Mid-American Conference football individual awards
Introduction 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.
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===Source:  Season  Player   Team  Position 1965    Kent State   1966    Miami   1967    Toledo   1968    Ohio  QB 1969    Toledo  QB 1970   (2)  Toledo  QB 1971*   (3)  Toledo  QB 1971*    Bowling Green   1972    Miami   1973    Bowling Green   1974    Toledo   1975   (2)  Toledo   1976    Western Michigan  RB 1977   (2)  Western Michigan  RB 1978*   (3)  Western Michigan  RB 1978*    Northern Illinois   1979    Central Michigan  QB 1980    Ball State   1981    Ohio   1982    Central Michigan   1983    Bowling Green   1984   (2)  Bowling Green   1985   (3)  Bowling Green   1986    Miami  QB 1987    Kent State   1988    Western Michigan  QB 1989    Ball State   1990    Central Michigan   1991    Bowling Green   1992   (2)  Bowling Green   1993    Ball State   1994    Central Michigan   1995    Toledo   1996    Ohio   1997    Marshall  WR 1998    Miami  RB 1999    Marshall  QB 2000    Western Michigan  RB 2001    Marshall  QB 2002   (2)  Marshall  QB 2003    Miami  QB 2004    Bowling Green  QB 2005    Western Michigan  WR 2006    Northern Illinois  RB 2007    Central Michigan  QB 2008    Ball State  QB 2009   (2)  Central Michigan  QB 2010    Northern Illinois  RB 2011   Northern Illinois  QB 2012   Northern Illinois  QB 2013  (2)  Northern Illinois  QB 2014   Western Michigan  RB 2015   Bowling Green  QB 2016  Western Michigan  WR2017Logan WoodsideToledoQB2018Tyree JacksonBuffaloQB2019LeVante BellamyWestern MichiganRB2020Jaret PattersonBuffaloRB2021Lew Nichols IIICentral MichiganRB2022Kurtis RourkeOhioQB2023Peny BooneToledoRB===Winners by school=== School (First season)  Wins  Years Toledo (1952)  9  1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1995, 2017, 2023 Bowling Green (1952)  9  1971, 1973, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1991, 1992, 2004, 2015 Western Michigan (1948)  9  1976, 1977, 1978, 1988, 2000, 2005, 2014, 2016, 2019Northern Illinois (1975)  7  1978, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2021 Central Michigan (1975)  6  1979, 1982, 1990, 1994, 2007, 2009 Miami (1948)  5  1966, 1972, 1986, 1998, 2003 Ball State (1975)  4  1980, 1989, 1993, 2008 Marshall (1954)  4  1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 Ohio (1947)  4  1968, 1981, 1996, 2022 Kent State (1951)  3  1965, 1987, 2021 Buffalo (1999)  2  2018, 2020 Akron (1992)  0    Eastern Michigan (1976)  0   Temple (2007)  0   Butler (1947)  0   Cincinnati (1947)  0   Central Florida(2002)  0   UMass (2011)  0
Defensive Player of the Year Larry English won the Defensive POTY award in 2008.He also won the Vern Smith award in that same year.===Winners===Source: Player (X)  Denotes the number of times the player has won Year*  Co-Award Winners Position Key '''DE'''  Defensive end  '''DT'''  Defensive tackle  '''LB'''  Linebacker  '''S'''  Safety Season  Player  School  Position 1965    Western Michigan   1966   (2)  Western Michigan   1967    Toledo  DL 1968    Miami  LB 1969    Bowling Green  DB 1970 Dick Adams Miami  DB 1971    Toledo   1972    Kent State  LB 1973    Miami  LB 1974   (2)  Miami  LB 1975    Ball State  DB 1976    Toledo   1977    Miami   1978    Ball State   1979    Northern Illinois  LB 1980*    Miami  LB 1980*    Northern Illinois   1981    Miami   1982    Central Michigan  LB 1983    Miami  DT 1984    Toledo  DB 1985    Western Michigan  LB 1986    Western Michigan  DT 1987    Ball State  LB 1988   (2)  Ball State  LB 1989   (3)  Ball State  LB 1990    Western Michigan  LB 1991    Miami  LB 1992   (2)  Miami  LB 1993    Bowling Green  LB 1994   (2)  Bowling Green  LB 1995    Miami  DB 1996    Ball State  P 1997    Miami  LB 1998   (2)  Miami  LB 1999    Miami  LB 2000    Akron  DB 2001  Max Yates  Marshall   LB 2002    Western Michigan  DL 2003   (2)  Western Michigan  DL 2004    Marshall  DL 2005    Central Michigan  DL 2006    Western Michigan  LB 2007    Miami  LB 2008    Northern Illinois  DE 2009    Temple  DE 2010    Kent State  DL 2011    Western Michigan  DT 2012    Bowling Green  DT 2013    Buffalo  LB 2014    Miami  DB 2015    Akron  LB 2016    Ohio  DE 2017    Northern Illinois  DE 2018   (2)  Northern Illinois  DE 2019 Treshaun Hayward Western Michigan LB 2020 Troy Hairston (tie) Central Michigan LB 2020 Brandon Martin (tie) Ball State LB 2021 Ali Fayad Western Michigan DE 2022 Jose Ramirez Eastern Michigan DE 2023 Matt Salopek Miami LB===Winners by school=== School (First season)  Wins  Years Miami (1948)  17  1968, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2007, 2014, 2023 Western Michigan (1948)  11  1965, 1966, 1985, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2011, 2019, 2021 Ball State (1975)  7  1975, 1978, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1996, 2020 Northern Illinois (1975)  5  1979, 1980, 2008, 2017, 2018 Bowling Green (1952)  4  1969, 1993, 1994, 2012 Toledo (1952)  4  1967, 1971, 1976, 1984 Central Michigan (1975)  3  1982, 2005, 2020 Akron (1992)  2  2000, 2015 Kent State (1951)  2  1972, 2010 Marshall (1954)  2  2001, 2004 Buffalo (1999)  1  2013 Ohio (1947)  1  2016 Temple (2007)  1  2009 Eastern Michigan (1976)  1  2022 Butler (1947)  0   Cincinnati (1947)  0   Central Florida (2002)  0   UMass (2011)  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 ===Source: Player (X)  Denotes the number of times the player has been selected Year*  Co-award winners Position key '''K'''  Placekicker  '''KR'''  Kick returner  '''P'''  Punter  '''PR'''  Punt returner Season  Player  School  Position 1998    Western Michigan  K 1999    Ohio   2000    Northern Illinois   2001*   (2)  Ohio   2001*    Northern Illinois   2002    Northern Illinois   2003   (2)  Northern Illinois   2004    Miami   2005    Toledo   2006    Ball State   2007    Toledo   2008    Central Michigan   2009   (2)  Central Michigan   2010    Toledo   2011    Ohio  K 2012    Kent State  KR 2013    Toledo  K 2014    Ball State  K 2015    Northern Illinois  KR 2016    Western Michigan  KR 2017   (2)  Western Michigan  KR 2018    Toledo  KR2019Matthew TrickettKent StateK2020D'Wayne EskridgeWestern MicihiganKR2021Kalil PimpletonCentral MicihiganKR2022Alex McNultyBuffaloK2023Graham NicholsonMiamiK===Winners by school=== School (First season)  Wins  Years Northern Illinois (1975)  5  2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2015 Toledo (1952)  5  2005, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2018 Western Michigan (1948)  4  1998, 2016, 2017, 2020 Central Michigan (1975)  3  2008, 2009, 2021 Ohio (1947)  3  1999, 2001, 2011 Ball State (1975)  2  2006, 2014 Kent State (1951)  2  2012, 2019 Miami (1948)  2  2004, 2023 Buffalo (1999)  1  2022 Akron (1992)  0   Bowling Green (1952)  0   Eastern Michigan (1976)  0   Temple (2007)  0   Butler (1947)  0   Cincinnati (1947)  0   Marshall (1954)  0   Central Florida (2002)  0   UMass (2011)  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 ===Source: Year*  Co-Award Winners Position Key '''QB'''  Quarterback  '''RB'''  Running back  '''TE'''  Tight end  '''WR'''  Wide receiver '''DE'''  Defensive end  '''DT'''  Defensive tackle  '''LB'''  Linebacker  '''S'''  Safety '''K'''  Placekicker  '''KR'''  Kick returner  '''P'''  Punter  '''PR'''  Punt Returner Season  Player  School  Position 1982    Bowling Green   1983    Western Michigan   1984    Northern Illinois   1985    Northern Illinois   1986    Kent State   1987    Ball State   1988    Central Michigan   1989    Western Michigan  QB 1990    Toledo   1991    Kent State   1992    Miami   1993    Ball State   1994    Kent State   1995    Central Michigan   1996*    Eastern Michigan   1996*    Western Michigan  QB 1997    Western Michigan  RB 1998    Bowling Green   1999    Akron   2000    Ball State   2001    Miami  QB 2002    Buffalo   2003    Central Michigan  RB 2004    Ball State   2005    Western Michigan  QB 2006    Central Michigan  QB 2007    Central Michigan   2008    Ball State   2009    Temple   2010    Kent State  DL 2011    Bowling Green  RB 2012    Western Michigan  WR 2013    Western Michigan  WR 2014    Western Michigan  RB 2015    Western Michigan  RB 2016    Ohio  S2017Marcus ChildersNorthern IllinoisQB2018Jaret PattersonBuffaloRB2019Brett GabbertMiamiQB2020Lew Nichols IIICentral MichiganRB2021Jay DuckerNorthern IllinoisRB2022Sieh BanguraOhioRB2023Jalen BuckleyWestern MichiganRB===Winners by school=== School (First season)  Wins  Years Western Michigan (1948)  10  1983, 1989, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2023 Central Michigan (1975)  6  1988, 1995, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2020 Ball State (1975)  5  1987, 1993, 2000, 2004, 2008 Kent State (1951)  4  1986, 1991, 1994, 2010 Miami (1948)  3  1992, 2001, 2019 Bowling Green (1952)  3  1982, 1998, 2011 Northern Illinois (1975)  2  1984, 1985, 2017 Buffalo (1999)  2  2002, 2018 Ohio (1947)  2  2016, 2022 Akron (1992)  1  1999 Eastern Michigan (1976)  1  1996 Temple (2007)  1  2009 Toledo (1952)  1  1990 Butler (1947)  0   Cincinnati (1947)  0   Marshall (1954)  0   Central Florida (2002)  0   UMass (2011)  0
Vern Smith Leadership Award Brad Maynard is the only special teams player to win the 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.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===Source: Player (X)  Denotes the number of times the player has been selected Year*  Co-Award Winners Position Key '''QB'''  Quarterback  '''RB'''  Running back  '''TE'''  Tight end  '''WR'''  Wide receiver '''DE'''  Defensive end  '''DT'''  Defensive tackle  '''LB'''  Linebacker  '''S'''  Safety '''K'''  Placekicker  '''KR'''  Kick returner  '''P'''  Punter  '''PR'''  Punt Returner Season  Player  School  Position 1982    Central Michigan  LB 1983    Northern Illinois  QB 1984    Bowling Green  QB 1985   (2)  Bowling Green  QB 1986    Miami  QB 1987    Kent State  RB 1988    Western Michigan  QB 1989    Ball State  QB 1990    Central Michigan  QB 1991    Bowling Green  QB 1992   (2)  Bowling Green  QB 1993    Ball State  QB 1994    Central Michigan  RB 1995    Toledo  RB 1996    Ball State  P 1997    Marshall  WR 1998    Miami  RB 1999    Marshall  QB 2000    Western Michigan  RB 2001    Marshall  QB 2002   (2)  Marshall  QB 2003     Miami  QB 2004    Akron  QB 2005*    Toledo  QB 2005*    Western Michigan  WR 2006    Northern Illinois  RB 2007    Northern Illinois  DE 2008   (2)  Northern Illinois  DE 2009    Central Michigan  QB 2010    Northern Illinois  RB 2011    Northern Illinois  QB 2012    Northern Illinois  QB 2013   (2)  Northern Illinois  QB 2014    Toledo  OL 2015    Bowling Green  QB 2016    Western Michigan  QB 2017    Toledo  QB 2018    Northern Illinois  DE 2019    Western Michigan  RB 2020    Buffalo  RB 2021    Kent State  QB 2022    Ohio  QB 2023    Toledo  QB=== Winners by school === School (First season)  Wins  Years Northern Illinois (1975)  9  1983, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018 Bowling Green (1952)  5  1984, 1985, 1991, 1992, 2015 Toledo (1952)  5  1995, 2005, 2014, 2017, 2023 Central Michigan (1975)  4  1982, 1990, 1994, 2009 Marshall (1954)  4  1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 Western Michigan (1948)  4  1988, 2000, 2005, 2016 Ball State (1975)  3  1989, 1993, 1996 Miami (1948)  3  1986, 1998, 2003 Kent State (1951)  2  1987, 2021 Buffalo (1999)  1  2020 Akron (1992)  1  2004 Ohio (1947)  1  2022 Eastern Michigan (1976)  0   Temple (2007)  0   Butler (1947)  0   Cincinnati(1947)  0  Central Florida (2002)  0  UMass (2011)  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.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. 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.===Winners===Source: Coach (X) Denotes the number of times the coach has been selected Season  Coach  School  Year with school  Record 1965    Miami  3rd  7–3 (5–1) 1966    Western Michigan  3rd  7–3 (5–1) 1967    Toledo  5th  9–1 (5–1) 1968    Ohio  11th  10–1 (6–0) 1969   (2)  Toledo  7th  11–0 (5–0) 1970   (3)  Toledo  8th  12–0 (5–0) 1971    Toledo 1st  12–0 (5–0) 1972    Kent State  1st  6–5 (4–1) 1973    Miami  5th  11–0 (5–0) 1974    Miami 1st  10–0–1 (5–0) 1975    Ball State  1st  9–2 (4–2) 1976    Western Michigan  2nd  7–4 (6–3) 1977    Eastern Michigan  2nd  8–3 (4–3) 1978    Ball State  1st  10–1 (8–0) 1979    Toledo  3rd  7–3–1 (7–1–1) 1980    Central Michigan  3rd  9–2 (7–2) 1981   (2)  Toledo  5th  9–3 (8–1) 1982    Bowling Green  6th  7–5 (7–2) 1983   (2)  Northern Illinois  3rd  10–2 (8–1) 1984    Toledo  3rd  9–2–1 (7–1–1) 1985   (2)  Bowling Green  9th  11–1 (9–0) 1986    Kent State  1st  5–6 (5–3) 1987    Eastern Michigan  5th  10–2 (7–1) 1988    Western Michigan  2nd  9–3 (7–1) 1989    Ball State  5th  7–3–2 (6–1–1) 1990   (2)  Central Michigan  13th  8–3–1 (7–1) 1991    Bowling Green  1st  11–1 (8–0) 1992   (2)  Bowling Green  2nd  10–2 (8–0) 1993   (2)  Ball State  9th  8–3–1 (7–0–1) 1994    Central Michigan  1st  9–3 (8–1) 1995    Toledo  5th  11–0–1 (7–0–1) 1996    Ohio  2nd  6–6 (5–3) 1997   (2)  Toledo  7th  9–3 (7–1) 1998    Marshall  2nd  12–1 (7–1) 1999   (2)  Marshall  3rd  13–0 (8–0) 2000    Western Michigan  4th  9–3 (7–1) 2001    Bowling Green  1st  8–3 (5–3) 2002    Northern Illinois  6th  8–4 (7–1) 2003    Miami 5th  13–1 (8–0) 2004    Akron  1st  6–5 (6–2) 2005    Western Michigan  1st  7–4 (5–3) 2006    Ohio  2nd  9–5 (7–1) 2007    Buffalo  2nd  5–7 (5–3) 2008    Ball State  6th  12–2 (8–0) 2009    Temple  3rd  9–3 (7–1) 2010    Miami  2nd  9–4 (8–1) 2011    Eastern Michigan  3rd  6–6 (4–4) 2012    Kent State  2nd  11–3 (8–0) 2013    Northern Illinois  1st  12–1 (8–0) 2014    Western Michigan  2nd  8–5 (6–2) 2015    Toledo  5th  9–2 (6–2) 2016   (2)  Western Michigan  4th  13–1 (8–0) 2017    Toledo  2nd  11–3 (7–1) 2018    Buffalo  4th  10–4 (7–1) 2019    Central Michigan  1st  8–6 (6–2) 2020   (2)  Buffalo  6th  6–1 (5–0) 2021    Northern Illinois  3rd  9–5 (6–2) 2022    Ohio  2nd  10–4 (7–1) 2023   (2)  Toledo  8th  11–1 (8–0)===Winners by school=== School (First season)  Wins  Years Toledo (1952)  11  1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1871, 1984, 1995, 1997, 2015, 2017, 2023 Western Michigan (1948)  7  1966, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2005, 2014, 2016 Central Michigan (1975)  6  1980, 1990, 1994, 1977, 1987, 2019 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 Northern Illinois (1975)  4  1983, 2002, 2013, 2021 Ohio (1947)  4  1968, 1996, 2006, 2022 Eastern Michigan (1976)  3  1977, 1987, 2011 Kent State (1951)  3  1972, 1986, 2012 Buffalo (1999) 3  2007, 2018.2020 Marshall (1954)  2  1988, 1999 Akron (1992)  1  2004 Temple (2007)  1  2009 Butler (1947)  0   Cincinnati (1947)  0  Central Florida (2002)  0  UMass (2011)  0
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