New Coaches in the MAC for 2009 & MAC Football Notes

WELCOME TO THE MAC GUYS…

Five new head coaches were named following the conclusion of the regular season. At Ball State, Stan Parrish was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach. Four other schools went outside the program – Toledo (Tim Beckman), Eastern Michigan (Ron English), Miami (Mike Haywood), and Bowling Green (Dave Clawson) – to make changes. This marks the most head coaching changes in the MAC since 2005 when Akron, UCF (now in Conference USA), Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and Kent State hired new leaders for their respective programs.

HEAD COACH - SCHOOL - PREVIOUS POSITION

Stan Parrish - Ball State - Offensive Coordinator – Ball State
- Replaces: Brady Hoke/34-38, six seasons - Hoke named head coach at San Diego State
Dave Clawson - Bowling Green - Offensive coordinator – Tennessee
- Replaces: Gregg Brandon - 44-30 - six seasons
Ron English - Eastern Michigan - Defensive coordinator – Louisville
- Replaces: Jeff Genyk - 16-42 - six seasons
Mike Haywood - Miami - Offensive coordinator – Notre Dame
- Replaces: Shane Montgomery - 17-31 - 4 seasons
Tim Beckman - Toledo - Defensive coordinator – Oklahoma State
- Replaces: Tom Amstutz - 58-41 - nine seasons

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MAC Notes:

MAC football enters its 63rd season of competition and will hold its 13th championship game in 2009. This year’s Marathon MAC Football Championship tilt will be Friday, Dec. 4, at Ford Field in Detroit. This will be the league’s sixth championship event at Ford Field.
Buffalo is the defending MAC Champion as the Bulls surprised then No. 12 ranked Ball State, 42-24 last year. UB’s title trophy was it’s first-ever on the MAC gridiron.
Of the 47 conference games played in 2008, 25 were decided by seven points or less, with 18 of those 47 decided by four points or fewer in the final margin.
The MAC had an all-time best four wins in 2008 over opponents from the Big Ten. Both Ball State and Central Michigan had wins at Indiana, Toledo defeated Michigan in Ann Arbor, and Western Michigan topped Illinois in a game played at Ford Field.

By Nick Gerogosian