The first three weeks of the 2024 season, the November slate and MAC title game all have confirmed kickoffs and television homes.
College football is roughly three months away, and around this time every season, the season suddenly feels much nearer.
Kickoff times and networks galore released Thursday, May 30, allowing fans to set their schedules for late August and early September. Like most conferences, the MAC finalized the kickoff times and networks for the first three weeks of the 2024 season. The schedule officially launches Thursday, August 29 when four different MAC teams take on an FCS opponent on ESPN+ in primetime.
The MAC will also receive some time under the primetime lights against strong competition in Week 1, with Western Michigan’s Friday night showcase at Wisconsin airing on FS1, Kent State battling Pitt on ESPNU to kick off Saturday’s action, and later that day, Akron walking into the Horsehoe to take on Ohio State on CBS.
Week 2 features Northern Illinois facing Notre Dame on NBC. The Week 3 national TV games include Miami’s annual rivalry game with Cincinnati on ESPNU and Toledo’s primetime bout with Mississippi State on either ESPN2 or ESPNU. Finally, the MAC gets one additional NBC game Week 4, as Miami follows in the Huskies’ footsteps with a trip to Notre Dame.
Outside of the early non-conference matchups, the MAC provided network options and kickoff times for its midweek MACtion slate, which runs for four weeks from Tuesday, November 5 through Tuesday, November 26. The majority of midweek MACtion games will be televised by ESPN2, ESPNU, and CBS Sports Network, as per recent tradition.
The 2024 MAC Championship Game wraps up the pre-bowl festivities on Saturday, Dec. 7 with the ESPN noon ET kickoff slot for the fourth consecutive season.
All unannounced kickoff times and networks (denoted as TBD in italics below) will be revealed within 12 days of the game.
Week 1
Thursday, August 29
- Lafayette (FCS) at Buffalo, 7 pm ET (ESPN+)
- Fordham (FCS) at Bowling Green, 7 pm ET (ESPN+)
- Central Connecticut (FCS) at Central Michigan, 7 pm ET (ESPN+)
- Duquesne (FCS) at Toledo, 7:30 pm ET (ESPN+)
Friday, August 30
- Western Michigan at Wisconsin, 9 pm ET (FS1)
Saturday, August 31
- Kent State at Pitt, 12 pm ET (ESPNU)
- Eastern Michigan at UMass, 3:30 pm ET (ESPN+)
- Western Illinois (FCS) at Northern Illinois, 3:30 pm ET (ESPN+)
- Ohio at Syracuse, 3:30 pm ET (ACC Network)
- Akron at Ohio State, 3:30 pm ET (CBS)
- Miami (OH) at Northwestern, 3:30 pm ET (Big Ten Network)
Week 2
Saturday, September 7
- Akron at Rutgers, 12 pm ET (Big Ten Network)
- Bowling Green at Penn State, 12 pm ET (Big Ten Network)
- Missouri State (FCS) at Ball State, 2 pm ET (ESPN+)
- St. Francis (FCS) at Kent State, 2:30 pm ET (ESPN+)
- UMass at Toledo, 3:30 pm ET (ESPN+)
- Eastern Michigan at Washington, 3:30 pm ET (Big Ten Network)
- Northern Illinois at Notre Dame, 3:30 pm ET (NBC)
- Central Michigan at FIU, 6 pm ET (ESPN+)
- South Alabama at Ohio, 6 pm ET (ESPN+)
- Buffalo at Missouri, 7 pm ET (ESPN+/SEC Network+)
- Western Michigan at Ohio State, 7:30 pm ET (Big Ten Network)
Week 3
Saturday, September 14
- Cincinnati at Miami (OH), 12 pm ET (ESPNU)
- Central Michigan at Illinois, 12 pm ET (Peacock)
- UMass at Buffalo, 1 pm ET (CBS Sports Network)
- Morgan State (FCS) at Ohio, 3:30 pm ET (ESPN+)
- Ball State at Miami (FL), 3:30 pm ET (ACC Network)
- Colgate (FCS) at Akron, 6 pm ET (ESPN+)
- Bethune-Cookman (FCS) at Western Michigan, 6:30 pm ET (ESPN+)
- Jacksonville State at Eastern Michigan, 7 pm ET (ESPN+)
- Toledo at Mississippi State, 7:30 pm ET (ESPN2 or ESPNU)
- Kent State at Tennessee, 7:45 pm ET (SEC Network)
Week 4
Saturday, September 21
- St. Francis (FCS) at Eastern Michigan, 2 pm ET (ESPN+)
- Miami (OH) at Notre Dame, 3:30 pm ET (NBC)
- Toledo at Western Kentucky, TBD
- Ball State at Central Michigan, TBD
- Buffalo at Northern Illinois, TBD
- Akron at South Carolina, TBD
- Bowling Green at Texas A&M, TBD
- Kent State at Penn State, TBD
- Ohio at Kentucky, TBD
Week 5
Saturday, September 28
- Akron at Ohio, TBD
- Eastern Michigan at Kent State, TBD
- Ball State at James Madison, TBD
- Old Dominion at Bowling Green, TBD
- Buffalo at UConn, TBD
- San Diego State at Central Michigan, TBD
- UMass at Miami (OH), TBD
- Northern Illinois at NC State, TBD
- Western Michigan at Marshall, TBD
Week 6
Saturday, October 5
- Bowling Green at Akron, TBD
- Western Michigan at Ball State, TBD
- Miami (OH) at Toledo, TBD
- UMass at Northern Illinois, TBD
Week 7
Saturday, October 12
- Akron at Western Michigan, TBD
- Ball State at Kent State, TBD
- Northern Illinois at Bowling Green, TBD
- Toledo at Buffalo, TBD
- Ohio at Central Michigan, TBD
- Miami (OH) at Eastern Michigan, TBD
Week 8
Saturday, October 19
- Kent State at Bowling Green, TBD
- Western Michigan at Buffalo, TBD
- Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan, TBD
- Ohio at Miami (OH), TBD
- Toledo at Northern Illinois, TBD
- Ball State at Vanderbilt, TBD
Week 9
Saturday, October 26
- Eastern Michigan at Akron, TBD
- Northern Illinois at Ball State, TBD
- Bowling Green at Toledo, TBD
- Buffalo at Ohio, TBD
- Central Michigan at Miami (OH), TBD
- Kent State at Western Michigan, TBD
Week 10
Saturday, November 2
- Buffalo at Akron, TBD
- Toledo at Eastern Michigan, TBD
Week 11
Tuesday, November 5
- Miami (OH) at Ball State, 7:30 pm ET or 8 pm ET (ESPN or ESPN2 or ESPNU)
- Bowling Green at Central Michigan, 7:30 pm ET or 8 pm ET (ESPN or ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Wednesday, November 6
- Ohio at Kent State, 7 pm ET (ESPN2 or ESPNU)
- Northern Illinois at Western Michigan, 7 pm ET (ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Week 12
Tuesday, November 12
- Ball State at Buffalo, 7 pm ET (ESPN2 or ESPNU or CBS Sports Network)
- Western Michigan at Bowling Green, 7 pm ET (ESPN2 or ESPNU or CBS Sports Network)
- Central Michigan at Toledo, 7 pm ET (ESPN2 or ESPNU or CBS Sports Network)
Wednesday, November 13
- Akron at Northern Illinois, 7 pm ET (ESPN2 or ESPNU or CBS Sports Network)
- Eastern Michigan at Ohio, 7 pm ET (ESPN2 or ESPNU or CBS Sports Network)
- Kent State at Miami (OH), 7 pm ET (ESPN2 or ESPNU or CBS Sports Network)
Week 13
Tuesday, November 19
- Akron at Kent State, 7 pm ET or 7:30 pm ET or 8 pm ET (ESPN or ESPN2 or ESPNU or CBS Sports Network)
- Western Michigan at Central Michigan, 7 pm ET or 7:30 pm ET or 8 pm ET (ESPN or ESPN2 or ESPNU or CBS Sports Network)
- Northern Illinois at Miami (OH), 7 pm ET or 7:30 pm ET or 8 pm ET (ESPN or ESPN2 or ESPNU or CBS Sports Network)
Wednesday, November 20
- Buffalo at Eastern Michigan, 7 pm ET (ESPN2 or ESPNU)
- Ohio at Toledo, 7 pm ET (ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Saturday, November 23
- Bowling Green at Ball State, TBD
Week 14
Tuesday, November 26
- Toledo at Akron, 7 pm ET (ESPN2 or ESPN+)
- Kent State at Buffalo, 7 pm ET (ESPN2 or ESPN+)
Friday, November 29
- Ball State at Ohio, 12 pm ET (ESPNU or CBS Sports Network)
- Miami (OH) at Bowling Green, 12 pm ET (ESPNU or CBS Sports Network)
Saturday, November 30
- Central Michigan at Northern Illinois, TBD
- Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan, TBD
Week 15
Saturday, December 7
- 2024 MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit, MI, 12 pm ET (ESPN)
* – denotes non-conference game