In May 2005, the Temple Owls in Philadelphia signed a six-year contract with the MAC as a football-only school and began play in the East Division in 2007. Marshall and Central Florida left after the 2004–05 academic year, both joining Conference USA in all sports. The University of Central Florida, a non-football all-sports member in the Atlantic Sun Conference at the time, joined for football only in 2002, becoming the first football-only member in conference history.

The conference became the largest in Division I-A with the re-admittance of Marshall and NIU in 1997 and addition of the Bulls from the University at Buffalo in 1998. The University of Akron joined the conference in 1992. The first major expansion since the 1950s took place in the mid-1970s with the addition of Central Michigan University and Eastern Michigan University in 1972 and Ball State University and Northern Illinois University in 1973. Marshall was expelled from the conference in 1969 due to NCAA violations. The membership was steady for the next two decades except for the addition of Marshall University in 1954 and the departure of Western Reserve in 1955. Cincinnati's decision was based on a new requirement that at least 5 conference football games would have to be scheduled each season, University President Raymond Walters saying they '.regretfully resign.as the university could not continue under the present setup.' The University of Cincinnati resigned its membership February 18, 1953, with an effective date of June 1, 1953. The MAC added the University of Toledo (1950), Kent State University (1951), and Bowling Green State University (1952).

Miami University and Western Michigan University took the place of those charter members for the 1948 season. Wayne University left after the first year. The five charter members of the Mid-American Conference were Ohio University, Butler University, the University of Cincinnati, Wayne University (now Wayne State University), and Western Reserve University, one of the predecessors to today's Case Western Reserve University. Location of MAC members: East Division, West Division

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