dana Drew, Toledo |
| 1993 | Bowling Green (1) | 96–68 | Kent State (3) | Lori Albers, Bowling Green |
| 1994 | Bowling Green (1) | 74–63 | Toledo (2) | Michelle Shade, Bowling Green |
| 1995 | Toledo (2) | 79–65 OT | Miami (4) | Angela Drake, Toledo Dana Drew, Toledo |
| 1996 | Toledo (2) | 73–66 | Kent State (1) | Mimi Olson, Toledo |
| 1997 | Toledo (1) | 88–64 | Kent State (2) | Mimi Olson, Toledo |
| 1998 | Kent State (1) | 64–56 | Toledo (3) | Dawn Zerman, Kent State |
| 1999 | Toledo (1) | 65–50 | Kent State (2) | Kim Knuth, Toledo |
| 2000 | Kent State (1) | 74–60 | Toledo (3) | Julie Studer, Kent State |
| 2001 | Toledo (1) | 74–65 OT | Kent State (2) | Kahli Carter, Toledo |
| 2002 | Kent State (1) | 73–59 | Ball State (2) | Andrea Csaszar, Kent State |
| 2003 | Western Michigan (4) | 81–76 | Ball State (3) | Casey Rost, Western Michigan |
| 2004 | Eastern Michigan (2) | 65–56 | Bowling Green (4) | Ryan Coleman, Eastern Michigan |
| 2005 | Bowling Green (1) | 81–75 | Kent State (2) | Kate Achter, Bowling Green |
| 2006 | Bowling Green (1E) | 64–38 | Kent State (2E) | Ali Mann, Bowling Green |
| 2007 | Bowling Green (1E) | 67–53 | Ball State (1W) | Carin Horne, Bowling Green |
| 2008 | Miami (2E) | 67–56 | Ohio (3E) | Amanda Jackson, Miami |
| 2009 | Ball State | 55–51 | Bowling Green | Tracy Pontius, Bowling Green |
| 2010 | Bowling Green | 62–53 | Toledo | Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green |
| 2011 | Bowling Green | 51–46 | Eastern Michigan | Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green |
| 2012 | Eastern Michigan | 72–71 | Central Michigan | Tavelyn James, Eastern Michigan |
| 2013 | 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) | Kiyanna Black, Ohio |
| 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[5] |
| 2020 | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[6] | |||
| 2021 | Central Michigan (2) | 77–72 | Bowling Green (1) | Micaela Kelly, Central Michigan[7] |
| 2022 | Buffalo (2) | 79–75 | Ball State (5) | Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo[8] |
| 2023 | Toledo (1) | 73–58 | Bowling Green (2) | Quinesha Lockett, Toledo[9] |
| 2024 | Kent State (3) | 78–60 | Buffalo (4) | Shumate Katie, Kent State |
Performance by school
| Club | Winners | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|
| Bowling Green | 11 | 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011 |
| Toledo | 9 | 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2017, 2023 |
| Central Michigan | 5 | 1983, 1984, 2013, 2018, 2021 |
| Kent State | 4 | 1998, 2000, 2002, 2024 |
| Buffalo | 3 | 2016, 2019, 2022 |
| Miami | 2 | 1982, 2008 |
| Western Michigan | 2 | 1985, 2003 |
| Eastern Michigan | 2 | 2004, 2012 |
| Ohio | 2 | 1986, 2015 |
| Ball State | 1 | 2009 |
| Akron | 1 | 2014 |