Not even reigning champion Miami (OH) mustered up a single vote.
College football season is less than two weeks away, and one sign the arrival is near is the issuance of preseason rankings. The preseason AP Top 25 was released Monday, and as usual, the Mid-American Conference was not represented in the 25.
But sometimes, the reigning MAC champion or another upper-echelon team in the conference will receive a vote or two from one of the 60+ voters. That is not the case in 2024.
The MAC is the only full FBS conference not to register a single vote in the preseason AP Top 25. The only other conference to warrant this unwanted designation is the Pac-12, which consists of just two teams in 2024 — Oregon State and Washington State. The Mountain West (Boise State), Conference USA (Liberty), and Sun Belt (Appalachian State) each saw one of their teams receive votes. All other conferences saw multiple teams earn recognition.
Not even reigning champion and MAC media day poll favorite Miami (OH), with continuity on the coaching staff and a heap of returning production, mustered up a single vote in the poll. Nor did 2023 runner-up Toledo, which spent multiple weeks inside the top 25 last November and December.
Last August, Toledo collected four votes in the preseason AP Poll as the reigning conference champion. Prior to that, the last MAC team to garner votes in the preseason rankings was 2021 Ball State, similarly off the heels of a MAC championship.
No MAC team has cracked the initial AP Top 25 since 2002 Marshall, which checked in at No. 19. The only current MAC member to ever receive preseason consideration in the form of a ranking was 1976 Miami (OH), which landed at No. 20 in the first AP Poll of the year.
Here is the full preseason AP Poll, with only four conferences represented in addition to independent Notre Dame: