MAC, ESPN agree to new deal

[Harry]

The Mid-American Conference has agreed to a new 13-year contract with ESPN, according published reports by The Associated Press and The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer on Monday.

The new agreement would give the network all television distribution rights to the MAC’s football games through the 2026-27 season. The new deal is expected to give ESPN rights to all men’s basketball as well, and a select number of women’s basketball and olympic sports games.

A formal announcement is expected on Tuesday.

The MAC’s current deal with ESPN is for $1.4 million per year, and is split evenly among the conference’s member institutions. That number is considerably less than the amount paid out to Conference-USA and the Mountain West — two other ‘Group of Five’ conferences. C-USA ($11.3 million) and the MWC ($12 millions) have deals with CBS and ESPN, respectively.

The MAC had three years remaining on an eight-year contract signed with ESPN in 2009, but the media giant was open to renegotiating terms of the contract given the niche in weeknight football programming that the conference has provided — at a bargain rate — over the last decade.

Read more: http://www.athensohiotoday.com/sports/ohiouniversity/reports-mac-espn-agree-to-new-deal/article_ab5270de-c2ad-5b41-99ff-0e1447992e10.html

[Mean Green 93-98]

Heh. . . . When I saw the title, I thought Coach Mac had struck a deal with ESPN.