2026–27 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season
Sports season
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The 2026–27 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season will begin with practices in October 2026, followed by the start of the 2026–27 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play will begin in December 2026 and conclude in March 2027. The 2027 MAC tournament will be held at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio for the 28th consecutive season.[1] It will be the first MAC season without Northern Illinois since 1996–97[2]
| 2025–26 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
| |
| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Teams | 12 |
| Regular season | |
| Tournament | |
| Venue | Rocket Arena, Cleveland, Ohio |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Akron | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ball State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling Green | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buffalo | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Michigan | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Michigan | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kent State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami (OH) | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Toledo | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UMass | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Michigan | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2027 MAC tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Head coaches
Coaching changes
Akron
On March 30, 2026, John Groce accepted the head coach position at the College of Charleston.[3] Associate head coach Dustin Ford was promoted to head coach.[4]
Ball State
On March 7, 2026, Ball State fired coach Michael Lewis after a 12–19 season and a 61–64 overall record in four seasons at the school.[5] In March 2026, Ball State hired SMU associate head coach Chris Capko as the new head coach.[6]
Eastern Michigan
Stan Heath and Eastern Michigan mutually agreed to part ways on March 8, 2026 after a 10–21 season as his contract expired. He was 57–99 in five seasons at the school.[7] On March 17, 2026, Eastern Michigan hired Clemson associate head coach Billy Donlon as the program's 31st head coach.[8]
Western Michigan
Following a 10–21 season, Western Michigan fired Dwayne Stephens on March 10, 2026.[9] He was 42–84 overall in four seasons. on March 23, 2026, Western Michigan hired Kahil Fennell as the new head coach. Fennel was the head coach at UTRGV for the prior two seasons with a 35–29 overall record.[10]
Coaches
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | School record | MAC record | MAC titles | MAC Tournament titles | NCAA tournaments | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | Dustin Ford | Akron (Assoc. HC) | 1 | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ball State | Chris Capko | SMU (Assoc. HC) | 1 | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bowling Green | Todd Simon | Southern Utah | 4 | 179–160 (.528) | 52–46 (.531) | 27–27 (.500) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Buffalo | George Halcovage | Villanova (Assoc. HC) | 4 | 30–64 (.319) | 30–64 (.319) | 13–41 (.241) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Central Michigan | Andy Bronkema | Ferris State | 2 | 288–126 (.696) | 10–21 (.323) | 6–12 (.333) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eastern Michigan | Billy Donlon | Clemson (Assoc. HC) | 1 | 155–133 (.538) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kent State | Rob Senderoff | Kent State (Asst.) | 16 | 312–186 (.627) | 312–186 (.627) | 163–105 (.608) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Miami | Travis Steele | Xavier | 5 | 154–98 (.611) | 84–48 (.636) | 47–25 (.653) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio | Jeff Boals | Stony Brook | 8 | 184–135 (.577) | 129–93 (.581) | 73–51 (.589) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Toledo | Tod Kowalczyk | Green Bay | 17 | 451–323 (.583) | 315–211 (.599) | 177–108 (.621) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UMass | Frank Martin | South Carolina | 5 | 350–260 (.574) | 62–59 (.512) | 7–11 (.389) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Western Michigan | Kahil Fennell | UT Rio Grande Valley | 4 | 35–29 (.547) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
- Appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
- Years at school includes 2026–27 season.
- MAC records are from time at current school only.
- All records are through the beginning of the season.
Source - [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]